“Minority Report ” (2002)
Film Review by Adriana de Barros

I had watched the trailer for “Minority Report” thinking, “This looks like a mix between ‘Mission Impossible’ (1996) and ‘The Matrix’ (1999),” but quickly realized that the teaser scenes were misleading. In reality, this film was more along the lines of “Blade Runner” (1982), “Total Recall” (1990), and “Timecop” (1994), among other futuristic films with advanced computer effects and technological settings. Even so, “Minority Report” was still entirely unique; its storyline was original, and it was nothing like any other Steven Spielberg film in any aspect.

Tom Cruise portrays Detective John Anderton in “Minority Report” Photos © 2002 Twentieth Century Fox and Dreamworks, LLC

“Minority Report” is based on a 1954 short story by Philip K. Dick. It is set in the future (2054), in Washington, D.C., where a crime prevention system and unit have been created to catch criminals before they commit crimes. This is done through techno-psychic predictions made by three “pre-cogs,” special people who permanently live in the PreCrime Division building and foresee the future. The pre-cogs's mental images are displayed on intricate computer systems, and officers have to interpret the images to figure out where the next crime will happen before it does. The difficulty lies in that the pre-cogs are unable to offer any immediate indications; their abilities are limited to projecting rather vague images of people, places, and the amount of time left until a crime occurs. Tom Cruise portrays Detective John Anderton, the head of the PreCrime Division who is suddenly accused of a precrime himself — giving him no choice but to attempt to prove his innocence while on the run from his colleagues.

The adventure that is “Minority Report” is packed with interpretations of what our daily lives might resemble in the middle of this century. One should hope that the future will be more advanced; however, the scene which depicted the clothing store GAP had completely blown the credibility of such predictions for me. In this scene, people walk into a store where they are greeted by talking monitors, identified by name, and asked very specific, personal questions to supposedly ease their shopping experience. To me, this is blatant advertising inserted into a film in order to promote a brand name (incidentally, one that has been reported to have financial problems). At the same time, I am puzzled: Was Spielberg compensated for the apparent endorsement? Did he really need the extra money for this production? Or was this an intentional awareness note to viewers about the state of capitalism and consumerism?

One way or another, it was plain annoying to see big name companies (GAP, Aquafina, and Lexus) smacking publicity in my nose. It had the same effect as seeing a commercial for Coca-Cola or McDonalds jump onto the screen in the middle of a film, and we've seen this all too many times, for example, in Luc Besson’s “The Fifth Element” (1996). When I shared these thoughts with my friend Stuart Balcomb, he commented on Hollywood's tendency to include brand names and products in films: “The film industry now nurtures advertisers to pay huge amounts of money to conspicuously place products in movies. We are now watching two-hour commercials for the clothes, beverages, and cigarettes we see on the screen, as well as for the computer games industry (Play Station, Nintendo): ‘Tomb Raider” and “Final Fantasy” become entire movies, which serves to sell more games.” My thoughts exactly. But Spielberg, too? I hope he had another, more justified, motive for doing this in "Minority Report," but who knows?

(Top) Detective John Anderton (Tom Cruise) parks his cyber car alongside a building, which opens to his living room. (Bottom) PreCrime officers fly down to capture Detective Anderton in “Minority Report” Photos © 2002 Twentieth Century Fox and Dreamworks, LLC

The flurry of commercial endorsements, especially clothing, was just too much for me (probably because I work in fashion design). Worse yet, these were not totally plausible: If the GAP does exist 50 years from now, why was the clothing depicted so similar to that of the present? The filmmakers tried to use materials that created a more futuristic look (such as the PreCrime Unit's attire), but we also encountered Detective Anderton (Tom Cruise) buying a simple pair of striped pants and shirt which reminded me of an ensemble I saw in a store the other day. I can go on about Pepsi leaping into the film, but I am tired of complaining!

Despite all this, I thought “Minority Report” was far from trivial. The acting was first rate. Tom Cruise did a great job, and I knew he had done all of his own stunts, which is quite an amazing combo! Two other actors worth mentioning are Colin Farrell (as bad-guy Detective Danny Witwer) and Samantha Morton (as Agatha, one of the pre-cogs); this 25 year old actress did absolutely fabulous work here.

Overall, the film kept me wondering, trying to guess the finale, and it was very good. "Minority Report" is a film you shouldn't miss if you enjoy science fiction.

Note: All film images are © and property of their respective studios.