Reviews of "Minority Report" (2002)

Roger Ebert, in a review published in the Chicago Sun-Times on June 21, 2002

At a time when movies think they have to choose between action and ideas, Steven Spielberg's "Minority Report" is a triumph--a film that works on our minds and our emotions. It is a thriller and a human story, a movie of ideas that's also a whodunit. Here is a master filmmaker at the top of his form, working with a star, Tom Cruise, who generates complex human feelings even while playing an action hero . . .

American movies are in the midst of a transition period. Some directors place their trust in technology. Spielberg, who is a master of technology, trusts only story and character, and then uses everything else as a workman uses his tools. He makes "Minority Report" with the new technology; other directors seem to be trying to make their movies from it. This film is such a virtuoso high-wire act, daring so much, achieving it with such grace and skill. "Minority Report" reminds us why we go to the movies in the first place.

Peter Bradshaw, in a review published in The Guardian on June 28, 2002:

Here is the movie Steven Spielberg should have made instead of AI. It's a fantastically confident and exhilarating thrill-ride into the future which far more satisfactorily combines Kubrick's chilly sense of the alienating and the bizarre with Spielberg's own mastery of sugar-rush suspense tactics. Based on a Philip K Dick short story - and what self-respecting new sci-fi venture is not? - this is a futuristic noir thriller in the Blade Runner mode about a driven cop played by lean, mean Tom Cruise.

James Berardinelli, in a review at James Berardinelli's ReelViews:

On those rare occasions when a great motion picture reaches multiplexes, the film critic must add another aspect to his or her job description: that of cheerleader. It is incumbent upon those of us who routinely dissect movies to applaud the arrival of something like Minority Report. Writing a review isn't enough - we have to get out there and actively stump for the movie. The underlying reason is sound: if Minority Report makes a lot of money, the studios will be encouraged to fashion more films of this sort. And that is a good thing - not just for science fiction lovers but for fans of intelligent, thought-provoking pictures of all genres.

For those that must classify Minority Report, the primary category is science fiction. After all, it's based on a short story by celebrated writer Philip K. Dick, whose words have been the inspiration for such movies as Blade Runner and Total Recall. But, like another genre-crossing motion picture, 1998's Dark City, Minority Report can also be viewed as an action thriller or a futuristic film noir. It owes a debt to Dashiel Hammitt and Raymond Chandler. And Minority Report plays like a different film to different audiences. Those in the mood for the action and adrenaline rush of a typical summer blockbuster will find something to their taste here. Yet there are richer rewards for viewers who are willing to engage their brains. Anyone who wants to think through the mysteries and paradoxes presented herein will discover a multi-course cinematic buffet that can keep the gray matter occupied for days to come . . .

In the wake of the disappointment of A.I., Minority Report arrives in theaters representing a much-needed tonic for Spielberg. However, this is not just a "rebound" picture; it's an achievement - arguably the best escapist entertainment the director has produced in two decades. Minority Report rivals some of Spielberg's top adventure/science fiction epics, such as Close Encounters and Raiders of the Lost Ark. What's more, it affirms that, even in the 2000s, movies do not have to be brain-dead to be exciting. When the season is over, Minority Report will more than likely stand out as the best picture to grace multiplex screens during the Summer of 2002.

David Edelstein, in a review at Slate@msn.com entitled "Blame Runner: 'Minority Report' is a fabulous, witty totalitarian nightmare." on June 21, 2002

For slightly under two hours, Steven Spielberg's Minority Report (DreamWorks/20th Century Fox) is even greater than the sum of its parts—a roller coaster in which the loop-the-loops are philosophical as well as visceral. It's one of the drollest projections of the future ever put on film. The movie is adapted from an early short story by Philip K. Dick; and while it strays from Dick's narrative, it nails the basic premise and some quintessential Dickian motifs . . .

I must admit that I find elements of this future attractive—and so, according to Minority Report, does the populace of 2054. A political advertisement for Precrime is stunningly effective: It shows people who would have been murder victims expressing gratitude for their lives. As the movie begins, Precrime is on the verge of a referendum that would make its policies the law of the United States, and a smirky Justice Department honcho called Witwer (Colin Farrell) has arrived to scrutinize the company's inner workings—to ensure that the data that sends would-be culprits into suspended animation for the rest of their lives is reliable. The movie presents us with a classic totalitarian trade-off, upgraded by technology and the paranormal: Would you surrender a slew of civil liberties for a world without crime? Assuming that the right people were always jailed for the right reasons, I'd think about it long and hard.

Kenneth Turan, in a review entitled "A Walk in the Dark: Steven Spielberg gets all creepy in 'Minority Report,' but Tom Cruise keeps things human," published in the LA Times on June 21, 2002:

It took paranoid visionary Philip K. Dick to do what Stanley Kubrick could not: Get Steven Spielberg to fully cross over to the dark side. The question now is, how happy are we to have him there?

Spielberg's "Minority Report" is amplified from a Dick short story by writers Scott Frank and Jon Cohen, and it stars Tom Cruise as a man hunted by the futuristic anti-crime unit he once led. It finds Hollywood's preeminent director more convincingly at home with unapologetically bleak and unsettling material than he was with Kubrick's "A.I." "I wanted to make the ugliest, dirtiest movie I have ever made," Spielberg told cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, and there's little doubt he's succeeded.

In a macro sense, this is a good thing. "Minority Report" is full of the pleasure this most proficient director feels in stretching himself, in redeploying his formidable skills and avoiding, as many directors have not, simply making the same film over and over. But the road to self-knowledge can be an uneven one, and as impressive as this disturbing, even haunting film can be, it does not feel all of a piece. If anything, "Minority Report" is trying to do too much, trying to combine elements--philosophical, futuristic, hard-boiled criminal--that haven't been made to completely cohere. This is a film that gives us a lot to chew on, but not all of it has been properly digested.

Elvis Mitchell, in a review entitled "Halting Crime In Advance Has Its Perils," published in the New York Times on June 21, 2002

''Minority Report'' may be the most adult film Mr. Spielberg has made in some time. It's about the bloody blurring of passion and violence: a compassionate noir. After the ripe, damp colors of ''A.I.,'' Mr. Spielberg and his cinematographer, Janusz Kaminski, give ''Minority Report'' a cold, silvered tone. The picture looks as if it were shot on chrome, caught on the fleeing bumper of a late 70's car. And it's constantly in motion; Mr. Spielberg focuses on Mr. Cruise's own ambition as if it were a gleaming hood ornament and turns that appetite for success in on itself. As Anderton, Mr. Cruise successfully shows how unfulfilled determination becomes the all-American burden. It may be one of his best performances yet.

Mick LaSalle, in a review entitled "FUTURE TENSE Spielberg returns to form with menacing, suspenseful 'Minority Report'," published in the San Francisco Chronicle on June 21, 2002

In "Minority Report," Steven Spielberg has made the least sentimental film of his career -- and the shrewdest movie of the season so far. Creative energy and intelligence inform every frame. Nothing is left to chance. This is the kind of pure entertainment that, in its fullness and generosity, feels almost classic. . .

Throughout, Spielberg makes the smart choices, never getting ahead of his audience, never pushing for emotions that aren't earned. Last summer, "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence" made many of us wonder if Spielberg had lost his touch or his enthusiasm for delighting movies. "Minority Report" is his return to form. .

For a comprehensive list of reviews of "Minority Report" available online, visit: http://us.imdb.com/TUrls?COM+0181689