Minority Report

Minority Report (2002)

Image from IMDB

There was something about Minority Report back when it came out that didn’t quite work for me. I didn’t hate the movie, but I wouldn’t exactly say I liked it that much either. Thinking back, I think the problem was that I found Tom Cruise’s John Anderton pretty unlikeable. But, watching it now as an adult, I think that’s one of the more interesting aspects of the film. It’s funny how that works. The movie hasn’t changed, but I have.

Minority Report is about a future where murder can be detected before it’s committed. John Anderton (Cruise) works for Precrime, whose job it is to arrest murderers before they commit the act thanks to information handed to them by the precogs. But, when Anderton himself is envisioned to commit murder, his faith in the system crumbles, and he sets about trying to clear his name before he commits the act.

Minority Report has a very interesting premise, as you’d imagine it would have being based on the works of Philip K. Dick. Stopping murder before it happens sounds like a utopian concept, but nothing about this story feels that way. You can’t help but wonder how many innocent people are behind bars (or whatever that prison looking thing is in this movie) It really is a fascinating idea, and I feel like they explore it well because I hate everything about the Minority Report world, which really is ultimately the thing I like most about the movie.

And within Cruise’s character there’s something very paradoxical about trying to prevent something happening to prove you’re innocent, while at the same time that proves that the system you thoroughly believe in isn’t actually one-hundred percent accurate. That’s a really strong theme. To prove his innocence, Anderton must destroy the very institution he wholeheartedly believes in.

I like that Anderton is a complex character too. He’s a drug addict who’s grieving over the lost of his dead son. He’s someone who unconditionally believes in precrime, but has he or any of those involved actually ever really questioned it. I kind of hated his character when I was younger because of his convictions, but as mentioned, now that’s what makes the film interesting. Just how many possibly innocent lives has he destroyed?

Both Cruise and Colin Farrell play their roles well, while Samantha Morton and Max Von Sydow both excel in their supporting roles. The action is decent, but does rely at times on that early two-thousands CGI which can look ropey. I wasn’t a fan of the whole jetpack scene, but it is what it is.

What I did love however was the eye scene, despite really not liking seeing stuff with eyes. I thought the whole story and setup with Anderton and Peter Stormare’s Dr Solomon was great, and the grimy dirty surgery room only added to the ‘get the fuck out of there’ vibe. From the moment he entered the room, to the spiders checking the residents, that sequence had me.

I think it’s fair to say my opinion of the movie has somewhat changed between being twenty years older, and the shit we have hitting the cinema’s now. I still think the movie lacks a little something which I can’t quite put my finger on, but the world building is interesting and the story and morals are well told. It’s a good film that i’d recommend, but I still wanted a tiny bit more from it. It is starting to win me over though. Maybe next watch i’ll be thoroughly sold.