Rating: 
Summary: An excellent peek at a not-to-far-off future
Review: It's 50 years into the future of Washington, D.C. Cars travel up vertical highways, advertising has linked into the same retinal scanning technology that the police use and so advertising now allows for personalized ads based on our past buying. And the murder rate is zero.The latter is because of the experimental pre-crime program, about to go national because of it's unparalleled sucess. Three pre-cogs lie in a tank, seperate from the world and doped up so they don't complain about the conditions in which they live; and they use their ESP powers to feed images of murders yet to happen to the police. Criminals are arrested and imprisoned before they ever have a chance to take a life. The program is considered a success, not only because the murder rate is zero, but also because premeditation has become a thing of the past -- the populus has gotten the hint that as soon as they seriously intend to commit a crime, they'll be arrested, so the only murders left being committed seem to be crimes of passion. That is, until Thomas Anderton is pegged to be planning a murder of a man he's not even met. And Anderton is confused by the turn of events, because he's the captain of the precrime unit -- he's the one who's been putting people away for seriously wanting to commit murder. His belief has been that every person who has been put away would have committed the crime in question, not one was going to change thier mind -- but now he sees that he's the one the pre-cogs are fingering, and they've never been wrong before. Steven Speilberg really takes a turn from the happier fare he normally produces with this one, and the results are stunning. The technological advances he envisions for 50 years from now are just advanced enough that you can believe they'll be in place by the time this movie is set. The sweeping vistas of Washington include the national landmarks like the Washington Monument standing next to modern structures that only exist on film, and they blend perfectly to the point that it looks as if Speilberg jumped in a time machine with his camera, and rocketed fifty years into the future to get the footage. Also, it's a taughtly written script with lots of twists and turns. Many times, you think the movie is just about end and the killer unmasked, but then another monkey wrench and we're off in an all-new direction. For that, it's a great suspense film. Tom Cruise, Colin Ferrell and Max Von Sydow are all decent in their performances -- it's not an "I want the truth" type of role for Cruise, but he still is believable as Thomas Anderton. the film also does a great job of asking the questions about free will vs. destiny, questions that plague many theologians to this day. In a way, in the end we can get a sense of how the two can co-exist on the same playing field, as Thomas Anderton plays out his future very nearly to the way the pre-cogs predicted it. It also is fascinating in light of America's new concerns regarding the terrorist threat -- how much free will are we willing to give up to eliminate at least certain horrid crimes like murder. Is it proper to put everyone in jail who we have every reason to believe will commit a murder, even though they've yet to actually do anything illegal, if it means we completely eliminate the crime? It's a great action movie, but it also is one that will leave you with a lot of questions. And that has always been my favorite kind of film.
Rating: 
Summary: Good movie.....bad-quality DVD
Review: I agree with most of the other people who rated the content of this movie. It is a great movie, and I have it on DVD. However, the DVD quality is sub-par, especially by today's standards. This DVD looks about as grainy as DVD's you'll see of movies released ten years ago. I am not exaggerating here...and what is even more amazing is that the actual movie section of the DVD is 5.54GB, which is more than enough for excellent quality. I assume that the original filming of this movie was not all that great, although it looked fine in theaters. Oh well...I would give the DVD 5 stars if it wasn't for its poor quality.
Rating: 
Summary: Dumbed down Sci-Fi, Easily Digestable by the Masses
Review: This movie was predictable, boring and technically flawed. The short story this movie is based on was written by the same person who wrote the story used in the movie Bladerunner. And yes, the basic premise is fascinating, too bad the movie couldn't build upon this base premise in a meaningful or interesting way. Instead they dove head first into the world of shock and cheese. However, unlike Bladerunner, this movie came off as a typical piece of formulaic hollywood dribble. Shame on the screenplay writer and director for this cinematic atrocity. Quite honestly, the positive critical reviews this movie received still, to this day, puzzle me. It is really a shame, because there was a ton of potential here, not to mention money spent to end up with such a flash-in-the-pan stinker. If you want a GREAT futuristic thinker, then check out Vanilla Sky.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: A wonderfully made storyline and plot, with unexpected parts. Very cool movie.
