Cruise's Run
Minority Report is Sci-Fi for Thinkers

After Artificial Intelligence: A.I. was released last year, many people reevaluated their love for Steven Spielberg. Some found the movie too dark, too serious, for a summer Spielberg blockbuster. To those people I say, 1) blame Stanley Kubrick if you thought it was too dark, and 2) I think Minority Report will bring you back into the Spielberg camp. While an action movie at times, Minority Report is a wonderful thought-provoking film filled with surprises.

In the year 2054, murder is becoming a thing of the past, thanks in part to the work of John Anderton (Tom Cruise), a detective in Washington D.C.'s Pre-Crime division. It's his job to stop murders before they happen. While the philosophical ramifications of this are interesting, in the logic of the story there is no paradox to convicting someone of a crime they have not (but would have) committed. Anderton and his force spend most of their efforts stopping crimes of passion, those murders that are acts of spontaneity, not long-range planning.

Pre-Crime is doing so well, in fact, that there is talk of making it a national endeavor, to clean up the rest of the United States. As with any political and bureaucratic suggestion, there are those who oppose it, and a representative from the Attorney General's office (played by Colin Farrell) has come to D.C. to evaluate the program.

When Detective Anderton sees his own face on the screen, showing him that he is destined to kill a man in less than 24 hours, he must run for his life and determine the truth behind the vision of his own future.

The film, although a visual feast, is not overcrowded with special effects. Several of the settings in this futuristic world are pastoral in nature, even soothing. While Cruise's escape takes him from the dregs of the slums and back again, the audience is always aware that this is someplace else. Although the personalized advertising and amazing technology are futuristic, they are so well rooted in our own world that they don't seem that unbelievable.

Ultimately, Minority Report is a good mystery. With several twists and turns, audience members may find themselves thinking the movie is over when it has another hour to go. This isn't to say that the movie runs on too long. Every minute is a breathless anticipation of the next and will enthrall viewers.

MY RATING: 9 out of 10.

RATED: PG-13
RUN TIME: 145 min.