Steven Spielberg is one of Hollywood’s best-known directors. He brought the world some of cinema’s most mesmerizing stories, from Jurassic Park to Jaws. His movies range from alien invasions to war dramas, epic biopics to blockbuster adventures, each of which is a visual treat. Spielberg’s work boasts an extremely diverse array of stories, characters, and themes over the past 40 years. However, fans still undervalue a few of his works, and one such movie is Minority Report.
Minority Report is Steven Spielberg’s 2002 cyberpunk action mystery-thriller film starring Tom Cruise, Samantha Norton, and Colin Farrell. Spielberg loosely based the movie on Philip K. Dick‘s short story of the same name. However, this sci-fi feature is absolutely one of the most underrated movies of the director’s successful career.
Set in Washington DC in 2054, police stop crimes before a person commits them, reducing the crime rate to zero. Three special humans called ‘precogs‘, have visions of the future that helps the police predict criminal activity before it is committed. Police then imprison the murderers-to-be in a virtual world. One day, the precogs predict the name of John Anderton, the PreCrime captain himself. It is up to Anderton to prove his innocence of a crime he hasn’t yet committed.
Amazing Special Effects
Minority Report launched the concept of precogs and set a benchmark in special effects. Its stylistic beauty came from Spielberg and cinematographer, Janusz Kaminski, who gave the film a cold, silvered, film noir look, offering an incredible futuristic vision. The film is also saturated with metaphors for seeing. From the pre-cognitive trio’s murderous visions to optical systems to ‘spyder’ robots tracking criminals, it gives the feeling that people in this future world are constantly under surveillance.
A Vision of the Future
It’s hard to believe that Spielberg made this movie 14 years ago. It raised the bar in sci-fi films and brought future technologies like virtual reality and retina scanning into the picture which emerged years after its release. The tech still fascinates us even decades later, but Spielberg used this underdeveloped technology even way back then. Even today people still regard it as a classic sci-fi movie with a hint of the paranormal.
Minority Report is dense, passionate, and violent. It is a perfect mix of science, crime, and action with a touch of darkness, all coming together to make for an interesting watch. Right out of the gate, from the opening scene of the film, Spielberg establishes himself as a master of action and suspense and never lets up. He takes the audience along for an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride using impressive special effects to build a fascinating futuristic world.
Incredible Performances
Minority Report is a highlight in Tom Cruise’s career. His performance as John Anderton is incredible, and Samantha Morton also gives a mesmeric performance as precog Agatha.
When all of these elements combine, we see Spielberg at his best. This film shows off his directorial skills that make it both unique and classic Spielberg. If you haven’t watched it yet, I highly suggest you check it out. If you have already seen it, give it another go and see how well it holds up.
