"Minority
Report"
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"Minority
Report" Two-Disc DVD Set
Reviewed by Ivana
Redwine
Tagline:
"What would you do if you were accused of a murder, you had not committed
... yet?"
Length: 145 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violence, brief language, some sexuality
and drug content
Steven Spielberg's
"Minority Report" is that rare science-fiction film that works
as an entertaining thriller, yet raises thought-provoking and resonant
ideas. I loved the movie when I saw it on the big screen, and I thoroughly
enjoyed it again when I watched it recently on DVD. The DVD version comes
as a two-disc set, and Disc 2 is loaded with special features.
The star
of "Minority Report" is Tom Cruise, and I really like the way
he portrays an action-oriented cop in the movie. The supporting actors
are generally good as well, and I particularly like Max von Sydow, who
plays Cruise's character's boss. But what I like best about the film is
the fascinating near-future world that Spielberg creates in it.
"Minority
Report" is set in Washington, D.C., in the year 2054. Astonishingly,
there hasn't been a single murder in the city during the previous six
years because of the police department's innovative program called Pre-Crime.
The program is overseen by its founder, Lamar Burgess (Max von Sydow).
The Pre-Crime
program is based on the premonitions of three very special people called
Pre-Cognitives, who have psychic visions of each impending murder. Sophisticated
electronic equipment is used to display the Pre-Cogs' visions to the police,
who spare no effort in trying to locate and arrest the would-be murderer
before the murder is committed. The cops who work in the Pre-Crime unit
are highly skilled and dedicated, and they are led by John Anderton (Tom
Cruise).
Because of
the success of Pre-Crime in D.C., there's a move afoot to take it national,
and the Department of Justice sends over Danny Witwer (Colin Farrell)
to observe the program. Wanting a closer look at the central component
of the Pre-Crime system, Witwer demands entry to the room where the Pre-Cogs
work. Although Burgess and his D.C. Pre-Crime personnel don't trust Witwer,
they are forced by order of the Attorney General to cooperate with him.
In the past,
access to the Pre-Cogs has been carefully controlled, and even the police
have been prohibited from interfacing directly with them, ostensibly so
that no one could be accused of tampering with the system. But in order
to escort Witwer, Anderton makes his first visit to the Pre-Cog room.
There the Pre-Cog called Agatha (Samantha Morton) communicates to him
her vision of a woman being murdered by drowning.
Anderton
tracks down information related to the drowning and discovers the victim's
name was Anne Lively. But he also finds out that key information about
the case is missing from the files. Later, he tells his boss Burgess about
the irregularities in the Anne Lively case, but Burgess seems preoccupied
with taking the Pre-Crime program national.
Soon the
Pre-Cogs have visions of a new impending murder, and Anderton views the
images they provide. He doesn't recognize the intended victim, but when
he sees the would-be murderer, he is stunned: according to the Pre-Crime
system, Anderton will be the murderer! Anderton suspects Witwer of somehow
setting him up, and he immediately goes on the run. He must do everything
he can to figure out what's going on, but his efforts are hampered at
every turn by the relentless pursuit of law enforcement.
It seems
to me nearly impossible to watch "Minority Report" without reflecting
on some trends in our current society. For example, it's alarming how
little privacy the citizens have left in the fictional, near-future society
depicted in the film. And I find it deeply troubling that citizens in
that society are imprisoned based on premonitions. But for me, the most
appalling thing is that the society is willing to enslave a few people,
namely certain psychics, in the belief that it is for the good of the
many.
But in the
end, "Minority Report" is more of an entertaining detective
story than it is a film of ideas. And while I like the way that Spielberg
was sometimes able to give the movie a noirish feel, I think that sometimes
he shows a sentimentality that clashes with the darker mood, and the ending
seems a little forced to me. Still, I like the film a lot, and I recommend
it highly.
The two-disc
DVD set comes with a great many bonus materials, all on Disc 2, and I've
listed most of them below. Disc 1 is basically just the film itself, and
unfortunately, no feature-length commentary track of any kind is provided.
Selected
Special Features on the DVDs:
• Two-Disc
Set
• Anamorphic Widescreen (2.39:1)
• English 5.1 Dolby Digital
• English 2.0 Dolby Surround
• English DTS Digital Surround
• French 5.1 Dolby Digital
• English Subtitles
• Spanish Subtitles
• French Subtitles
• From
Story to Screen: The Story, The Debate
• From Story to Screen: The Players
• Deconstructing Minority Report: The World of Minority Report
• Deconstructing Minority Report: Precrime and Precogs
• Deconstructing Minority Report: The Spyder Sequence
• Deconstructing Minority Report: Precog Visions
• Deconstructing Minority Report: Vehicles (of the Future)
• The Stunts of Minority Report: The Mag-Lev Escape
• The Stunts of Minority Report: The Hoverpack Chase
• The Stunts of Minority Report: The Car Factory
• ILM and Minority Report: Intro
• ILM and Minority Report: Holograms
• ILM and Minority Report: Hall of Containment
• ILM and Minority Report: Mag-Lev
• ILM and Minority Report: Hovercraft, Hoverpacks
• ILM and Minority Report: Cyberparlor
• Final Report: Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise
• Archives: Production Concepts (13 Segments)
• Archives: Storyboard Sequences (3)
• Archives: Trailers (4)
• Archives: Cast
• Archives: Filmmakers
• Archives: Production Notes
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