Rating: 
Summary: Read the actual story - it's VERY different!
Review: The movie version of Minority Report starred Tom Cruise and came out in 2002. There are many changes here vs the original story. The most obvious one is that they COMPLETELY removed the entire main premise of the story, that there are changes to the time continuum based on Anderton learning of what is going to happen. Instead, they turn the story around so there is actually NO minority report - that all 3 versions of Anderton's future are the same, having him kill Leopold. The new premise of the movie is that the future is *uncertain* - where the book had the precogs seeing the reality of a set future.In the movie, Anderton isn't an older, almost obsolete cop. He's a young, slick hotshot. Witwer isn't a newcomer looking to horn in on Anderton's turf. Witwer is an 'oversight' individual coming to judge the system. So the entire main emotion path of Anderton 'becoming obsolete' vs the army 'becoming obsolete' is completely gone. Anderton is set up to commit a murder by his boss. He has 72 hours to figure out why he would murder this stranger and evades his own friends to do so. Security is run on eyeball recognition so he has his eyeballs yanked out and puts in new ones. He grabs the minority reporter and escapes with her to find out what she saw, thinking this will clear him of the murder charge. But actually she saw the same thing the others did - there IS no minority report. While he has her, though, he learns that her mother was killed in a devious way by Anderton's boss. The boss wanted to prevent the mother from taking the precog back and ruining the precrime setup. Anderton exercises free will and doesn't kill the guy he was supposed to, even though things are very plainly set up to say that this guy was responsible for kidnapping Anderton's son. Then it's a race to have Anderton prove that his boss was responsible for the murder of the mom and for getting away with it by manipulating the precog's vision of it. At the end, they let out of jail every person ever accused of a precrime, since they feel that free will MIGHT have had some of those people change their mind at the last moment. My Notes -
This was a great action-thriller and since Anderton is a police commissioner, he does indeed have the 'spy-like' qualities that Tom Cruise shows. His character isn't a scientist or 'everydayman' like some of the other Philip K Dick stories. So the entire movie was made into an action-thriller featuring that main character, but they *bastardized* the entire story to get to that point. Where Imposter was a great version of the original story and people didn't like it, Minority Report was an AWFUL version of the original story and people loved it. First off, Anderton was supposed to be an aging, balding, "obsolete" character. That was part of the main motivation here, his feeling of obsolescence and the army's feeling of obsolescence. All of that is gone. Instead, Anderton is a young, slick druggie who pines for his lost son (an invention). The precogs are sexy, naked adults instead of 'retarded' kid-like monstrosities. The whole point of the original story was that knowledge of a future has the potential to allow you *change* that future which is equally recorded by a precog. The precogs were NOT wrong. They were each accurately recording their version of the future. The end of the story has the precrime system still in place. In comparison, the whole point of the movie was that the precogs COULD be wrong and people had free will. Humans COULD do things other than what the future did hold. And the end result is that the system collapses. Not only that, but the movie has huge plot holes as a result of this wild change to the storyline. First off, Leopold is set up to appear to be the child molestor by Anderton's boss. Why? If the system is working perfectly, and it's about to go nation-wide, why would the boss want to put anything in to risk it? Nobody is going to realize he killed the mom, that's ancient news. Next, Anderton gets all these clues about a minority report, and the girl's testimony on his case is missing. But why? She did NOT have a minority report. She saw the same things the others saw! So it should have been on the tape, he should never have stolen her away and therefore never learned that the girl had other minority reports in her past. I especially didn't like the scene in Anderton's house where the precog goes on a long monologue about what Anderton's son would have been like growing up, had he not been abducted and killed by a child molestor. Just what was the point of that? Is the precog now an Ouija board too, communicating with the dead? The whole anguish over the dead son was not in the original story and added to the emotion level, but again detracted from the actual sequence of events and meaning behind them. It was a Happy Ending that Anderton and his wife end up together again, with her pregnant again. But the whole Hollywood Happy Ending with that and the system being shut down is the complete opposite of what the story was trying to tell us - and the fact that Hollywood says "free will triumphs!" also misses the point. It's like making the movie version of Star Wars and having the Empire win in the end. Either you do a movie form of the book, or you do a movie without any reference to the book. But why claim it's based on the book when the entire plot is the opposite of what the book said? And why lose the entire plot twist and base plot line that made the story so fascinating? Did they think the movie watching audience was too dumb to understand how timelines would affect each other? I loved the movie *as a story*. But as The Minority Report, it failed.
