Minority Report
I missed seeing Minority Report last summer, but after a recent DVD rental, I kicked myself in the nuts a few hundred times. This is an amazing movie. One part sci-fi, one part action, one part thriller, Minority Report entertains on all levels. Tons of special effects to boot, if you're into that thing.
Taking place in the year 2054, the Washington DC Precrime unit has been using three precognitive beings, called Precogs to predict when a murder will take place. The Precogs summon the Precrime team and they head off to stop the murder before it happens...then take the future perpetrator, who didn't do anything, into custody. The murder has been stopped, and has worked for the past few years since its inception. John Anderton (Tom Cruise) is the head of the Precrime unit and is all for this great crime preventing program. Soon enough, the Precogs send along the name of the next victim and the perpetrator. While Anderton is doing all sorts of choreographed hand jiving on a crystal monitor, he finds out that HE is the perpetrator. Not good. From that point on, he is on the run from his own team. Just when you think his goose is cooked, something happens to alleviate that.
Now he's trying to figure out who this guy is that he is supposed to kill. He doesn't even know the guy, although in the visual created by the Precogs, he says the guy's name before shooting him. Because everywhere you go, you are constantly tracked by retinal scans, he has to find a way around that. This isn't a problem though, thanks to a creepy performance by Peter Stormare (I'm starting to think the man's destiny is only disturbing roles). Because of the time-line subject matter, it is called into question the theory of what happens if you know your future? Is the final act inevitable? Can you change your future? After a while, you start wondering why the filmed is named the way it is, but that is explained by a kind old gardener who grows exotic plants, among other things. Lots of product placements in this flick. I got a kick out of the personalized advertising in the stores.
It's almost 2 ½ hours in running time, but you'll be captivated every minute.
