Rating: 
Summary: Style over substance, but what wonderful style!
Review: "Minority Report," Steven Spielberg's latest film, takes place in the year 2054. The subject of the film is the Pre-Crime law enforcement unit, an agency operating in Washington, D. C. This unit handles murders in a whole new way. Instead of arresting people after they commit murder, the enforcers of the Pre-Crime unit, led by chief John Anderton (Tom Cruise) arrest people who are ABOUT to commit murder. The police make arrests based on the visions of three beings known as Pre-Cogs, a trio who float in liquid, and who can see murders that are destined to occur. The Pre-Cogs can identify both the murderers and the victims in advance. Thanks to the Pre-Crime program, there have been no murders in Washington, D. C. in years. The system appears to be foolproof and Anderton is a dedicated and hard-working chief who believes that his unit does an excellent and necessary job. He is determined that there will be no murders on his watch. In fact, there is talk that this seemingly successful program may go nationwide in the near future, much to the glee of Max von Sydow, who plays Burgess, the director of the Pre-Crime unit, and Anderton's supervisor.You do not have to be a Pre-Cog to figure out that something is about to go wrong. Suddenly, the Pre-Cogs target John Anderton as a future murderer and he is suddenly on the run from his former colleagues. In a series of implausible chase sequences, Cruise performs some superhuman and death-defying maneuvers to escape his pursuers. Anderton is desperate to find out why he has been framed and how the pre-crime system is faulty, before he is caught and put away for good. Tom Cruise turns in his usual solid and intense performance as a man driven by desperation and fear to uncover the truth. The supporting performers are all fine, with the lovely Samantha Morton especially touching as the most insightful of the Pre-Cogs. There is a terrific cameo by Lois Smith, who plays Dr. Hineman, the scientist who accidentally created the Pre-Cogs in the first place. Major kudos go to Janusz Kaminski, the great cinematographer, and to the production and set designers. The look of the movie is spectacular, with a mixture of high-tech gadgetry, futuristic elegance and kitsch. Spielberg wisely tempers his dystopian view of the future with some welcome humor. Cruise pours cereal from a box that has animated advertising and he takes a walk through a shopping mall in which the lively ads address each person by name. He even goes shopping in a Gap store, which, it seems, will still be thriving in the year 2054! John Williams's fine score provides excellent background music for the movie, especially during the more frightening sequences. The problem, alas, is the script. The beginning of the movie is enormously original, clever, funny and intriguing. Important questions are raised about the loss of our privacy and our civil rights in a future that punishes people even before they have committed a crime. Unfortunately, once Anderton starts running, the movie becomes an ersatz "Fugitive," with every cliché that goes with this type of film: hair raising and improbable escapes, a conspiracy that our hero must uncover before it is too late, and even a romance that shows Cruise's human side. In an attempt to please his audience, Spielberg gives "Minority Report" a mawkish ending that weakens the movie's hard edge. However, in spite of these flaws, I recommend that you see "Minority Report" for its great style, its fine performances and its wonderful opening sequence.
Rating: 
Summary: THE DVD IS MINE!
Review: "MINORITY REPORT" IS A TRULY MIND BLOWING MOVIE GOING EXPERIENCE! COULD THIS POSSIBLY BE STEVEN SPIELBERG'S BEST YET? THAT'S HARD TO SAY WITH "E.T." AND "SCHINDLER'S LIST". BUT A REMARKABLE PIECE OF WORK NO LESS. EVERY MOMENT WAS EXCITING, THE EFFECTS WERE STATE OF THE ART. THIS IS WHAT YOU COME TO EXPECT FROM SPIELBERG. I'LL BE ADDING THIS TO MY DVD COLLECTION. THAT'S FOR SURE. TOM CRUISE AND THE CAST ARE BRILIANT! I MUST MENTION LOIS SMITH (OLD LADY WITH ALL THE PLANTS) WHO WAS SUPERB. SEE IT!