Rating: 
Summary: Your Future Is Whatever You Make It
Review: The idea that murderers could be stopped and convicted before they even commit the act probably sounds very reassuring and even beneficial to many people. After all, countless lives will be saved and people's lives won't be shattered by the pointless killings that occur every day in this country. There is one small flaw though; someone may be planning murder, but at the last minute will call off the attack. That does not make them right, but it doesn't make them wrong either. Also, no proof exists except the thoughts of the person themself, thereby sending the old adage of innocent until proven guilty to heck.
Tom Cruise stars as John Anderton, the chief of police in the new Pre-Crime Unit. Through the help of three "Pre-Cogs" who can see murders before they happen, Anderton and his team apprehend the murderer before the act takes place. Currently, the system only exists in Washington, D.C. but there will soon be a vote to take it national. About a week before the vote is to take place, a young agent from the Justice Department, played by Colin Farrel, arrives to investigate the Pre-Crime Unit to make sure that there can never be any mistakes. Anderton believes that he is after his job, especially when the Pre-Cogs predict that, within 72 hours, Anderton will kill a man that he has never even heard of. Now, Anderton is on the run from his old friends, and he has do to everything that he can to stay away from the authorities.
Pretty much every aspect of this film is good. The story is phenominal, the stunts and effects are amazing, and the acting is great. I think that the only problem is that it starts to drag on a bit toward the end, but the unexpected ending is definitely worth the wait. This movie will make you think while simultaneously visually pleasing you.
Rating: 
Summary: Spielberg's Minority Report is destined to be a classic.....
Review: Steven Spielberg's 2002 Minority Report, starring Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, and Max Von Sidow, is a surprisingly engrossing science fiction/mystery/action film set in a future not very far away. Based on a short story by Philip K. Dick (whose works have inspired such sci fi noir films as Ridley Scott's Bladerunner and Paul Verhoeven's Total Recall), Minority Report is one of those rare action movies that engages the mind while giving the audience an exciting "race the clock" chase in a futuristic Washington, D.C. It is the year 2054, and the Nation's capital has been rendered homicide-free by an experimental police unit called the Precrime Department. Since 2048, the year Lamar Burgess (Von Sidow) and Dr. Iris Hineman (Lois Smith) discovered that a trio of psychically gifted children could see murders before they were committed, Burgess has been the head of Precrime, and with the skills of career cops like John Anderton (Cruise), the murder rate in Washington has dropped to nearly zero. Now, Burgess is on the verge of getting his vision of Precrime as a nation-wide entity. After all, with the Precogs (as the trio of psychics is known), advanced surveilance technology, and a team of well-trained and motivated cops, murderers -- even crime-of-passion ones -- can be arrested and put behind bars and their would-be victims saved from shootings, stabbings, and drownings. It is a flawless system, and with crime at an all-time high in the U.S., Precrime seems to be the perfect solution. But as Anderton soon discovers, the Precrime concept is not without flaws...and the audience will also see that the relatively young and dedicated Precrime chief has his own weak spots. His zeal for his job is fueled by the disappearance and apparent death of his son Sean, but that family tragedy has led to Anderton's use of drugs and a separation from his wife Lara (Kathryn Morris). And just as Precrime is about to go nationwide, he not only has to deal with the unwelcome presence of FBI agent Danny Witwer (Farrell), he suddenly finds himself on the run when the Precogs pre-visualize Anderton committing a murder -- 36 hours in the future. Spielberg, working from a screenplay by Scott Frank and Jon Cohen, has made one of his best films in recent years. He gives the audience a plausible vision of a future America where eye-scans (called "eye-dents") allow stores like The Gap (yes, there will still be malls and stores 50 years from now) to keep track of past purchases and give recommendations on future buys (sounds like the personalized stores on Amland), air cars and jet packs give cops unprecedented mobility, and lives can be saved by the combination of mind-powers and law enforcement. And even though Minority Report is also a cautionary tale of the abuse of power, the corrosive effects of grief and revenge, Spielberg's themes of hope and love shine through in this riveting and sometimes chilling sci-fi/noir film. Like Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, Minority Report is destined to be a classic of the genre.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting, Interesting, and Original
Review: This is the best movie that takes place in the future of the last 10 years. It's original, well thought out, and just really really good. The special features are worth a look and you can watch it again and again. It's in my collection, it should be in yours.
