Subject: Review: Minority Report (2002)

From: Shannon Patrick Sullivan <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 18:03:36 -0000

MINORITY REPORT (2002) / *** 1/2

Directed by Steven Spielberg. Screenplay by Scott Frank and Jon Cohen,
based on the short story by Philip K Dick. Starring Tom Cruise, Colin 
Farrell, Max von Sydow. Running time: 145 minutes. Rated AA for violent
scenes by the MFCB. Reviewed on June 26th, 2002.

By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN

Synopsis: John Anderton (Cruise) runs Pre-Crime, a police division in 
Washington DC devised by Anderton's boss, Lamar Burgess (von Sydow), which 
uses the talents of three "Precognitives" to foresee murders before they 
occur. Pre-Crime is being considered for national implementation, which 
attracts the attention of national security investigator Witwer (Farrell). 
Soon thereafter, Anderton finds himself accused of an imminent homicide. 
He goes on the run to discover whether there is something wrong with 
Pre-Crime -- or whether he will indeed commit the crime that has been 
foretold.

Review: "Minority Report" feels like a movie from fifty years ago, made 
fifty years from now. The story is classic film noir, with a flawed 
protagonist struggling for redemption while events inexorably pushing him 
toward a grim fate. Indeed, Spielberg lenses the film as though it were 
monochrome, using colour only for maximum effect. Many scenes are painted 
in grainy, dispassionate hues -- which makes the vibrant sequences 
depicting the chaotic society of the mid-twenty-first century all the more 
dazzling and disorientating. Surprisingly, this clash of old style and 
future setting works brilliantly, no doubt aided by the fact that 
Spielberg extrapolates naturally from today's technology rather than 
departing on wild flights of fancy. Cruise slips effortlessly into this 
environment, presenting a character who is heroic without ever losing his 
desperate edge. There are depths to John Anderton, and even by the movie's 
end, we are left with the impression that we have only plumbed the 
shallows. The script by Frank and Cohen works well as both a summer action 
picture and a more philosophical reflection on the nature of crime. Too 
much time is spent on scenes of Anderton simply running away from his 
pursuers, but even here there is invention and excitement. "Minority 
Report" is Spielberg's most mature science-fiction effort to date.

Copyright © 2002 Shannon Patrick Sullivan.
Archived at The Popcorn Gallery,
  http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies.html

  |     Shannon Patrick Sullivan    |         [email-masked]          |       
  +---------------------------------+---------------------------------+
/  Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time (Travel)   go.to/drwho-history  \
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X-RT-RatingText: 3.5/4