Saturday 28 June 2008

Minority Report [2002]


This one has got to be the most underrated film of Steven Spielberg. Though starring Hollywood’s biggest superstar Tom Cruise and made on a huge budget (thanks to the marvelous SFX that we all have come to associate with Spielberg), this is essentially a very offbeat and an extremely unique take on the genre of neo-noirs. It is a dark, frenetic and futuristic sci-fi tale of the protagonist played by Cruise, who is part of a police squad that intercepts murderers before they have actually committed the crime, and thanks to a lovely set up, finds himself being chased for a murder that he is sure he will not commit in the near future. Collin Farrell stars in a supporting role. The movie is entertaining, visually engaging, extremely innovative and very well-paced – all traits of the famous American director of some of the world’s biggest blockbusters. The labyrinthine storyline and the terrific plot twists may be edge-of-the-seat stuff, but the movie also raises some serious issues including free will and choice of action vis-à-vis crime and real politic.









Director: Steven Spielberg
Genre: Sci-Fi Thriller/Post-Noir/Tech Noir/Action
Language: English
Country: US

2 comments:

Ed Howard said...

Yes, this is excellent. A fun sci-fi action movie with a lot going on in it under the surface. It's also a much better Philip K Dick adaptation than Richard Linklater's lame version of my favorite Dick book, A Scanner Darkly. Spielberg should do more movies like this. The eyeball chase scene is one of the most darkly funny sequences I can remember seeing in a mainstream Hollywood actioner.

Shubhajit said...

Couldn't agree with you more. Behind the gloss and "blockbuster" look, this movie ripples with audaciousness and an equal dose of artistic, cerebral and entertainment value.