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Based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, the author of Blade Runner, Minority Report follows the head of the pre-crime unit, John Anderton, in his race against the clock as he tries to prove his innocence when accused of murder. The unit uses the visions of future murders from three children—the pre-cogs—who, following genetic engineering, are able to see the future. While the essence of Dick's work unquestionably contributes to the film's success, the bet on such an adaptation was far from being won in advance. The recent failure of Impostor was not a good omen while the alliance of two Hollywood heavyweights, Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise, meant a fear for extreme commercial exploitation. While leaving their usual tics behind to concentrate on the restitution of the book's atmosphere, they manage to create a surprisingly dark and intriguing film. Minority Report certainly doesn't have the allegorical dimension of Blade Runner, rather it approaches Robocop in terms of its denunciation of a legal system that's gone too far. Spielberg called upon a team of futurists in order to create a more realistic projection of the future. The result is a society where the individual is constant prey to personalized marketing, a process already underway on the Internet that allows, incidentally, product placement throughout the film. As a whole, this world of tomorrow resembles the future expressed in other films like Blade Runner, Metropolis, The Fifth Element and A.I. Spielberg offers a film of purified aesthetics in desaturated tones; an accomplished stylistic approach that fully utilizes the potential of certain elements that were used without conviction in A.I and Saving Private Ryan. The action scenes are also successful and certain sequences show a great imagination, for example the aerial view of the apartment building where John undergoes eye surgery. Minority Report has the format of an academic thriller where the pursued hero tries to prove his innocence. However the ramifications of the plot are sophisticated enough to bring a cerebral dimension to the film. As Dick's work is rather complex, this adaptation suffers from being a bit too sophisticated, as certain situation reversals are far-fetched. Minority Report stretches over in length the fault falls partly on the writers who believed that developing a subplot around the death of John's son would be a good thing. This superfluous story not only lengthens the film unnecessarily but also abounds with stereotypes. Some surprises are foreseeable while the film offers some coarse clues regarding the true faces of the characters (for example, one thinks of the medallion of the ex-priest turned cop). Spielberg conceived Minority Report as a film noir for adults, but regretfully a happy ending as well as the careful avoidance of an R rating spoils that tone. The cast is solid. Cruise knew to leave his excessive acting in the closet while supporting roles by Colin Farrell (Tigerland), Max von Sydow and Samantha Morton support the plot well. Though Minority Report is not a masterpiece, the rigor with which the director and actors attack the project while avoiding the multiple traps for a production of this size makes for an ambitious and striking film.
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