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42 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Less Like "Blade Runner" Than "Total Recall"; Good SF Action, December 7, 2002
Based on P. K. Dick's short story, and blessed by sure-fire duo of director Spielberg and star Tom Crusie, "Minority Report" would fascinate many film fans, but that's not in the same way as "Blade Runner" did. It's more like "Indiana Jones" in sci-fi area; it is always moving and entertaining, but the dark world that P. K. Dick's world represented is much modified for wider audiences. But still, "Minority Report" delivers much.The year is 2054. Tom Cruise is a chief detective Anderton at Department of Precrime, where he and his team are dedicated to their mission; that is, to stop the crimes that have not happened yet. Helped by three "pre-cogs" floating in the water, they can detect the time, and persons that would be involved in the crime, and hurry to the crime scene. But what if there's a flaw in the system? What if the oracle of precogs is wrong, accusing of the wrong person? Anderton, who has a sad memory in the past (which would be revealed later in the film), could shake off the doubt even before the strong argument from the hotshot agent sent by Department of Justice, Colin Farrell, who obviously does not share Anderton's thought. But still Anderton believed that he could keep on doing his job in order to elinimate all the crimes from his district ... until he is made to see something too unbelievable. I just introduced the opening part of this long film (running time being almost 150 minutes), but you get the drift. There are great chase scenes, hauntingly realistic picture of the future world, and equally impressive acting from the leading actor Tom Cruise, whose role is not 100% heroic. But it is Spielberg as gifted storyteller who really stands out, leading us to the end of rather stretched story (and, inevitably, the story is greatly changed from the original). The vision of the future is surely impressive, but if you're looking for the dark images of "Blade Runner", you will be disappointed. Remember, it is Spielberg, and his previous work "AI", which was once attached to Kubrik, is not a good example of describing the relentlessly cold world. It is similar to "Total Recall" essentially, only without the graphic violence Arnie and Sharon had to suffer. But, beware, Tom's character too in fact suffers a very painful scene (oh, eyes). The film presents effective actions, and as I said, its visuals are impeccable, but as you know, Steven sometimes overreaches himself, and he did it again. To me, those "yoga" and "meat" and, well, as I said "eyes" should have been left in the cutting room. They are his brand of grotesque "humor", I know that, but they are also all out of tune in the final result. As for Tom Cruise's career, I can say "Minority Report" is the best so far since his film-producing partnership with Paula Wagner started, being much superior to "Mission Impossible" and its sequel. However, it is also notable that supporting roles are a bit weak and unconvincing, even with the inclusion of Max Von Sidow and Lois Smith. It may be batural result for our attentions are all supposed to go to the lead Tom himself, and in this case the story requires so. That is why the conclusion is not as strong as the impressive first half, and even his fans would admit that the latter half of the film need more polishing. The original idea about detecting future gets lost among the muddled wrap-up, and sometimes you wonder at the film's inconsistency, like; "Why can't they think of this while they can do that?" But as a whole "Minority Report" is a good work, but not as good as raving reviews of some critics suggest. I say so, because I like to see good storytelling, and you can find it there, but there is also too incredible moments and plot holes, which are barely covered by the director's great skills.
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