Father Geek here with a review from a long time contributor to our site from London. Be forewarned it does contain what some of you may consider SPOILERS, if you don't want to KNOW, then stop reading. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Now here's Mr. Babbage...

I caught a London MINORITY REPORT screening yesterday. This is my hastily cobbled together review:

MINORITY REPORT

Cruise and Spielberg. The pairing of one of the most celebrated directors of our time with the most consistently bankable movie icon is at least, a mouth-watering proposition and at best, box office nirvana. I was lucky enough to catch a screening of MINORITY REPORT at the mighty Odeon Leicester Square in London. My immediate take? Good, at times superb, occasionally bordering on the absurd.

Quick plot overview: Columbia State in 2054 has eliminated murder. It's done this by employing the use of three 'Precogs' - three people who can see the massive disturbances in the fabric of metaphysics (I shit you not!) created by murder, before the crimes actually take place. Chief John Anderton (the Cruiser) runs the action end of the organisation, piecing together the visions of the Precogs using his own deductive powers combined with some cool ass tech, tracking down the perpetrators of the crimes before they actually occur.

Murder has been all but eliminated and now the Department of Justice wants to muscle in on the action, taking the program nationwide. Enter Detective Ed Witwer (Colin Farrell, the soon-to-be Bullseye in the new DAREDEVIL movie if I'm not mistaken), sent to find the flaws in the perfect program.

Ironically it's Anderton who finds the flaw - the Minority Report. This is where the visions of the three Precogs differ. Turns out that the bureaucracy is in place to eliminate the differing vision. Someone is eliminating the discrepancies. Innocent people are being punished for crimes they might not have committed. The infallible system suddenly becomes fallible. Once Anderton discovers this, he's rocked by another revelation. The Precogs foresee a pre-meditated murder with Anderton as the trigger man. Is it a set-up by those responsible? Or it is a true vision of the future? Or is it both?

Now the movie turns into a 21st century rendition of THE FUGITIVE as Witwer takes over the Precrime division and Anderton finds himself on the run, Richard Kimble-style. Anderton has to prove that the Minority Reports are true, and hope to god that such a report exists for his own future since he has no wish to become a murderer. And so the chase begins.

There is so much to compliment about this movie. The vision of the future, in terms of ideas, technology and even the cinematography itself is virtually impeccable. The plot is complex (the précis above still omits major story arcs within the movie) but is carried off effortlessly and you never feel that the story leaves you behind. The movie is packed with action sequences, yet hardly ever are they the actual focus of the film. Unlike certain movies, the film is built around the plot rather than the special effects as opposed to vice versa. MINORITY REPORT creates its own look, its own vision, and what has been achieved is spectacular.

But what Minority Report isn't, is an action movie. Yes there are a couple of stand-out action sequences, but any one expecting a futuristic MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE is missing the point. I came away with far more of a BLDE RUNNER vibe than anything else.

So it's good yeah? Hmmmmmmmm. well, yes. I enjoyed it. Performances are difficult to fault (even though Cruise is once again playing exactly the same role as he always does), the plot has twists aplenty and isn't too predictable, the special effects and the overall vision are superb.

But, the movie lacks a soul, it lacks charisma, you're more interested in events unfolding rather than immersed and invested in them. And what astounded me was the occasional glaring descent into slapstick and one colossal hole in the plot, that simply cannot be forgiven. In true MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE style, Anderton has to break back into the Precrime unit he's trying to escape from and gather Minority Report evidence. The way he does it beggars belief. And the same plot device is used later on too as another Precrime classified building is broken into. Don't the bad guys ever learn?!? It appears not. It's impossible to buy it.

Overall? This is an enjoyable movie with an outstanding vision of the future, but the holes in the plot diminish the credibility of the story and the slapstick moments almost serve to defile the integrity of the greater whole. Cruise is Cruise (again) and in terms of direction and pacing, this is very accomplished stuff. It's like the Spielberg that brought us AI is taking on the BLADE RUNNER era Ridley Scott and he definitely gives a good account of himself.

Good stuff, far more challenging than the average blockbuster, and you find yourself coming out of the theatre pondering and thoughtful as opposed to the elation you may have felt after ATTACK OF THE CLONES or SPIDER-MAN.

--- Mr Babbage

*** SPOILERS

Things about MINORITY REPORT which threaten to ruin the entire movie:

Everyone in the future is identified with retina scans. Anderton evades capture by having an eye transplant (don't worry, this bit is very well handled) but keeps his eyes in order to use their retina scan to get back into the Precrime building. You what? He's a fugitive for god's sake! How can he still have access? Total bollocks. And then his eye is used to access another super-sensitive Precrime building later on even though the bad guys are 100% aware of how he did it last time. Unbelievable.

And the slapstick comes into the equation when Anderton drops his eyes and they roll down a staircase like marbles! The audience couldn't believe what they were seeing.

And another priceless moment. Anderton are Witwer are battling hand to hand in a Lexus car production line. Witwer evades the robotic production machines, but Anderton doesn't and finds himself facing certain death as a futuristic car is built around him from the ground up. Eventually the car is complete, surrounded by gun-toting Precrime cops ready to blast the shit out of it. And guess what? Cruise just gets up on the seat, totally unharmed, looks around at the cops and drives off!!!! Absolutely unbelievable.

--- Mr. Babbage