Minority Report (2002)
Tom Cruise, Max Von Syndow, Colin Farrel; d. Stephen Spielberg; B

Once upon the time Stephen Spielberg was synonymous with “big, fluffy, huggable teddy bear.” Or, no, more like Teddy Rupskin (remember that?), a big, fluffy mechanical teddy bear that told you a great story, just as long as you put the right tape in. He was notorious for his manipulation, criticized (or praised) for his sentimentality.

Then Stanley Kubrick happened. Or rather he didn’t happen. He stopped happening, and Spielberg, with a decades-old script lying on his shelf, decided to make Kubrick’s as yet unfilmed vision happen.

And went off from there.

Eventually he found himself at the door of Minority Report, formerly a short story by Philip K. Dick (who wrote Blade Runner, too), and made himself another deep, dark, and “dreary” sci-fi flick. Ah yes, Minority Report is indeed darker than most of his other mainstream films… On the surface. It shows us a futuristic society in which privacy is compromised for public security and advertising purposes, people are accused and imprisoned for crimes they haven’t yet committed, and three human beings are enslaved because of their ability to predict murders, and aims to pose questions on morality, predestination, and the future. The only problem is that somewhere in the duration of the film all of its questions are answered, which was a huge disappointment on my part, having fallen in love with Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence the same time last year.

Of course comparison isn’t fair - They are, after all, two different movies. A.I. was more a fractured children’s fairy tale, while Minority Report is a stylized cat and mouse thriller. But it’s awfully disappointing to follow up a thought provoking fairy tale with a stylized cat and mouse thriller. Minority Report’s not bad; no, it’s actually one of the best sci-fi suspense thrillers out there and will keep you on edge (if not a little grossed out, too). Spielberg’s newfound “dark” directorial style is so taught that he encases you in a world where you are not too sure what will happen next. Yet for all of its thrills Minority Report is still a conventional movie. Its twists have been seen before, and some of them can be guessed an hour before they occur. But that’s not completely Spielberg’s fault, though I wish he would’ve chosen more edgy material.

So there’s not much I can say in the way of plot analysis. But, as I said, Minority Report is not a bad movie. All the performances a well-done, though none of them stand out as particularly impressive (so shoot me). What’s really impressive to me are the visuals. The cinematography, though not as good as that of A.I., is outstanding, and the special effects are top-notch. I also loved the DC setting, since I live near there, so I got quite a thrill pointing out which location was which (I’m a loser).

I’d recommend it, especially to those who love sci-fi and action. It’s a thrilling movie, well done, well written, and occasionally quite witty – Just don’t go in expecting to be challenged.