Minority Report (Widescreen Edition)

Rating:
Summary: The Eyes have it! Rotten Ham Sandwich gets 3 STARS!
Review: "Minority Report" is a glossy, glimmery, gossamer little flick: use it as a pretty screen saver on your 65" Plasma HDTV while you're waiting to watch a better film. There is, however, a slight catch.

Like uber-Filmmeister Steven Spielberg's other mega-flop "A.I.", "Minority Report" has already been done better, faster, smarter, and wiser: see "Blade Runner" for the soul-crushing dilemma of whether it's moral to use a machine to do things no human would do, or even "Kafka" for an incisive study into the guts of a society that would judge a victim guilty before a crime even occurs.

But let's dig down into the why this film gets a 3-star rating and move very quickly on: Detective John Anderton (Tom Cruise, playing a competent if vexed Tom Cruise) goes to a black-market surgeon for a little much-needed wetware transplant. Because I'm magnanimous, and because I love Peter Stormare and relish every little gig the big guy gets, I give Stormare's warped, cracked, but downright competent role as Dr. Solomon Eddie TWO STARS! Really, Stormare made "Minority Report" for me, and that's saying a lot. I couldn't have gotten through this turgid thing without him.

One extra star goes for the rotten ham sandwich in the refrigerator. Tom Cruise can't say Dr. Eddie didn't warn him in advance, and besides, the copper had it coming. Moral: before eating the unidentified and sight-unseen ham sandwich in the underground surgeon's refrigerator, always do a smell-test.

Where were we? Ah yes: the soul-crushing ethical dilemma is the new Department of Pre-Crime with its Amazing Young Men (and Woman) in their Psycho-tropic Fluid Machine, who can aid law enforcement in tracking down crime before it actually occurs! Call John Ashcroft!

But wait a minute---you're not here to spend two hours wrestling with a soul-crushing moral and ethical dilemma concerning civil rights and free will, are you? Naw, man---you're here to see Tom Cruise and high-tech shiny things! And in that department "Minority Report" fulfills in spades. It's what would happen if "Crate & Barrel" had a movie for a twin sister.

Tom Cruise does is spot-on in his one-note role as the obsessive Pre-Crime honcho Jon Anderton, and fingers those psych-profiles like a pro. Samantha Morton (Agatha) is spot-on in her one-note role as the pool-bound female psy-op, and proves girls just wanna have fun. Colin Farrel (Detective Witwer) is spot-on in his one-note role as the obsessive detective. Max Von Sydow (Director Burgess) is spot-on in his one-note role as the cackling founder of Pre-Crime with a deep dark secret (and a ridiculous plot twist). Neal McDonough (Officer Fletcher), as usual, gets no respect in his role as a tough-as-nails soldier, but does get a wild ride up to the top of the city with Tom Cruise, which is more than most can say. The Lexus Mark-12 is spot-on in its one-note role as the futuristic Lexus Mark-12.

Again, it looks really pretty on a high-end plasma TV, and it's got Pete Stormare and a rotten ham-sandwich. You could do worse with your two hours.

Rating:
Summary: Classic Sci-Fi From Spielberg
Review: Roger Ebert called this the best film of 2002 and I am hard-pressed to disagree. Steven Spielberg after the apparent failure of "A.I."(not in my book) delved right back into the sci-fi genre. Freed from having to make a film that had to live up to the expectations of the late Stanley Kubrick, Spielberg made a film that contained his own personal vision but in some ways is informed by the lessons he learned from Kubrick. There is a certain cynicism about the future that Spielberg imagines but ultimately there is room for optimism. The film concerns a future where crime is virtually eliminated through the use of "pre-cogs", drug-induced seers of the future who foretell crime before it is actually committed. Tom Cruise plays Anderton, head of the pre-cog unit who is also grappling with the loss of his young son and a separation from his wife. Things are going swimmingly for Anderton until he is implicated in a future crime and it's his time to run. The themes in this film resonate such as the morality of using technology to violate one's civil rights for crimes you may or may not commit. The film is also a slam-bang action film that will entertain even if you don't feel like dealing with heavy themes. The cinematography, art direction, and special effects are all top-notch. Cruise is excellent and is equalled by Samantha Morton, who plays one of the pre-cogs, Agatha. There is a great supporting cast here with Max von Sydow, Colin Farrell, and Kathryn Morris. The story has twists and turns that make sense and result in a satisfying conclusion. "Minority Report" definitely ranks as one of Spielberg's crowning achievements.

Rating:
Summary: Best Film of 2002!
Review: I have to agree with Ebert. This is the best film of 2002. Steven Spielberg took us farther into film noir than ever before, and we are left with one of his best works ever. Tom Cruise stars in this film as John Anderton, the chief of the police force unit, "Precrime", who use the psychic premonitions of three teenagers, "precogs" to stop murders before they happen. This film is wonderfully shot through Spielberg's imagination of what the D.C. area would look like in 2054, and surpasses Jaws for the most frightening Spielberg moment ever with the scene involving Anderton and the "precog" Agatha, played superbly by Samantha Morton. The film's strongest point may not even be how well it dabbles with the elements of a psychological thriller, but how much this film doesn't seem like it's possibilities are too far off. Great flick!

Rating:
Summary: One of Spielberg's Best
Review: I was stunned when I first saw this film in the theater, and enjoy it immensely every time I pop in the DVD. Visually captivating with its grainy footage, washed out colors, and delightful visual motifs, "Minority Report" makes up for any plot holes with sheer visual brilliance. Next to "Schlindler's List," perhaps Spielberg's greatest achievement.