Minority Report
Set in the year 2054 where acts of murder are identified before they occur, thanks to three gifted humans known as "Pre-Cogs", who have the ability to see into the future. Working as part of the "Precrime" unit is John Anderton (Tom Cruise), who has absolute faith in the Pre-Cogs and the system. Struggling to overcome the death of his young son six years ago, Anderton has devoted his life to his work. His faith is challenged however when the Pre-Cogs predict that he will commit a murder. Anderton is forced to run, struggling with the uncertainty that the system he has lived by could be wrong or whether or not someone has tricked the system and set him up.
I'm a huge fan of Tom Cruise as he has consistently delivered strong performances for the last thirty years. Cruise delivers yet another strong performance as Anderton, earning his reputation as the best action hero of modern cinema. Supporting Cruise is Colin Farrell as Danny Witwer, the sceptical representative for the president and Max Von Sydow as Lamar Burgess the director of Precrime. Both actors deliver strong performances but the screen time is dominated by Cruise, who is used to his absolute potential adjusting from scenes of action and suspense to moments of touching innocence and grief.
The film is intriguing throughout and never predictable as snippets of information are cleverly revealed. The film often feels like a dream as Anderton and the audience tries to piece together the mystery behind his accused murder. The film captures the audiences attention straight away as a 'murderer' is captured, highlighting the skill of the team and the reliability of the Pre-Cogs. The film then escalates towards the climax of the film, the predicted murder by Anderton. The film felt a little disjointed after Anderton's 'murder' scene with the story seeming to drag on too long, then ending abruptly. I was still left feeling satisfied with the ending, as the final scene dramatically revealed the true reliability of the system.
Director Steven Spielberg steps back into his comfort zone of science fiction for Minority Report, creating an original and gripping film. Spielberg is such as instrumental figure in the movie industry and I don't think there is any better director when it comes to handling science fiction (Ridley Scott and James Cameron come close) as he has such passion and vision for the genre. The futuristic elements were not taken over the top and it is a credit to Spielberg as he has not created the same feel or look as Blade Runner, which is the hardest job for any director creating a science fiction film set in the future. Minority Report creates its own universe even if there are occurring themes to Blade Runner such as the importance of eyes and the sense of big brother. Given that both films are based from the work of the same author, Philip K. Dick similarities are to be expected.
Part of Spielberg's success comes from achieving a realistic contrast between high society, where the latest technology is readily available and used in everyday life and those succumb to a life of poverty where the basic forms of life is achieved, without technology. Even though the trade may have changed for people living on the street their lifestyle remains the same. The film makes an accurate assumption that class divisions will still be evident in the future, installing a distressing belief that the gap between divisions could worsen as modern society continues to develop.
Minority Report sees Spielberg and Cruise back to their best in a truly engaging and original science fiction movie. The film offers scenes of brilliance, and quality performances but lacks the consistency throughout to make it a 'great' film. The film explores the lengths people will go for revenge, innocence and to preserve a belief or system in which they belief in. The film primarily asks the question; can there be such a thing as a perfect system?
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