Minority Report

Imagine a world with no murders, and a justice system that tracks down future killers before they commit their heinous crimes. Now imagine it all on DVD!

Having checked out Minority Report for the first time recently, I went in not really knowing what to expect. I've honestly never been a fan of Tom Cruise. In the end I must say that I came away quite pleased with the overall package that the Minority Report DVD delivered.

Minority Report comes in a two disc set with the first disc containing just the movie and the second disc fully loaded with tons of special bonus features to wet the appetites of even the most wanting fans.

The story of Minority Report takes place in Washington D.C. during the year 2054, a time when crimes such as murder are a thing of the past thanks to an experimental and controversial program known as Pre-Crime. Interestingly enough there hasn't been a single murder in Washington during the previous six years while the Pre-Crime program has been in effect.

At the heart of the Pre-Crime program are the psychic trio known as the "Pre-cogs" who can envision each murder before they happen. Since they're connected to the crime lab's sophisticated computer systems their visions can be displayed on-screen for the officers to view. Once their visions of an impending murder appears on-screen it's up to Pre-Crime law enforcers like John Anderton, played by Tom Cruise, and the rest of his task force to figure out the locations and rush out to the potential crime scenes to prevent the murders from happening.

The program has been a resounding success during its six year experimental phase and the director of Pre-crime has plans to take it national despite the meddling of an obnoxious Federal Agent who is skeptical about the program and questions its very nature. John Anderton, whose been dealing with his own emotional scars in his own way since his son was abducted a few years ago while under his care, fully believes in the system and butts heads with the federal agent. Anderton believes the system is practically perfect until things take a turn for the worst in a classic 'Hunter now becomes the Hunted' role when the Pre-cogs have a vision of John murdering someone he doesn't even know.

It is from this point where Minority Report picks up and gives fans an action packed Sci-Fi thriller as Anderton goes on the run from the system he once believed in. Hot on his heels to arrest him is the Pre-Crime task force he's been in charge of led by the relentless Federal Agent he initially thinks set him up. Anderton does all he can to remain a step ahead of them while trying to figure out what's going on, and uncover the mystery surrounding the female Pre-cog known as "Agatha", who happens to be the key to solving all of these unanswered questions.

The great thing about Minority Report is that it contains a good mixture of mystery, sorrow, intrigue and suspense as each answer brings about another question. Tom Cruise plays the part of John Anderton quite well as his character still struggles with the loss of his son and the potential loss of his freedom unless he can avoid capture and prevent himself from committing murder.

During the movie viewers bare witness to some pretty nifty visual effects. Eye-scanning mechanical spiders that are almost the size of bugs are unleashed to quickly probe certain areas and scan the eyes of any humans in the vicinity to confirm their identity. Police-style airships hover around the city releasing a task force sporting some cool hover packs, and slick looking vehicles of the future speed around some lunch-regurgitating stomach-twisting dizzying expressways that defy the laws of gravity (well maybe a slight exaggeration), just to name a few.

The cool effects along with the grungy noir visual style of the movie made for some interesting futuristic settings at times. A film quality that was prominent among many of the older movie classics, the noir effect helps to accentuate many of the darker scenes in Minority Report by giving a darker, colder, more suspenseful about them. Unfortunately there are some downsides to the constant use of the noir effect as it doesn't quite mix well with some of the 'brighter' scenes in the movie and will probably have you reaching for the fine-tuning button on your television sets.

A John Williams score provided in DTS Surround Sound and Dolby Digital accompanies all the action. The music and sound effects worked very well with the scenes, but overall nothing that great or memorable enough for me to rush out and get the soundtrack.

In the end, Minority Report was a fun-filled action packed ride filled with thrilling chase scenes, interesting characters, solid acting and cool effects along with futuristic settings that sci-fi fans should check out at least once. Once you're done with the movie it doesn't end there, the Second disc is jam packed with bonus materials and extra goodies galore to whet the appetite of those craving to dive deeper...

Brian Haggenmiller
DVD Reviewer, Kikizo Movies