Rating:
Summary: The Chase is Excellent but the Ending is not
Review: Sci-Fi thrillers are always good to watch. Speilberg gives us a real treat and this is certainly one of Speilberg's darkest films to date. Minority Report has more in common with Schindler's List and Blade Runner than it does with Close Encounters of the Third Kind or Jurassic Park. This is new ground for Spielberg and having bombed with A.I. it is certainly a better direction for him to move in. Tom Cruise is at the helm of this futuristic crime busting lab that is able to predict serious felonies before they happen by way of three psychics that are hooked into the system. His display of manipulating their imagination and dreams among a big glass digital screen is almost done with the same wizardry that Speilberg edits his own films. Speilberg's thoughts are on form in Minority Report and most of the movie is big and wild in a vast dreamscape. Speilberg does not leave it at that though. He manages to actually hunk in a tense action thriller full of suspense about a man on the run from his own system. It is also full of brains and creative imagery. Who can forget Cruise chasing his own eyes as they roll down the hall? "What!" you say? Yes, Speilberg has gone a bit loco here and it pays off in aces. Who can also forget the performance of Colin Farrell who actually manages to convincingly try to outperform Cruise on the screen, even though this is one of his first mainstream films. This flick is as much Farrell's as it Cruise's and boy does he make sure of that. I will not spoil the plot but it has something to do with Cruise predicting his own felony which involves a homicide of man who may have kidnapped and murdered his son. Speilberg cues lots of actions, sci-fi extraordinaires, genuine detective work and throws in a who dunnit' to cap it all off. Make no mistake about it. Minority Report is a fast fury of unstoppable set pieces to boot. Unfortunately Speilberg does not deliver on the last fifth of the film. Here he goes for double-jeopardy when maybe he should have just stayed put. The extra fifteen minutes tries to turn the chase on the bad guys instead and unfortunately never lives up to what the first 2 hours of magic gave us. In fact it is cheesy and out of kilter with the rest of the film. It feels a bit contrived and certainly is devoid of the suspense that we witnessed throughout this great sci-fi fest. What does it end up doing? You come away feeling that you should have left fifteen minutes ago. It was such a shame to have been on the edge of your seat for most of it only now to be sitting there gawking at your watch and wondering if you are looking at a reel from another movie that projectionist tagged on by accident. When all is said and done the movie is inescapable enchantment but is marred by a terrible ending whatever way you look at it and it does lower the quality of this fine film considerably.
Rating:
Summary: The Moose Hole - Praise Not in the 'Minority'
Review: The first collaboration between superstar actor Tom Cruise and famed director Steven Spielberg seems to be a film of redemption. Both had trouble with their last picture with Tom Cruise's Vanilla Sky not meeting expectations and Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence tanking after a decent opening weekend. Whether this is the case or not, both Spielberg and Cruise had read the short story by Phillip K. Dick and did everything in their power to bring the story to life on the big screen. With such a stellar combination and huge marketing buzz to boast, can anything stop this film from breaking the box office bank? How about a little alien? Surprisingly Spielberg and Cruise's dream child may get upset by a genre of film many believed to be on the oust but only long-term time will tell. For now, Minority Report goes head to head with Disney's Lilo & Stitch in a weekend period many thought would be the calm before the Independence Day storm. The story centers on a man who works for the division of pre-crime for the city of Washington D.C. The division of pre-crime is centered on the visions of the three Pre-Cogs, psychics of sorts that predict murders before they take place. It is up to the cop-like pre-crime division team led by Detective John Anderton to stop these acts before the present catches up with the future. And so far it has proven its worth with the absence of murderous acts in the nation's capitol for over six years. But when a hot shot federal agent comes in to take control of the pre-crime department at a time when the nation will vote on whether pre-crime should be allowed, Detective Anderton begins to notice flaws in the system. When he seen in a vision murdering a man he had never met before, he must find a way to change his future in less then 36 hours. The story for Minority Report is probably one of the best that has come from Hollywood in quite some time and we wouldn't expect less from Steven Spielberg. The plot is very intelligent and proves that the summer doesn't have to be just brain-dead, blow 'em up action flicks. The biggest surprise comes from the balanced flow of the film considering this was based on a short story. The cast for Minority Report is put together exceedingly well. Tom Cruise has what could be another Oscar worthy performance as Detective John Anderton. Will he get nominated? Not likely since the movie is opening too far ahead of the nominating process but it doesn't he can't be recognized for it. Cruise expresses a wide range of emotions throughout the picture and fits perfectly into the role. Colin Farrell does a pretty good job in the role of Detective Ed Witwer. The only problem is the way his character is killed off near the end of the picture. It is kind of insulting to the character but this isn't a complaint towards Farrell's performance, just toward the story. And Max Von Sydow gives an absolutely wonderful performance as Director Burgess and works well with Tom Cruise all the way to the very end. Overall, Minority Report keeps the audience guessing and running out breath all the way to the very end. The film is definitely the best suspense thriller in summer 2002 if not the best film of the year. Spielberg truly makes up for the mistakes he made in A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Tom Cruise proves to many disbelievers that he can take on such a difficult project with one of the best directors of all time. Though the film is well put together, there are some things to pick at. That would include the film's 2 hour and 25 minute time length, which seemed too long. Portions of the film seemed to really drag especially as the picture neared the end and could have been cut. Another complaint doesn't exactly involve anything that could have been done but the whole thing with Tom Cruise's eyes seemed too much at times. Some of the jokes involving the eyes got a little annoying and could have been left out of the final print. In the end, though, Minority Report achieves everything it was meant to and more. This could definitely be one of the more mature films of the year and works exceedingly well with that.
