Review: Minority Report (Steven Spielberg, 2002)

Steven Spielberg’s science fiction thriller, Minority Report, was a film I didn’t really appreciate on my initial viewing. I found it overlong, cold, and from memory, becoming progressively more confusing. But with a near-overwhelming critical response, and the opportunity to watch it again, I thought I’d give it another chance.

Minority Report is a blend of science fiction thriller and film noir whodunit and is based on a short story, The Minority Report by Phillip K. Dick (whose story Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep was adapted into Blade Runner). The similarities between the protagonists of these two stories are quite prevalent – with both Harrison Ford’s Deckard and Tom Cruise’s John Anderton existing as agents in a special police department who are trying to keep the peace within their futuristic (2019 vs. 2054) and mechanized worlds and who stumble across a case that becomes both dangerous and personal.

Minority Report is set in the year 2054 in Washington D.C. We are introduced to Anderton, who works as an agent for “PreCrime”, a specialized police department that apprehends criminals based on foreknowledge provided by three mutated human psychics called ‘precogs’. The precogs project images of a murder and the names of the perpetrators and victims, with the agents then required to locate clues within the images and assess the whereabouts of the murder and swiftly impede. As a result the city has been murder-free for six years. 

Though Anderton is a respected leader within the bureau and admired by the Director (Max Von Sydow) he has become addicted to an illegal psychoactive drug, and has a broken family. The mysterious disappearance of his son, Sean, at a local swimming pool also prompted his wife Lara to leave him. Anderton fears Danny Witmer (Colin Farell), a Federal Department of Justice agent who visits the department to audit the system, as it is poised to progress nationwide, is aware of his addiction. During the audit, a case predicting that Anderton will murder a man named Leo Crow in less than 36 hours is pushed through the system. Shocked, and barely managing to hide the case, he flees the department, with Witmer sending a manhunt in pursuit. This prompts one of the films most exciting action sequences, as Anderton jumps between vehicles on the motorway and evades his jetpack-equipped pursuers in the urban districts of the city. 

The film then blends elements of science fiction and film noir as Anderton, believing that Witmer staged the incident to have the department shut down, or eliminate Anderton to take over himself, must uncover the origins of the precognition and prove who was responsible. His journey involves seeking the advice of Dr. Iris Hineman (Lois Smith), the leading researcher of the PreCrime technology, kidnapping Agatha (Samantha Morton), the lead pregog, having his eyes surgically replaced and successfully evading mobile scanners that infiltrate the building (another of the spectacular suspense sequences) and coming face-to-face with the man responsible for the disappearance of his son. I still think the film is too long, and there are scenes were it drags, but it is intelligent, thought provoking and features several unexpected but effective twists. 

I guess the problem I initially had with the story is that Anderton is predicted to murder a man, but without him initially discovering this prediction and fleeing, the chain of events that follow would not have led him to that point. The discovery is essential to the act transpiring. But what the film does well is recognize that this is the case and explaining why. There is a scene at the centre of the film, which is predominantly exposition, but it fills in the gaps of what has transpired, eliminates the potential implausibility of Anderton's situation and allows the film to indulge in the suspense and continue to heighten the mystery in the second half. I felt like I was kept informed about everything, which is quite a feat considering the complexity of the world.

This complexity, which continues to develop Anderton's character, and surround him with intriguing antagonists, as well as concisely lead us along through this film noir-esque mystery, is a testament to Spielberg's direction. John William's score, as always, is exceptional, while the film's unique look, the cold, desaturated images from cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (Schindler’s List) and the extraordinary visual effects bring this dazzling futuristic world to life.

Art dirctor Alex McDowell blends both elements of the 20^th Century (the Washington monuments, the suburban housing) with eye-catching otherworldly skyscrapers and vehicular devices that scoot around the city. Other incredible features of this world include a floating computer interface, which Anderton can manipulate through the use of a groovy glove mechanism and various gestures. There is sprawling advertising that addresses the viewer personally, and eye scanners that can immediately identify anyone who enters a building.

But what interested me the most about this film are the central themes of free will vs. determinism. Are our fates predetermined, and can they be avoided? Can we be sure about effects of an action, or the outcomes of a decision? Witmer makes a great observation early in the film. He declares that the individuals arrested have not actually broken any laws. Evident from the film's opening sequence, in which Anderton stops a murder seconds before it was going to be committed, we can assume that each of the people arrested would have been responsible for the predicted crime. It is revealed later, through the revelation that the precogs sometimes 'disagree', that this may not be the case. But to prove to Witmer at this point, Anderton rolls a ball toward him. He catches it before it hits the ground, with Anderton concluding that just because he caught the ball and impeded its fall does not stop the fact that it was inevitably going to fall. I do like this film, and in the career of Spielberg I guess it sits around the middle, but it's not one I will find myself readily revisiting.

My Rating: ★★★★ (B)