moving out... lock, stock and two streaming nostrils.
moving out... lock, stock and two streaming nostrils.
Member since:08.12.2001
Reviews:123
Members who trust:158
...this time. Unlike the thorough drubbing I gave Vanilla Sky, I think my praise of Minority Report is going to fit right in with the other good things that have been said about it, and with reason: This is a great film. Did we expect anything less from Spielberg?
Washington DC, 2054, and "pre-cognitives" can predict murder before it happens. It is a six-year project on the brink of nationalisation and Det. John Anderton (TOM CRUISE) is the best in the business at bringing in the criminals before the crime is actually committed. He's (surprise!) the golden boy, personal friend of the man in charge, Lamar Burgess (MAX VON SYDOW), and everything is going to plan until Danny Witwer (I think that's his name!) (COLIN FARRELL) appears on the scene, a federal representative eager to uncover the moral ramifications of the "pre-crime" unit and get Anderton in trouble for a certain little illegal secret of his (watch the movie). To complicate matters Anderton's home-life is disastrous, having lost a child and parted from his wife, and then the pre-cognitives, Arthur, Dashiell and Agatha (SAMANTHA MORTON) come
up with a future murder he was not expecting- one he will commit against a man he's never heard of. He's forced on the run, and needs to access information- the minority report- hidden inside Agatha that he believes may be the key to proving his innocence.
Now, I think we all know Tom Cruise is not my favourite actor. But he was good. At long last, perhaps because of Spielberg, or perhaps in spite of him, Cruise has learned the meaning of restraint, and delivers a central performance that I found gripping and emotionally involving- I cared about what happened to this man, I wanted him to get away. He works particularly well alongside Samantha Morton, who with relatively little dialogue commands the screen every time she is on it. She's creepy, there's no doubt about it, but Agatha is such a tragic character that it would be easy to be all teary-eyed and pathetic. Instead she is sometimes hard to watch, stark and frightening.
Colin Farrell is unbelievably sexy, especially in glasses (and in spite of a dodgy haircut and suspect tache). Yes, probably anyone could have played the part but he is very yummy indeed. And since this is an opinion, not a review, I have no qualms in saying that the fifth star is due almost entirely to him. Mmmmm.
The rest of the cast is pretty much what you would expect, a fatherly von Sydow and Kathryn Morris a decent Mrs. Lara Anderton (albeit repeatedly referring to herself as Laura...).
As for general comments about the film, it is original, interesting, surprisingly funny and often a little disturbing. There are some pretty unpleasant moments involving mould, projectile vomiting and eyeballs in little plastic pouches. One of the more spine-tingling moments is a very Spielbergian creation, retinal-scanning robot spiders that have a life-like fluid movement, scuttling, ducking a weaving, peering round corners and jolting people with electric sparks. Yes, if you think about it, there are gaps in the plot- people have security clearance who shouldn't, there are some questionable motives behind Farrell's character in particular, and the very end is a little pat. However, on the whole this was a bloody good murder mystery wrapped in a sci-fi coating that was acceptably plausible. No-one wears silly outfits, people still live in ordinary houses- apart from a few high-tech improvements in public transport and hologrammatic computer screens and bilboards that know your name, the society is much the same. The same products are advertised (heavily, product placement is a sci-fi burden), AmEx, Lexus, Gap. But most of the technology has an obvious mechanical source, it's not particularly mystical. Even the pre-cogs have fairly mundane roots as gifted children of drug-addicts, although there is a slightly clunky warning about how they are replacing traditional beliefs in God.
The direction is, as ever with Spielberg, practically a character itself, stunning, sweeping, and impossible to describe without sounding obnoxious or stupid. It brings out the warmth and natural tones of the ordinary Washington settings, and makes the sterility and silver-grey of the pre-crime unit settings even more unwelcoming and unnerving. That's all I'm going to say since this has to be seen to be appreciated. And the John Williams score, though a little short of the usual brilliance, is very effective alongside it.
I'd say this was the best film, alongside Spider-Man, I've seen this year, and I can't think how it could have been much better, since all films have to be imperfect! And I'm not even a sci-fi fan, and have never read anything by Philip K. Dick, who wrote the story on which this is based. Go and watch it, you know you want to.
The running time, by the way, is just over two hours- my test for if a film is too long or dull is if I look at my watch half-way through and try to figure out how much is left: didn't do it this time!
Alex :)
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
Production Year: 2004 - Science Fiction - Director: Alex Proyas - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood, James Cromwell, Chi McBride, Alan Tudyk
I've had this on video for over a year (Xmas 2002) and haven't watched it yet, so thought I'd check out the reviews - this is the second one that speaks highly of it. Question is...can I trust the author!? - I'll let you know when I've watched it. Benn
kirstymack80 29.12.2003 15:31
Hmm I didn't know Mr Farrell was in this one! You've tempted me into watching this now....! KirstyM
Soho_Black 23.11.2003 15:17
After so many good things have been written about this film, I can't believe I still haven't seen it!
Full of flawed characters and shot in grainy de-saturated colours, Steven ... more
Spielberg'sMinority Reportis futuristicfilm noirwith a far-fetched B-movie plot that's so feverishly presented the audience never gets a chance to ponder its many improbabilities...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Full of flawed characters and shot in grainy de-saturated colours, Steven ... more
Spielberg'sMinority Reportis futuristicfilm noirwith a far-fetched B-movie plot that's so feverishly presented the audience never gets a chance to ponder its many improbabilities...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Superstar Tom Cruise is at his charismatic best (Sunday Mirror) in director Steven ... more
Spielberg's terrific race against time thriller (Radio Times).For six years, Washington DC has been murder-free thanks to astounding technology which identifies killers ...
![Minority Report --Two Disc Set (DTS) [DVD] [2002]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78524935.jpg "Minority Report --Two Disc Set (DTS) [DVD] [2002]")
![Minority Report [Special Edition]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/100790967.jpg "Minority Report [Special Edition]")
Jul 5th, 2002
(Jul 9th, 2002)
very helpful by (100%):