Rating:
Summary: Worth your time
Review: Most of us don't have a lot of time to throw away so it's especially important to not waste what we have on bad films. This movie makes you feel, which is what makes it worth watching, particularly if you are a parent. If you watch it you'll see what I mean.
Rating: 
Summary: All special effects, poor storyline, poor movie
Review: Rent if you must but don't waste your money on buying this one. The story is lame. Special effects are sooo unrealistic.
Very disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Return to Form
Review: The malicious sense of visceral fun and gallows humor that made Steven Speilberg's JAWS so irresistible have miraculously returned to the director after productive stints in World War II films and gentle fables. MINORITY REPORT is his best film in years, retaining the chilly futurism of AI while injecting it with a feverish energy that recalls the INDIANA JONES films. And its obsession with issues of guilt and security give it a distinctly post-9/11 sensibility. Although it's a bit long and contains one false ending too many, its sense of pace and devotion to ghoulish subplots and effects keep things humming. Speilberg's star, Tom Cruise, has been stripped of all mannerisms and affectations. His is an engaging, surprisingly moving performance. It is rare to find a film that gracefully (and somewhat effortlessly) balances action and thought, violence and meditation, adventure and philosophy. MINORITY REPORT is such a film.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best screen adaptations of Philip K. Dick
Review: The famously talented and crazy Philip K. Dick was sort of an SF Kafka. He was a writer of great power and great paranoia, who used both to question the nature of humanity and of reality itself. It's bloody hard to adapt his stories to the screen, but there have been at least two adaptations that have been wildly successful as movies in their own right: Ridley Scott's _Blade Runner_ and Paul Verhoeven's _Total Recall_. I also think well of Christian Duguay's _Screamers_, although it's not of the quality (or budget) of the other two. I've liked Tom Cruise since about 1988 or so. Before that, he seemed to be stuck playing slick, self-absorbed prettyboy hustlers. As of the excellent _Rain Man_, though, he seemed to be stretching himself, and as of _A Few Good Men_ I was persuaded that the guy had serious acting chops. He's continued since that time with a string of good movies, most of which I've enjoyed. (I especially liked _Vanilla Sky_, a remake of the excellent _Abre los Ojos_. If you've seen one, be sure to see the other sometime.) I've also liked several (though not all) of Steven Spielberg's films. He's a talented director. But I would never, never, never have thought that either one of these guys, let alone _both_ of them, would be involved in a screen adaptation of a Phil Dick short story. Nor would I have predicted that the result of such involvement would be anywhere near as successful as this one is. _Minority Report_ is one of the finest Dick adaptations I've seen. It's very nearly of the quality of _Blade Runner_. (I don't mean that it's necessarily a good translation-to-the-screen of the original story itself. Dick's original stories are all but unfilmable, and to be done 'right' they'd require an approach more like David Cronenberg's in _Naked Lunch_. I mean that it's an excellent motion picture on its own terms that successfully carries over some of the most important 'Dickian' themes and elements.) The cinematography alone is nothing short of mesmerizing. If you like, you can turn down the sound and just _watch the pretty pictures_ for two and a half hours. Every frame is an artfully constructed composition, some of them in colors that may never have existed before. The script is excellent. As I'm sure you know, Cruise plays John Anderton, the head of Washington, D.C.'s experimental Precrime Unit, which uses three precognitives ('precogs') to arrest people for crimes they were _about_ to commit. The script doesn't duck the metaphysical problems with this approach but indeed faces them head-on; that's a large part of both the point and the plot. The cast is also excellent (especially Samantha Morton and Max von Sydow). Even John Williams (of whom I am not normally a huge fan) does a nice job providing a suitable score. I won't tell you anything more on the off-chance that you haven't seen it yet. I'll just say that the thing stays on target all the way through and that some parts of it will haunt your nightmares forever afterward. Naturally the film owes a great deal to _Blade Runner_ for its overall mood, but it's also heavily indebted to Stanley Kubrick's screen adaptation of Anthony Burgess's _A Clockwork Orange_. (I assume there are other viewers out there who caught the significance of the fact that von Sydow's character is named 'Burgess'. If you have Kubrick's film on DVD, pause the newspaper-clipping portion and read the names.) _Very_ nicely executed. I don't normally review films that already have umpty-hundred reviews, but for this one I'm making an exception. If you like Dick and/or chilling near-future-dystopian SF films, you'll like this one even if you expect not to.
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