Rating:
Summary: Very dull and predictable
Review: This was a highly anticipated movie for me turned out to be very very dull and very very predictable. Very much along a typical Spielberg's recipy: great idea converted to be available for any type of customers, a perfect mediocricity. Nothing exciting. Not to mention this very grainy filming techique which makes it unpleasant to watch.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Movie
Review: I was really impressed by this movie. The story was interesting and I was at the edge of my seat the whole movie. The idea of stopping a crime before it happens, makes you wonder. If you liked the 6th Day, you'll probably like this. This movie is highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Very skillfully made, but not without faults
Review: Once again, Steven Spielberg has given us a very enjoyable, skillfully made science fiction film. Tom Cruise plays a policeman in the "precrime" division, which uses the visions of "precognitives" to see murders that will be committed in the near future. Because many murders are crimes of passion, the precrime cops often have little time in stopping the crimes, leading to a very exciting first act where we see Cruise and his stormtroopers in action. Unfortunately, the next vision of the precogs shows Cruise murdering someone he's never heard of, and we're off on a vaguely Hitchcockian chase where Cruise attempts to figure out who his victim is and why he will kill him, while trying to avoid his former colleagues. There are some great action set-pieces in the film, and they are obviously stuntmen/wire stunts, not CGI, which have a startlingly realistic look compared to most recent action films. (Unfortunately, when CGI is later used, it looks all the more silly.) All five of the lead characters are well-played. And yet.... There are some plot inconsistencies (and not just the inevitable time paradoxes). The CGI "spiders" that the precrime cops use to investigate a building are logically impossible (this is the problem with CGI - if you built a physical model, it would be obvious that a 3-legged creature with pin-point "feet" could not balance on two of these points and lift a floor vent without toppling over). The explanation of the origin of the precogs is laughable (sort of like Spiderman's powers originating from a radioactive spider bite). The whole precrime system MUST be a unconsitutional! (jailing people for crimes they haven't actually committed or even attempted) These problems would be forgivable in Star Wars or A.I. because they don't try to be "realistic" in terms of foreseeable technology. In hard science fiction, these errors are grating and detract from the enjoyment of the film - if you're going to use a leap of logic, for heaven's sake don't try to explain it, that makes it worse! Having said that, for the most part, the future technology is quite realistic, especially the advertising system - the billboards do a retina scan and tailor the ad to the observer. Very neat (and frightening!). This brings us to the second, most serious problem of the film, and that's the cimematography. The colour is pretty much bleached out to nothingness. Everyone looks like a Borg from Star Trek - white faces, grey outfits, etc. People claim it looks gritty - it absolutely does not! Instead, everything looks cold and sterile, like the inside of an operating room. It worked in Private Ryan, it certainly does not work here (as it didn't work in Gladiator). Think about this film crossed with Blade Runner's visuals and you can imagine how much better Minority Report could have been. Finally - the DVD edition. There is little here that warrents a second disc. Sure, there are lots of little extras, but many of them are not interesting or useful. Too often they act like a trailer for the film, not an explanation of whatever the mini-doc is supposed to be about. However, fans of the film will find a number of little gems in these extras, it's too bad they are often buried in the treacle.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good, though a little Overrated
Review: This is one cool-looking movie with a great premise. Tom Cruise is perfect for the part of an intense cop in a future somewhat lacking in humanity, and Colin Ferrell is excellent as the upstart looking to prove him guilty of crimes he hasn't (yet) committed. The action is unusually memorable, including a fight in an automated Lexus plant, and there are half a dozen set-piece scenes that are just jaw-dropping in conception and orchestration. The movie is great in its details, too; you will never forget the throw-away line "Don't go home. He knows."
However, Minority Report seems to prompt a lot of people to say "It really makes you think." No, it doesn't. The movie "Citizen Kane" makes you think. "Raging Bull" makes you think. Even "12 Monkeys," "Fight Club," & "Memento" do, but "Minority Report" never pauses to reflect on the ideas it throws into play; they don't develop, they just get used up as plot devices and then quickly left behind, which is disappointing, given how interesting they could be. In fact, the director doesn't even trust that you can understand the plot, because near the end he has Tom Cruise recap it all with a very annoying voiceover. Furthermore, the movie is awkwardly structured; the emotional payoff occurs long before the end, so everything after that moment feels sort of vaguely purposed.