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Science Fiction Film Since Blade Runner
Review: Steven Spielberg, here rebounding from the admirable failure of A.I., give us a cinematic science fiction film noir masterpiece with Minority Report. In all its aspects - story, plot, atmosphere, acting and characters, eerily prescient futuristic setting, and novel adaptation - this is quite simply the finest science fiction film released since Blade Runner. As a huge fan of Philip K. Dick's work - I didn't see this movie because of the star power of Spielberg or Cruise, but because it is a Dick adaptation - I was delighted with the feel and atmosphere of this movie. Unlike most science fiction films, this one does not overdo the future element - mixing radical new transportation methods, all manner of new computers and effects, and 20th century housing - it presents a future world that is entirely believable, and eerily plausible. The Dick story this is based on is a mere 30 pages or so - obviously, it would have to be expanded. I was glad to see that all expansions of the plot were logical extensions - unlike in the recent and very disappointing, The Time Machine, in which H.G. Wells's masterful short story was reduced to the level of Hollywood cheese. Spielberg, obviously a fan of the idiosyncratic author, inserts many "PhiDickian" moments into the film. From the retinal scans to the use of drugs - elements present in almost all of Dick's works - are worked skillfully and logically into the film, as are other moments that would be right at home in any work of Dick's: Anderton's (Cruise) bizzare meeting with "the creator of Pre-Crime" in her greenhouse, the optical surgeon's runny nose and subsequent eye-cathing (pardon the pun) operation, not to mention the generally dark, dreary atmosphere of the film (very similar to Blade Runner in this respect.) This film is much darker than I imagine most people will be expecting. At nearly two and a half hours in length, Spielberg has indeed given us a masterpiece. The film is very well-directed, and extraordinarily well-written. It was necessary to expand the original Dick story quite a bit in order to get it to movie length, and I am very happy to report (as is indeed the minority with Hollywood movie adaptation these days) that it is all done in a logical, respectful, fitting, and, indeed, very Dick-ian way. The shots and level of lighting used througout the film are masterful and entirely appropriate. It is also very well-choreographed: one virtuoso scene shows Anderton and Agatha (the pre-cog) being pursued by the Pre-Crimers through a mall, with her arranging their moves, predicting what will happen right before it does. This scene is very well done (as are several similar ones), and are very witty, without ever resorting to Hollywood cliche. The film is very well-done and believable throughout, almost entirely devoid (as is indeed very rare) of cornball scenes and leaps of logic - the cops flying around on jetpacks being the only scene that might raise a questioning eyebrow. I also applaud this film for being both very suspenseful and interesting, without forasking intelligence and provocativeness. Although the movie features its fair share of action, there is also a lot of dialogue, and the movie's overall IQ (so to speak) is very high - certainly far, far above 99% of the trash that hits theateres nowadays. It's also very well-acted, and the cast was well-chosen. I'm not a fan of Tom Cruise, but he performs his role here admirably well: he's the best in all of Hollywood of displaying that look of utter astonishment and confusion, and his winning smile is put on in all the best spots. The other actros were well-chosen as well, and all perform admirably. Quite simply put, a masterful science fiction film that deserves all the success it can get.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating
Review: It's full of action, suspense, and intrigue. It demonstrates the pros and cons of depending on psychic ability without bogging the viewer down on intricate details. The special effects are fabulous as expected and the acting emotional. Ironically, there isn't a lot of bloodshed in the film compared to "The Bourne Identity". Its the mystery and suspense that ably carries the film. The 2-1/2 hour thrill is worth multiple rides.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie, you should see it.
Review: I just saw this movie a couple hours ago, and let me tell you, there is just one word for it: wow. Speilberg has done it again. Tom Cruise is the highly respected John Anderton, head of the "Pre-crime" devision of the police department in Washington D.C. The year is 2054, and seeing crimes before they are commited is now possible. With the help of three "precog"s, where precog stands for "precognitive", John and his team of "Future cops" have prevented murders for 6 years in Washington. This quote unqoute "perfect" world, however, is about to end for Anderton. When he shows up in the precogs' predictions, he is stunned. He immediatly starts denying it, and is soon running from the future police. What follows is about an hour of crazy twists and whacky turns. The end is the best part, though, so it's worth the wait. It's got a somewhat unexpected twist.
Rating: 
Summary: Death To Minority Report
Review: PLOT HOLES: 1. If the Pre-Cogs can only see murders, how can Agatha tell about the umbrella, the homeless man, and the balloon man in the scene where the cops chase them through the mall? 2. If Anderton is a murder suspect, wouldn't they take his retina ID off the register to get into the Temple? 3. Early on in the movie we see the balls are released early in the sequence of events. If this is true, then wouldn't the balls with "Lamar Burgess" written on them drop in the fake echo? 4. How can Lamar fake a cerebral output with such detail about who would be in the room and at what time? How is it even possible to set someone up when they have the Pre-Cogs hooked up to the machines that keep track of their vital signs? 5. In a world where people are ID'd wherever they go and everything is on computers, why couldn't the PreCrime have made it to Leo Crow's hotel room in time when his name was on a computerized registry? They know the location of all the merry go rounds, yet they can't find Crow's name in a registry? 6. If the Pre-Cogs can only see murders within a two-hundred mile radius, couldn't Lamar have simply killed Anne Lively outside of this radius? 7. If PreCrime thinks that Anderton killed Crow because of the "orgy of evidence" on the bed, shouldn't it have been a red ball, in which case shouldn't they realize he was being set up? 8. Once Cruise is safe after the spider invasion in the apartment, couldn't he just wait out the rest of the time to prove his innocence, and thus dismantle PreCrime?
