The One (Minority Report (DVD))

Name: 3rd Rock Satan

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Product:	Minority Report (DVD)
Date:	05/07/04 (48 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good concept, Nice action bits

Disadvantages: Plot holes, Underdeloped characters, Drawn out a bit too much

This film was going to be big. It had the usual big concept of a future world bent on Big Brother style security but, more importantly, it had two of the biggest gunners of Hollywood side-by-side. Spielberg and Cruise. The film was bound to generate enough interest on this premise alone, nevermind about the story, after all with this incredible movie duo how could the movie fail? Reviews were all fairly positive, apart from the infamous Harry Knowles of Ain?t It Cool slamming it, probably because he didn?t receive a big payout. The opening weekend gross of $35m, however, wasn?t as big as expected with these two stars in collaboration and a total gross of around $129 is good, but not amazing for this kind of film. It seems to have suffered the same fate as A.I. in the US, shunned because of its dark undertones and it not being a mainstream summer blockbuster. Of course box office numbers don?t matter because a film needs to be good and whether this film will be looked back on in a decade or so as one of Spielberg?s greatest remains to be seen.

The year is 2054 and the ?Pre Crime Division? based in Washington DC is up for inspection after a six-month test. Success and it will be allowed to run continually if it fails then it runs the risk of being shut down. The Pre Crime Division is, as the name suggests, an organisation that can predict when a murder (and it is only murders that can be predicted) will take place. ?Pre-cogs? who are a group of humans, a mother and two sons, can see the future and predict when murders will take place. The victim and the murderers name are given as well as key images as to where the murder takes place. Detective John Anderton (Cruise) who joined after the murder of his son, leads the team of Pre Crime, and it is up to him and his colleagues to stop the murder fr
om being carried out. To make his life a bit more miserable Detective Danny Witwer (an increasingly stubbly Colin Farrell) has come to inspect the workings of the organisation and questions the ethical implications of the process, after all if the murder never takes place then no crime is committed so why send someone away? Apart from that all is running smoothly until one day Anderton discovers that he will commit a crime and its not long before Pre Crime is after him. It is up to Anderton to try and prove his (future) innocence and along the way he stumbles upon a conspiracy to send him down and a cover-up, one that he must uncover in order to survive.

The film opens with a demonstration on how the Pre-cogs predict a murder and how Anderton pieces together the information provided to stop the murder. It?s all very slick and a little tense due to the strict time limit because of it?s ?red ball? (murder of passion) status. It?s also, shall I say, a little over the top, given the relative minimal danger the murderer presents and the amount of force that the Pre Crime division gives. Still I?m not going to question their methods and I wont spoil the sequence for you by mentioning an odd little quirk that the Pre Crime people do to put the victims in danger anyway. Apart from it being slightly hyperbole the opening sequence gives a great explanation on a potentially confusing process.

All rather clever, if slightly unbelievable. However with it being set in the future you can suspend belief just for a minute. Although not essential to the film the environment must be believable enough to work for the viewer and to match the story especially if that film is set in the future. Films set in the future are a mixed bag. For every fun looking Back to the Future II there are the post apocalyptic styles of countless othe
rs all with the obligatory silver and black buildings, dark skies and cloudy weather. Luckily Spielberg doesn?t bore us with the usual. He combines both traditional buildings, such as the country house of Anderton?s wife (Kathryn Morris), Anderton?s futuristic flat, complete with voice activated lights naturally, and the dark and grubby alleyways. Indeed it is interesting to see the juxtaposition of the modern against the old and it works well and looks real. The obligatory flying cars are all around only now they have suspended motorways to hover on to add a bit of order. As said Big Brother plays a role as in any futuristic film of late and its there to blatantly see, especially in the mall scene where advertisers contact people directly there and then. This also answers the question about the funding of the $104m budget, with big names like GAP, Lexus and Coca-Cola just a few of the brands on screen it must mean big bucks went from them to the budget. All said the environment is great and it doesn?t go overboard playing with the future element the only real niggle is the use of holographic images (used as flashbacks) which are way to grainy and jumpy, it doesn?t make sense with everything else being so ?perfect?.

