Hey folks, Harry here with a review of the unfinished film... MINORITY REPORT. Anonymous here has been with us before, but must be kept secret and safe. He doesn't go into immense spoilers, but there is a bit of alluding to things that might affect the way you would watch the film in a negative light and really he's saying this is quite a good film. Very different for Spielberg. Without further ado, here ya go... Read at your own risk and realize, this isn't a finished film and is subject to changes.
The other day I was milling about, minding my own business, when a co-worker of mine grabbed my arm and pulled me quickly inside his office, shutting the door. He whispered that he had clearance to a big summer movie for a few hours and was going to screen it for himself and a few others around lunchtime. Before I could even ask which movie it was he was out the door and down the hall, my mind already whirring as to what film it could be.
When lunchtime came around and the lights were dimmed I sat nervously waiting, thinking that at any moment someone powerful, perhaps even the police, would storm into the room and disrupt our private party. Little did I know how correct that prediction would be. Just like a Pre-cog's calculation, soon after start-time I heard a small scratching at the door. A scratching that was rough at first but then grew quieter, lighter. At first I ignored the sound but when it ceased to stop I turned to see what it was. However being in a dark room made it difficult to see if anything was actually trying to open the door. But as my eyes began to adjust I peered harder and saw that something was pushing from the outside, the door clicking from the pressure. This was followed by a sudden silence.
Then suddenly I saw that whatever it was that was trying to break inside wasn't coming THROUGH the door... but UNDERNEATH the door! My heart began to race. Slowly and quietly, I could barely make out four insect-like, wiry legs beginning to spring up from the crack separating the door from the floor. I turned to my co-worker and his friends to see if any of them had noticed what was happening but they were all too caught up in the flash of the film. I looked back and as the legs began to pull through they drug a round and thin silvery body out behind them, which upon making it completely from under the door inflated into a full-bodied sphere. It was then that I knew what this mysterious creature was. Before I could even inhale to scream out that Spyders were leaking inside there was a deafening crash of glass and our room was quickly invaded by what seemed like hundreds of policemen from D.C.'s Pre-Crime unit. One cop, the captain, slammed my co-worker to the ground after sticking his knee into his chest and began to read out his rights, right to remain silent, right to an attorney, that anything you say can and will be used against you... My co-worker gasped for breath as the captain clicked an arched device called a Halo on my co-worker's forehead while the other cops took the rest out in hovercrafts after scanning their eyes with small handheld devices. I myself lay shriveled up in the corner hugging my knees to my chest and whimpering as the crew quickly swept over the room, ignoring me, and was gone before I even knew what had happened.
Ok... yeah, so it didn't happen... pat yourself on the back you guessed it. You even guessed that none of it was true after, like, the fourth line... but hey, I still got to see MINORITY REPORT. And in relaying to you what I saw I will try to remain fairly spoiler-free. After reading the shooting script months ago (dated "Early", 2001, by Scott Frank, in at around 170 pages), I was eager to tell someone about what I had read. But since I was in no position to press my opinion of the FILM of MINORITY REPORT, I waited until my soul was quenched by visuals rather than words to express my true feelings of the work. Because it is a film after all. And a film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise at that.
MINORITY REPORT begins like most Spielberg films do, with a high-octane, edge-of-your-seat sequence that grabs a hold of the audience's collar and shakes the hell out of them. Actually this is the sequence that you've probably already seen from the first trailer in which John Anderton (Cruise, doing the same old "cool" schtick he does in every film, but that's why we love em) arrests Howard Marks (Arye Gross, that guy who left that old TV show "Ellen") for the future murder of his wife and another man. Marks has no idea what they are talking about. And the film takes off from there.
First of all, and let's make this clear: MINORITY REPORT is tons, tons, TONS, better than AI. But then I don't even like AI. I just... don't. I feel bad for tearing it up so in my review awhile back. And second, it's not the best Spielberg film ever made. After the screening my buddy turned to me and said that if you would have asked him who directed that picture he wouldn't have said Steven Spielberg. But with Spielberg constantly in post-production on one film (now MINORITY REPORT), production on another film (CATCH ME IF YOU CAN), and pre-production on his next project (something before INDY) I don't know if we are allowed to expect perfection. Heck, at the chance to get two of his films in one year you won't find me complaining. Ultimately MINORITY REPORT is not jaw-dropping amazing, but it's plenty fun. And a great way to start off a new season of filmmaking.
I think that MINORITY REPORT would have been more promising had it been released a few years ago. What I enjoyed about the film is that it's a new side of Spielberg that I don't think we have really seen. It's much twistier than anything he's ever done before. Not even ET coming back to life is as surprising as some of the turns MINORITY REPORT takes. But such surprises seem to have lost their shock recently. Since THE SIXTH SENSE (a very normal film with a huge ending), Hollywood has been churning out films that sort of glide along and then try to knock you out with a fantastic slug to the face at the end. MINORITY REPORT is certainly no glider due to its futuristic setting, quick pacing and sweet visuals, but had it emerged before this recent run of mediocre films it might have been seen as less of a predecessor. Today/s audiences have been almost conditioned to sit back and wait for the twists, checking their watches until the movie irons itself out. Yet by keeping me on my toes I found MINORITY REPORT to be more enjoyable.
The film is also fresh and original in much of its futuristic devices and techniques. Large screens (as seen on the second trailer) handle billions of visual files and can be accessed at the swipe of a hand via virtual reality. The Pre-Crime cops also use batons called "sick-sticks" that produce an unattractive fluid when thrust into one's gut. It's also interesting to see how our future will be affected commercially, with a never before seen Lexus that looks like it's driving backward and new ways to be greeted upon entering the Gap (you know, other than the classic, "Welcome to the Gap, can I sell you some crap?")
The dialogue is also smart at times. When John first finds out that he is going to be accused of a murder one of his assistants looks to him and says something to the effect of: "John... I like ya‚ you haven't hurt me before... so I'll give you two minutes before I hit the alarm." Then the chase is on.
And of course there's that kick-ass slogan, "Everybody runs". Besides some useless humor at a yoga class, continuity errors during a jet-pack chase scene, and a weak you-can-totally-tell-these-guys-are-actors-and-not-stuntmen fight in a Lexus manufacturing plant, there are few slap-your-forehead and wince moments. Which is a good thing because after the beating Spielberg took for making AI too soupy, MINORITY REPORT is definitely more gritty at times.
There is a gory murder with scissors as seen through the virtual screens, Anderton has no family and uses drugs, there is a (albeit tame) sex scene, and some seedy underground creeps that don't know the first thing about modern medicine (one played eerily well by Peter Storemare, the Russian astronaut in ARMAGEDDEON).
All in all, I don't know exactly where to rank this film in the hierarchy of Spielberg's filmography but I will be very excited to see it again upon its release in June. For those of you who are looking for an entertaining popcorn summer blockbuster then sleep well knowing that you have at least one coming your way.
Til our next meeting...
You've known me before, but this time I remain
-ANONYMOUS
PS - for those of you wondering how Williams‚ score is I can only say this: it was very metallic and quick, with a lot of drums. Can‚t remember much else -- too busy listening to that fantabulous Episode 2 score --
