Minority Report review: My report
(First published in 2000)
Tom Cruise plays a pre-crime cop in 2054. The company that employs him has developed a system that can predict future murders and therefore provide an opportunity of preventing them. The system harnesses three genetically changed humans who have highly enhanced precognition skills. The three are kept sedated and partially submerged in a special solution and the images from their minds are displayed on the system for interpretation.
Although the images they get are sketchy, the three combined visions usually give enough information for detectives to track down the participants and arrest them before the murder is carried out. Once arrested they are put into a controlled coma.
It’s a novel and fancy idea, which is carried off well. Holes in fancy plots like this are inevitably present, but they are patched up with reasonably acceptable plausible explanations. With the pre-crime system in place, it is now impossible to carry out a murder because the precogs will see it and you will be intercepted and arrested. Since its launch 6 years ago, there has not been one single murder in the city and the company is on the verge of being approved to go national with the scheme.
The film really gets going when Tom Cruise’s character is stunned to see one of the precrime reports showing himself committing a murder and he’s forced to go on the run. Will he get caught? Will he actually carry out the murder of someone he has never even seen or met before? Is he being set up? If so why? Can he prevent the foretold destiny or is it inevitable? These are the questions that don’t all end up with obvious answers and although I usually work out twists (I did get a few) I didn’t get them all. Not only were they unpredictable, but they weren’t ridiculously unbelievable either. I mean, anyone can trick us with a stupid, highly unlikely and ludicrous twist and they often do. It’s a different kettle of fish to work one out intelligently.
One extra question we discover needs answering is does he have a Minority Report? I won’t explain any further a minority report refers to something specific and relevant.
Minority Report creates a futuristic world, which for the most part is highly believable. It’s directed by Steven Spielberg and written by science fiction writer Phillip K. Dick. It’s rated PG.
I enjoyed this film. My favourite films always leave me thinking for hours and even days after. They usually provoke some sort of thought or have me pondering some hypothetical dilemma. This one got me thinking about the ethical and moral implications of whether such a scheme’s end justifies its means. I know what I’ve decided, and it might be different to what you decide.
Written by Andy(ArT)Trigg on April 14th, 2008 with
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