Absolutely, enjoy this movie, but don't expect anything more than an exceptionally fun ride.
Rating:
Summary: If only Spielberg would channel Kubrick for an entire film.
Review: Philip K. Dick may very well be Hollywood's favorite science fiction writer. By now, you're probably familiar with the litany of movies based on his short fiction-"Blade Runner," "Scanners," "Total Recall." And this. Even Spielberg apparently finds inspiration in the man's ideas. Too bad Dick is too dead to reap the rewards. I understand he wasn't quite so successful when he was alive. While Philip K. Dick was a writer of science fiction, with rare exceptions ("2001," "Solaris," "Gattaca," "The Truman Show") the film industry is unable to make anything other than sci-fi. Which is to say, they make the same movies they always make, while simply co-opting the more superficial science fictional tropes. "Minority Report" is not an exception. This is a Steven Spielberg-directed thriller first; it is science fiction second. The premise is that three clairvoyants have been found who see, in their dreams, murders before they happen. Their abilities, and to a significant degree their humanity, have been co-opted by a corporation called "Pre-Crime," which in a groundbreaking experiment has been allowed to preempt these murders in the Washington, D.C. area for the past several years. The result: many hundreds, if not thousands, of would-be murderers placed in some sort of deep-freeze and thus removed from society-a society in which the act of murder is a distant memory. Tom Cruise's character is the most senior of Pre-Crime's enforcers, an expert at reading clues and evidence from the clairvoyants' dreams and at dropping in on the murder scene, preferably (for cinematic purposes) at the last minute, to stop the dastardly act from occurring. He is presented with something of a problem, however, when the latest prediction has him clearly portrayed as the murderer. He goes on the run, then on a quest to clear himself and get to the bottom of his own mystery. It's a great idea, worthy of Philip K. Dick. At times, it's executed brilliantly. Spielberg teamed up with Stanley Kubrick in the preparations for filming "A.I.," and in that film as well as this one the Kubrickian influence on Spielberg's style has been obvious and welcome. The first third or so of "Minority Report" is almost like a Kubrick film without the inhuman bleakness; it's Kubrick with sympathetic characters. One wishes Spielberg could stick with it, but he can't. There has to be a ridiculous, digitally-enhanced chase scene to kick things into a higher gear--and really, is there anyone who is actually excited by this sort of "action" anymore? I was absolutely bored by it. There has to be an even more ridiculous scene where one of the clairvoyants nearly channels Cruise's dead son (although her contribution to another chase scene is more entertaining). Pre-Crime presents a potentially heady brew of issues for consideration: how can someone be guilty of a pre-empted murder? Is it possible that they might have chosen not to commit their intended offense? What is the legal basis for the dehumanizing of the clairvoyants, who are essentially robbed of their lives? The characters of Cruise and Colin Farrell briefly debate such matters, but neither delves very deeply. Such superficial treatment leaves some gaping holes in the basic premise of the film-after all, the success of Pre-Crime in averting the predicted murders is proof that what is foretold is not certain to occur, but no one in the film seems to be aware of this rather obvious argument. Without giving too much away, the final choice presented in the film's climactic scene, while genuine, is brought about in a ridiculous way, with Cruise's character potentially sacrificing himself in a way no real person would dare. This makes for a hollow ending. Kubrick's influence apparently cannot overcome Spielberg's intense need to pander, to glue on a sticky-sweet ending no matter how much weaker the film may be as a result (a tendency that was just as egregious in "A.I.") "Minority Report" has an interesting premise and some fine execution, but in the end it's another Spielberg film. You know what you're getting into.
Rating:
Summary: So good
Review: Yes, the movie's a little long, but it's been a while since I've seen a sci-fi futuristic movie that kept me guessing for so long. I'm not saying it's the best movie ever, but if you're looking for a way to pass a lazy evening, this'll keep you way happy. There's enough plot twists and action scenes to keep anyone happy.
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