Rating:
Summary: An Old Idea Made New Again.
Review: Dystopia fiction finds its way back into popular culture with Minority Report. Based on the short story by Philip K. Dick, Minority Report borrows the idea of the Thought Police of Orwell's 1984 and focuses on it completely, only this time the Thought Police are refered to as The Department Of Pre-Occuring Crime. There are many twists and turns and stunning visual effects in the film and Tom Cruise delivers a performance that you can't complian about. However young Irish star Colin Farrel that steals the show. His performance makes you go back and forth about his character his motives and ultimately what is happening in the film. It is easy to see why he is becoming the next superstar of the movies. In a generation where 'new' is all that matters Colin Farrel shows staying power and talent. Minority Report could easily get lost in the special effects grandure, but the story shines and the acting draws the viewer in, the action is just a special treat. Speilberg's latest is stunning.
Rating:
Summary: Minority Report is doomed to fail at the box office
Review: Steven Spielberg has created a film that will neither satisfy the cappuccino and expresso crowd, nor those seeking Arnold Schwarzenegger style escapism. To be blunt: Minority Report, like his earlier A.I., will not make a lot of money. The audience is urged to seriously consider the existential and legal ramifications of predicting the future. Is it better not to know what the future holds in store for us? Do we even have the moral right to play God? Are there some areas of knowledge best left unexplored? Unfortunately, one barely gets to dwell upon these challenging themes before repeatedly being interrupted by fast paced action that quickly numbs the intellect. The highly gifted Tom Cruise portrays police commander, John Anderton, who believes his precrime unit cannot make any mistakes. He has full confidence in his boss (Max Von Sydow) who assures the American citizens of 2054 that the system is perfect and innocent people are never wrongly convicted. Unfortunately, Anderton's faith is badly shaken after he personally is accused of a murdering a complete stranger in the very near future. The chase is on and our protagonist performs feats of daring and mind boggling athleticism that would put most comic book action heroes to shame. Colin Farrell is more than adequate as the Justice Department investigator who must arrest the puzzled Anderton. However, Samantha Morton steals the show as the "precog" slave Agatha whose sole purpose in life is to warn the police unit of impending murders. She is brilliant and almost alone salvages the tiring story line. Ironically, Spielberg barely deals with the morality of manipulating a human being in such a vile fashion. Does the end supposedly justify the means in placing a person in a tank of liquid, and keeping them in a drug induced trance so that they might forevermore be of service to the public? The cinematography and special effects are admittedly outstanding. Minority Reports, though, should have been shortened by about twenty minutes. Sadly, it seems that Spielberg is increasingly following the example of Kevin Costner as somebody who doesn't know when serious film editing is required. The great director likely now has two major failures in a row. Has he lost his touch? How can this be the same creative genius who directed Schindler's List, perhaps the greatest film of all time? Is the Spielberg of today too distant from the majority who normally buy tickets to his films? Minority Report earns only four stars, and not the five a box office success must have.
Rating:
Summary: Minority Rules!
Review: Steven Spielberg has had his day, and even when he puts out a great film like MINORITY REPORT it is sure to be blasted by many. This is an intelligent film, which makes strong societal comments amidst some marvelous special effects and concepts. In a summer of cool films with Spidermen, Swashbuckling Yoda's, Scooby Snacks and Jack Ryan lite, this story alone has depth beyond the comic book pages. In fact, the storyline rings closer to today's news headlines. It is 2054 and Washington DC has been without a murder in 6 years because of the new pre-crime division. The special extension of the police uses images from three powerful psychics to view murders before they happen and can make the arrest before the bullet leaves the chamber. But, when pre-crime officer John Anderton is next up for arrest, he is on a run to clear his name. Like the best science fiction stories, MINORITY REPORT makes a strong social comment. And with the ACLU winning out in the end of the story, we know where Dreamworks politically stands as clearly as in their animated SPIRIT. But, with that all aside, we are left with an intriguing story-line with great twists and turns, carried confidently by star Tom Cruise and directed by the Spielbergs who made SAVING PIVATE RYAN, not the one who made HOOK. With yet another powerful musical score by wonder composer John Williams and a script by screenwriter Scott Frank (DEAD AGAIN). Can't wait for the DVD!
