Minority Report (June 24/02)

With Minority Report, Steven Spielberg returns to the futuristic terrain he explored in last year's A.I. But in attempting to craft a film that presumably was meant to appeal to a wider audience than that film, Spielberg's made one of his most uneven movies to date.

The year is 2054, and the state of Washington is essentially crime free due to a radical new method of busting perps: they're arrested before they actually do anything. A relatively new police division, known as Pre Crime, relies on the services of three "precogs" to inform them of impending murders. These precogs - consisting of three genetically altered psychics - spend their days floating in a pool of nutrients, apparently searching the thoughts of every citizen in the area. Tom Cruise plays John Anderton, a respected Pre Crime cop who finds motivation in ensuring that what happened to his murdered son doesn't happen to anyone else. Everything is fine and dandy, until the precogs forsee the murder of a man by none other than Anderton himself. Now, like the accused before him, Anderton is forced to go on the run and uncover the truth about why he was fingered.

Unlike the majority of futuristic flicks, Minority Report presents a future that's not only completely original, but seems plausible. Aside from the whole notion of Pre Crime, aspects of this society seem like the natural evolution of where we are now (example: cereal boxes come alive with cartoons once you handle them) and Spielberg treats this world as though it's the present. We're never treated to loving slow-motion shots of the vast futuristic horizon; rather, the movie plays out as though it could be occuring in any time period. When you get right down to it, Minority Report is a film noir - complete with shadowy cinematography. Shot by Spielberg regular Janusz Kiminski (who wisely abandoned his fledgling directorial career after the horrid Lost Souls), the movie has that same hazy and dark look that made the film noir genre famous.

The technology in Minority Report is just as fascinating as you'd expect from those ever-present commercials and trailers. Those bizarre robotic spiders that featured heavily in the marketing of the film are obviously really cool to look at, but they also serve a purpose in the film that doesn't feel forced. Likewise, the various other facets that make up this futuristic society are integrated into the film pretty seamlessly. For example, there's a sequence in which Cruise's character is walking through a promenade of some sort, and as he passes various ads, they address him directly. I have no idea how that sort of technology would work, but it seemed plausible. The Pre Crime facility itself looks like a contemporary police station, except it's adorned with expectedly wild-looking advancements. The method by which the precogs present their findings is decidedly low-tech, but still, the whole look of the flick is easily the best thing about it.

The movie can easily be broken down into three separate but distinctive parts: the introduction of this world and the whole notion of Pre Crime, Anderton's realization that he's going to be arrested for murder and the investigation/getaway that ensues, and a third act that goes on far longer than it should and throws in a whole conspiracy angle that's not really necessary. The first 2/3rds of the flick are astounding - Spielberg's certainly at the top of his game and Cruise has never been more compelling - but that last half hour or so is completely and utterly superfluous. There comes a point in the film where it could logically conclude (with a five minute epilogue, of course), but the film just keeps chugging along for another 30 minutes - throwing in an epic conspiracy and an obligatory happy ending for Cruise's character. Whereas I had previously been completely engrossed by the flick, during that time period I just couldn't get back into it. It was a struggle to pay close enough attention to follow the myriad of revelations that came fast and furious, and truth be told, it was even harder to care.

Having said that, there is a lot worth recommending about Minority Report, most notably the fantastic futuristic environment created by Spielberg. Had it been trimmed substantially, I've no doubt it would have been one of the best flicks of the year. As it stands, it's still excellent summer fodder.