If you knew what was going to happen in your future, would you change it? Could you change it? Could you do all the right things to stop the inevitable from happening. Or… is life predestined, predetermined, that no matter what we do, the world will turn the way it always has and our destiny has been prewritten long before we were even a piece of this earth. How you answer that question says so much about how you see the world and its future.
There is so much to discuss about Minority Report. There is the ethics of arresting someone for crimes they did not commit even if they were intending to, there is the moral debate of using the police system for personal gain, there is the question of how we treat those with unique talents, and how we exploit them for our own benefit, the dangers of overtly advanced cybernetic detection and how that violates our right to privacy. But the issue that struck me the most interesting comes from the idea of paradox. Is fate predestined, or do we have control over what occurs around us?
There is a scene early in the movie between John Anderton (Tom Cruise) and Danny Witwer (Colin Farrell) where Anderton rolls a ball across a table and Witwer catches it. The ensuing discussion asks whether the ball was going to fall or whether it was going to be caught. This complex discussion is at the heart of the ensuing conflict of the movie, whether Anderton was going to kill a man or whether or he could change his fate and avoid the inevitable murder he was going to commit.
The result of the movie is that fate can be delayed, altered, and adjusted, but at the end of the day, it is still there in some form. Free will is a complicated concept and we don’t have full control over that. We have problems that ultimately, we cannot solve. We will be forced to confront the inevitable in some way or another.
But then there is the ripple… there is the way that fate changes, that the future becomes different by minor changes, and that the moment we know the future it is no longer the future. This idea is so complicated that Minority Report never gives a definitive answer. And I think, until we are faced with this idea ourselves, we can never answer it either.
Fate, and the idea of fate, is complicated, and has been asked for thousands of years. But while it’s not easily determined the question remains, if you knew what was coming, would you change it? Could you change it? Or would you let the world come together as it was supposed to, and take contentment in knowing what is to come and that you can be prepared for it.
So, let’s break everything down.
All Spielberg movies will be judged based on the same five pieces of criteria.
Acting – Are the performances good and do they serve the story or are they distracting and awkward?
Story and Dialogue – Does the story being told make sense and is the use of dialogue allow it to succeed or does the story struggle and/or the dialogue drag it down
Shooting and Editing – How is the camera used, how are the shots arranged, what other elements are used to enhance the movie?
Design – How does the movie look? Does it help the movie or hurt the movie?
Iconic Moment – Spielberg has made several big iconic moments throughout cinema, what are they, how many of them are there, and which ones stand out the most?
All these criteria will be judged on a score of 10 for a total score of 50.
So here is my breakdown of Minority Report:
Acting – Honestly, this movie is in no way diverse for Tom Cruise. He’s hard, relentless, constantly on the move. And yet that’s not a bad thing in this instance. Cruise is prime Cruise and that works. Colin Farrell and Max von Sydow are fantastic in their supporting roles. But it is Samantha Morton’s work as Agatha that stands out as she balances strength and fragility so well and really commands every scene she’s in. (9/10)
Story and Dialogue – I think this story is strong, I think there are some moments that are rushed or overly complicated and the dialogue is a bit too explanatory, but overall it works really well and the pacing of the action scenes with the dialogue scenes is really solid. Not perfect, but solid. (8/10)
Shooting and Editing – This movie looks phenomenal. There are so many of these post Matrix sci-fi action films that look like this but the Spielberg expertise in both camera placement and movement really makes the difference. The shots and cuts mirror the emotional reactions and relationships of the characters and that makes it look phenomenal throughout. (10/10)
Design – This hybrid of class-based utopia and dystopia is just so interesting. I don’t think it goes far enough either way and that combined with the cell shading and blue tint on everything just doesn’t help things to stand out. It’s good, but it could be better. (7/10)
Iconic Moment – I mean… there is something so visceral about the eye surgery sequence. From the creepiness of Peter Stormare’s performance as the surgeon, to the actual horrifying procedure, to the tension of the following scene where the the spiders are potentially blinding Anderton if he doesn’t escape them. It’s tense, eerie, and really dynamic throughout. (8/10)
Total Score: 42/50
Current Ranking:
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Jurassic Park
Saving Private Ryan
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Schindler’s List
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Minority Report
Jaws
Hook
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Amistad
Duel
Empire of the Sun
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
The Color Purple
Twilight Zone: The Movie
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
The Sugarland Express
1941
Always
2002 was another big year for Spielberg, he made two phenomenal movies and they both deserve recognition. So next week we get a movie very different from Minority Report but no less entertaining. It’s a good time to be a Spielberg fan and next week will prove it even more.
And until then, thanks for taking the time to get Ploominated!
Ploominate 