Rating:  -
i thought this movie was going to be a little darker than usual for spielberg,and it was.the mood of the film really helps it in the end,though.tom cruise gives another underrated performance and spielberg shows off his expensive special effects (with good reason).the entire movie is very trippy.add another good phillip k. dick adaptation to the list!
Rating:  -
"Minority Report" is a glossy, glimmery, gossamer, ultimately empty little flick: use it as a pretty screen saver on your 65" Plasma HDTV while you're waiting to watch a better film. It's the cinematic equivalent of Japanese food: looks nice, smells nice, goes down easy, and 15 minutes later you'll be hungry again.
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.
So why give this pretty, shiny, happy, but empty movie even two stars? Because it has a singularly impressive, very nasty sick joke, played (best of all) on Tom Cruise.
At one point in the flick, Detective John Anderton (Tom Cruise playing Tom Cruise) goes to a black-market eyeball surgeon for a little much-needed wetware transplant. I love Peter Stormare: I usually relish his insanity, and in "Minority Report" he's in top form. That alone earns the flick gets one star.
One extra star goes for the rotten ham sandwich in the refrigerator. Dr. Eddie leaves some milk and a fresh sandwich for his patient when he ultimately comes to his senses, then scoots: Cruise wakes up hours later, mostly blind, and staggers to the fridge for a little late night snack.
Unfortunately for Cruise, Dr. Eddie isn't a very tidy housekeeper.
See, there's a bottle of curdled milk and a rotten ham sandwich (evidently intended for an earlier patient), in close proximity to the fresh stuff. 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 futuristic 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.
JSG
Rating: -
You will see things in this movie you have never seem before. The action is done in new and interesting ways. The plot is interesting (especially for what is really an action flick) and will keep you involved all the way through.
All of the actors give very good performances and though the special effects are quite amazing they are used in the service of the story. One little example is the animated cereal box that irritates Anderton (Tom Cruise) so he chucks it across the room. The point is on Anderton not the box even though that effect is interesting. There are many many many effects like that in this movie.
While I enjoyed the movie a great deal there were a couple or three scenes that caused me real discomfort. I think (and feel free to disagree with me on this) that some things in this movie aren't for people under sixteen even though it is rated PG-13 it does have some sexual scenes that while not overt would make me uncomfortable with my 14 year old with me.
I liked the movie enough to want it to be a big success, but not enough to tell my kids to go see it. I think it is a better movie that "Sum of All Fears" which I also liked, but I would rather my kids saw that movie. This movie is an action movie, but has enough of a point to almost be a serious piece - it really is that interesting. However, it pulls back from a serious examination of the points it raises - but that isn't the point of this movie, is it?
It IS really an action movie, so let's not begrudge it its true nature. Don't get too bent out of shape at the gaps in the logic of the plot. As in all noir films, there is FUN to be had in all the movie misery and pain (which woludn't be fun in real life).
But if you love an involved and interesting story, and relish seeing things you haven't seen before this is a good movie for you. Just beware of that it will be a rough ride at a couple of spots along the way.
Rating:  -
The "pre-cog" crime thing was popular in '60s and '70s sci-fi. It's good to see it modernized in film. The plot strays far from the short story's. Yet it does, somehow, stay true to the author's typical formula and... weirdness. Great sets, acting, and special effects carry a gritty suspense story across the screen, darkly. Very enjoyable.
Rating: -
BEST MOVIE EVER!!!! I love this movie I even counted how much I watched it. I watched it 5 to 6 times infact I have to go watch it again bye.
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