So with a meaty story and a believable location in place what of the rest of the movie? Much was said about the ?new role? that Cruise adapts to. This time he?s not the all-round action hero but (shock!) he?s now vulnerable! I don?t know how far Spielberg meant to stretch this role but, for me, its just too clichéd. He?s lost his son, so he joins Pre Crime in order to stop that happening to anyone else, all round perfect guy. But he?s now heavily dependant on drugs and his wife has left him, he lives alone in a ultra modern flat but its messy and he spends nights watching past memories. To say that?s vulnerable is slightly
hard to believe, yes he is displaying human characteristics but its been overdone in too many of these situations, also it doesn?t help when Cruise still has more than a bit of Ethan Hunt (Mission Impossible) in him when he displays his action man routine more than a bit in the movie. However Cruise is still a great person to play the role and, indeed, he seems fitting for that role.

This genre isn?t the best in character development. You just can?t squeeze the development with the advertised action in the trailers and wrapping up the story to a satisfying conclusion in around two hours. This is why, predictably, most of the characters are one-dimensional. The Pre Crime colleagues are probably the most underused and underdeveloped and they come across more often than not as just a bunch of faces in suits. Collin Farrell?s character is probably the best-developed character. He isn?t too goody-goody with the ethics and the film does portray a potential dark side to him. Farrell also plays the role perfectly and is totally believe both as a serious talker and also an athletic when he gets in some action, even if he does to it in a suit. Max Von Sydow (yes, The Exorcist) who plays the director of the Pre Crime organisation is woefully underused. He just isn?t padded out properly enough to make him believable. However this isn?t that much of a problem if you?re willing to forgive these potentially minor points, the actors achieve what is meant for them and that is acting well enough to please the audience. Even Samantha Morton who plays the Pre-cog Agatha is nearly as annoying as predicted when she goes into the outside world.

While this (or was) a summer blockbuster it is billed heavy on action. At least in the trailer. Action is there. Flying scenes, chasing episodes, guns, fights, leaps, more guns, explosions a
re all there. In this day in age and with Spielberg directing you would expect all these things to look real and, luckily, they do. However, at heart, this is a serious film too and there are quite long breaks in the action segments. This works well as it helps build up tension rather than leaving you wondering what the hell is happening and when it does get quiet the script is well written enough to hold interest. The pacing of the film, then, is excellent for the most part. If one criticism may be levelled at is the final act. As with A.I. the ending does seem a little overdrawn and not nearly as monumental as it really should be given what happened in the film beforehand. It seems that Spielberg took the east and mainstream option to end the film rather than be daring. It is also fairly predictable if you?ve paid attention and know these type of films you?ll guess fairly quickly who is behind all the dark goings on and the cover up.

While the ending is wrapped up well there are, as ever with these type of films, little plot holes that stand out. For example when Anderton is on the run he can still enter Pre Crime building using the eye scanners, surely he would be rejected? Also an advert on Pre Crime a woman says ?I was going to be raped? but aren?t Pre Cogs only meant to predict murder? Or are we to believe she was the going to be murdered. And why does the seemingly who force of Pre Crime go to every event? Surely Washington is a big place and more than one murder is happening at one time? But to keep biting chunks into a fairly well planned movie is a touch unfair and doesn?t detract from the entertainment value.

If you like Sci-Fi thrillers and like Spielberg, this film is a must. You would probably want to watch it again to get a bigger understanding even if it does spoil because of you knowing ?whod
unnit?. Of all the mindless and drab blockbusters that came out this year it?s nice to see that Spielberg had the guts to go down a slightly darker and murkier path. It?s not perfect and it?s no ET but it?s certainly no Hook either and for that we should be eternally grateful.

MINORITY REPORT IS

Dark
Different
Interesting

MINORITY REPORT IS NOT

Full of action
Full of developed characters
Full of hoverboards

Summary: