Minority Report Reviews

Simply Brilliant

As a sci-fi fan I have to say this is one of the best films of this genre I have seen. Spielberg creates a superb futuristic society with all his trademark flair and the film has the plot and acting to keep you going till the end. It's almost (but not quite) devoid of his trademark sentimentality but that is a minor quibble, it's a truly great film - you really want to see him direct more adult sci-fi like this because (not suprisingly) he does an outstanding job.

Excellent.

The film is set in Washington D.C fifty years in the future. Some aspects of the setting are quite far-fetched - police flying around on jet-packs and spiders scuttling around scanning people's eyeballs being two examples! However, Spielberg, in his own unique way, has succeeded in making this seem completely believable and (as a sceptical viewer of most films) I accepted everything which was thrown at me and could concentrate fully on the storyline.

I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi films, but the story had enough twists and turns to keep my interest right up until the end credits. Cruise is his usual classy self, and Colin Farrell pulls off a surprisingly believable American accent!

Definately worth a watching.

Minority Report

Colin Farrell...WOW,Tom Cruise....WOW, special effects...AWESOME!!! I hate futuristic sci-fi movies so to actually pay to watch this at the cinema was a bit of a bug bear for me. I settled down with my fizzy drink and popcorn and prepared to be bored witless for the 2 hours or so. I scanned the aisles, studied the wallpaper and even sent text messages on my moby (naughty naughty)but not for long.....the film almost explodes onto the screen, flashbacks of a murder the best gadgetry in the world and fantastic acting all stopped me in my tracks. You just knew all along you were trying to guess the plot, you knew the outcome, you knew how it ended....sorry, big mistake. The film had more blind alleys than birmingham but wasnt hard to follow. I've watched this film 6 times now and see something different every time. All my friends have watched it as I insist everyone borrows it so they know what im talking about in the pub. If you liked the matrix but like me didnt understand a word that was said and hadn't a clue what it was about then watch this, I'd say it was the less intellectually challenged of the 2 but well worth a watch.

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[Highly rated reviewer]

Put him in the chokey

A brilliant adventure for the whole family, except mum & dad

Tom Cruise exposes himself one too many times for my liking, and the bathtime scene deeply disturbed me

It's nice to see a sci fi thriller with big balls

A slick, stylish sci-fi thriller with a gripping plot that moves along at a fast but steady pace, with plenty of action and a shedload of whizzy special effects. Essentially, it's a manhunt, the twists being that we know who the murderer is and that the murder hasn't happened yet - typical Philip K Dick fare, using a futuristic setting to explore timeless moral dilemmas and paradoxical situations. <p>Attention to detail is taken to the nth degree - the setting is the fairly near future, so we see adverts for brands like Gap and Guinness, albeit animated ones that address us by name, and details such as houses and clothes all look comfortably familiar. And it is beautifully photographed with ultra-saturated colours and grainy effects reminiscent of the dream-like world of Amelie. <p>A strong cast holds it together, though character development is the film?s weak point. Tom Cruise does his Tom Cruise thing to great effect, but most of the other characters seem a bit ephemeral, which is a shame because some of them had great potential: FBI investigator Danny Witfer, played by the excellent Colin Farrell, is killed off just as he starts to get interesting, while Samantha Morton's Agatha mostly just screams and makes portentous statements. There?s a great cameo from Peter Stormare as the eye doctor, and another from Lois Smith as Iris Hineman, the woman behind the development of Pre-Crime. But this is very much a plot-driven film, and it?s a hugely successful one at that.