Minority Report

Believe it or not, based on my love for sci-fi and Tom Cruise action movies, I have never seen Minority Report other than a few minutes here or there on TV.

After more than a handful of recommendations from friends and me having a slew of less than stellar Retro Reviews with American Psycho and Mad Max, I really needed a sure bet of something that I would at least enjoy.

In steps Minority Report, a film that has somehow escaped my movie-loving eyes for many years now despite having all the ingredients that I often love. I imagine that when Minority Report came out in 2002 it was mightily impressive coming from the always-anticipated Steven Spielberg. I remember wanting to see it when it released, I just never got around to it (a far cry from today when I can shoehorn a movie in at almost any time).

It holds up pretty well for a movie that is 12 years old now and I imagine many of the faults I have with it are from seeing similar films during that timespan that probably stole a couple things from this one.

Suffice it to say though, I enjoyed my experience with it. It was slick, kept you *mostly* interested, and presents an interesting premise. It may not be Cruise's best action work (Ghost Protocol anyone?) or Spielberg's, but it's still a competent sci fi blockbuster.

"But I love you! Why are you trying to fly away?"

Looking back on the film, my main complaints stem from its excessive runtime if I had to pick a single culprit. Minority Report does a fantastic job at reeling you into this world, but during its 145 minutes there is more than one occasion where I found myself bored and texting on my phone or looking at Facebook. Some of that stems from the comfort of watching it in my own bed, but if it REALLY had me hooked like it thinks it did, I wouldn't have dared break out my phone. I also had some issues with the plot. The near-beginning essentially tells us the plot's "climax" (often a cool technique and it works well here), but the road there is a little shaky. Some of Anderton's (Cruise) actions make sense as he will be arrested no matter what in this pre-crime world. But others just baffled me. Why even enter the building where the man you are apparently going to kill resides? Was there really enough of a reason to go back and get the Pre-Cog? There were just a few too many decisions that didn't seem logical or reasoned well enough for Cruise's smart character to take part in other than for the sake of moving the story forward.

The acting in the film is nothing special really as everyone plays their part with a bit of cliché attached. Not really a bad thing in this genre as I didn't go in expecting any Oscar performances. Cruise gives his typical Cruise performance that he does perfectly: flawed man, good at running, good at thinking, and able to provide emotion to scenes that require it. Again, not his best work, but he gets the point across effortlessly.

Not sure if I would be thrilled or terrified with a vertical highway...

The action, aside from a few poor CGI moments (which I'm sure were much stronger back in the day) is decent enough. I enjoyed many of the scenes as they had that certain "Spielberg" feeling to them, and there wasn't a lack of uniqueness as many of the scenes revolve around the future that has been created. Which, if I had to pick my favorite thing, would probably be the distant 2054 future. It's far fetched, but at the same time, it's not. Or at least maybe not if we were another hundred years out. The cars that drive themselves on vertical and horizontal roads, the efficient jetpacks, advertisements that scan your iris and personalize themselves to you...if you think about it, we probably aren't all that far off. It was well thought out, and other than the spider creatures the police use, it didn't seem incredibly out of the realm of possibility.

Lastly, I really enjoyed the premise of the film. It certainly has some immediate logic issues but hell, almost all sci-fi films do if you want to get nitpicky. I was consistently intrigued about the implications of a future-crime capability and the justice behind that, but also the pitfalls. The movie unfortunately doesn't dive too deep into these. It more focuses on how the system could be gamed, which was still interesting, I just felt like the big reveal all kind of hinged on one aspect of the Pre-Cogs that seemed rather arbitrary.

Spoiler alert: Tom Cruise wins the staring contest

As I stated earlier, Minority Report isn't the best film in Spielberg's or Cruise's filmographies (but honestly...those are two of the more impressive ones in Hollywood so that's really a compliment), but it is a solid one-time sci-fi romp for me. It actually reminds me quite a bit of Cruise's sci-fi adventure from earlier this summer, Edge of Tomorrow. Tons of fun while you watch it, but not a film that you immediately need to go out and see again.

At least as far as my Retro Reviews are concerned, it's a step back in the right direction...

CONS:

• Some decisions by Cruise's character seem odd and they are really only there to move the plot forward
• Overlong. It could have easily clocked in at under two hours
• Not sure if Anderton's flaws (i.e. the drugs) were really necessary
• Some special effects age the film
• I always place this in the CONS even though it really is a neutral point but for me, this is a one-time view

PROS:

• Cruise, as always, is a strong lead and handles the material with ease
• Some fun action scenes
• A world that seems far fetched from our own...until you really start to think about it. Well crafted
• The premise of predicting crime is fascinating and the film handles it well for the most part
• Fun, entertaining, and thought-provoking for much of the run time, all with a touch of that Spielberg magic

Retro Rath's Review Score: 8/10