Minority Report -- PG-13
Starring: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Showing: Showplace West 12
Many critics have hailed Steven Spielberg's latest opus, "Minority Report" as his finest piece of action celluloid since "Raiders of the Lost Ark." First off, the flick isn't action oriented -- it's much more like a sci-fi tinged film noir. Secondly, "the Beard" has churned out better works in wake of his 1981 juggernaut -- both "Indiana Jones" sequels, "Jurassic Park" and "Saving Private Ryan" are all far superior to this "Report."
Based on the short story by Philip K. Dick (whose other works spurred "Blade Runner" and "Total Recall"), "Minority Report" tells the story of police chief John Anderton (Tom Cruise). He controls a shady, yet successful law enforcement agency known as the Department of Pre-Crime in our nation's capital circa 2054, where there hasn't been a murder committed in six years.
The unit is devised around three precognitive humans -- the most talented of which is a young woman named Agatha (Samantha Morton). These beings drift about a floatation tank with their brains linked to computers. They have the uncanny ability to see murders before they actually take place.
Soon problems arise. A bureaucratic Justice Department twit by the name of Danny Witwer (Colin Farrell) circles the division looking for chinks in the armor prior to its implementation on a national level. And far more pressing, the Pre-Cogs have fingered Anderton for a murder, sending him on a non-stop chase that provides the film with much of its narrative.
The flick is eerily prophetic. The tactics used aren't so dissimilar to those implemented by our government post Sept. 11 -- just far more fantastical. This works in favor of "Minority Report" by giving the film a heightened sense of immediacy -- it's just not enough.
Spielberg is a masterful filmmaker who is very much in control of his craft, perhaps too much. Spielberg again seems to be working from a template derived from his deceased mentor, director Stanley Kubrick. "Minority Report" is a work that's more akin to "A.I." than any of his other films. Shot by Spielberg's longtime cinematographer, Janusz Kaminski, "Minority Report" echoes a cool, metallic blue. This all culminates in a film where technology resonates as an omnipresent force and human emotion is scant.
"Minority Report" isn't a bad film, just an odd, disjointed and aesthetically beautiful one. It's not a visceral roller coaster ride on par with "Spider-Man," "Attack of the Clones" or even Matt Damon's somewhat similarly themed espionage thriller "The Bourne Identity." Nor is it as emotionally captivating as Christopher Nolan's, "Insomnia." Quite simply, it's a dark, little thriller with great marquee value.
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