Rating:
Summary: Oedipus Directs: Spielberg's "Report" is an Eye-Popping Film
Review: Besides the obvious, Philip K. Dick's short story, "Minority Report" draws on at least two other literary influences. The precogs, a trio of psychics blessed (cursed?) with the ability to see murders before they happen, are named Arthur, Dashiell, and Agatha. Fans of Sherlock Holmes, Sam Spade, or Hercule Poirot will thus be 'clued' in that this is a detective story of another colour. Less obviously, but much more relevant, the story neatly parallels the Sophoclean tale of Oedipus Rex. You remember him, don't you? He tried to avoid a future prophesized by an oracle, in which he would kill his father and marry his mother. But fates have a funny way of coming true; not only did the prophecy hold, but he lost his eyes in the process. I wonder if any of this sounds familiar to John Anderton? At times, the film feels like something Paul Verhoeven ("Total Recall", another Dick story, but also "RoboCop") or Ridley Scott ("Blade Runner", the uber-Dick screen adaptation, but also "Alien") would have churned out. But when the omnipresent John Williams score kicks in, and the near-hokey scenes of a precious little boy rear their heads, you know you've entered Steven Spielberg country. "Minority Report" is only Spielberg's second movie to combine intellectually adult ideas with a popcorn-thriller sensibility. "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", the other such entry in his oeuvre, had a much greater sense of innocence and wonder, but not nearly as much bravura filmmaking. Spielberg's camera seems to be doing cartwheels at times. It became very disorienting in the action-heavy sequences (not helped by the harsh lighting that dominates the frame), but the effect worked in that it kept the audience on their toes and paying attention during the more measured scenes. Besides story, Spielberg's other strength is in creating cutting-edge visuals. On this note, he does not disappoint. A fascinating vision of a credible future is laid at the audience's feet. Although learned sci-fi fans will have seen many of its characteristics in other futuristic dystopias (the hyper-predomination of advertising was in "Blade Runner"; retinal scans were used in... uh... "Barb Wire"), this one is different in that it has the full power of the Spielberg machine behind it. He apparently consulted successful futurists to come up with a vision for 2054. What they've succeeded in providing is a world of urban decay, but also gargantuan and clean office buildings; oppressive mass transit systems, but also quaint backcountry roads; high-tech apartments, and homogenous urban sprawl. In short, a diverse world. Spielberg achieves a unified vision through a wide variety of styles that is quite impressive. He also does a fine job of keeping the audience on their toes with multiple moments of squirmy terror, followed by some fine, understated comic relief. The former is exemplified by one scene that makes you think it's about to quote "Un Chien Andalou", and the latter is exemplified in an "Evil Dead"-esque moment where Anderton chases his own eyeballs down a hall. A scene where retinal scanning spiders search an apartment building will have those with arachnophobia clutching their armrests, while laughing at the quirky personalities the spiders take on. This is Spielberg at his most playful; he has the audience right where he wants them, and he pulls and pushes them with all the skill of a master puppeteer.
The film's one flaw, from a directorial standpoint, is something that also marred Spielberg's last effort, "A.I.". Like that more bloated failure, Spielberg teases the audience with multiple endings. The difference being that what felt tacked on and manipulative in his last movie (a Hail Mary attempt to achieve a happy ending) becomes almost necessary here. The 'first' ending, if he had left it as such, would have been perfectly serviceable to the story he was trying to tell. Because he went further -- through the looking glass, past the closet, to the other side of the curtain -- the story opens itself up to ask (and answer) many other relevant questions. Unfortunately, the flow of the movie was constantly being disrupted, as ending became twist became ending became twist, ad nausea. These "fourth" act problems caused the movie to be a tad overlong. Also, there were many opportunities to trim the film that Spielberg didn't take advantage of, prior to the denouements. He indulges in too many scenes of talky exposition that slow the action down to a near standstill. A less powerful man behind the camera might have been forced to bring the movie in under 2 hours. Spielberg didn't have that luxury. He did have the luxury of casting a likable and bankable star in the lead role. Cruise learned many a lesson from the jumble that was "Vanilla Sky" (he even gets to ugly himself up again). John Anderton appears to be a typical Tom Cruise character: a loving dad, determined in action, heroic in battle. But he's also a terribly flawed character, destroyed by tragedy. And if you really sit back and take in the plot, you realize that Anderton is little more than a cipher, a pawn used to move the plot along to its inevitable conclusion. The rest of the cast, none with very meaty roles, are all exceptional in supporting Cruise. Samantha Morton as the dominant precog, the aforementioned Von Sydow and Farrell, and Lois Smith as an enigmatic scientist, all do fine work. While not a perfect movie by any stretch of the imagination, "Minority Report" will please those looking for an intelligent film fix in an otherwise bland summer, those looking for a Spielberg fix in the wake of the unfulfilling "A.I.", and those looking for a Cruise action fix in between "Mission Impossibles". And it'll probably please the rest of you too.
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