About 50 years in the future, Washington D.C has been transformed from the murder capitol of the nation, to a murder free city, and it's stayed that way for 6 years.

The key to this astounding drop in crime is the experimental precrime division of the DCPA. Granted visions of murders (and only murders) destined to happen; the precrime squads intercept these crimes before they occur. It works great. So great, that it's on the verge of becoming national.

And so, of course, that's where the feds get involved. Some cynical outsider comes in to review the entire project and find faults with a system that's worked flawlessly for years. Refusing to be wowed by the magic of the system he strives to prove precrime isn't fit to go national.

And wouldn't you know that's exactly when something goes wrong.

Minority Report paints an intriguing, but believable picture of the future. Only in very rare cases did I not believe that the technology presented could not be developed for widespread use in fifty years. With everything from automated cars to 3D entertainment projectors to billboards that scan your retinas to access your buying habits, this is a world that could easily come to be, and is in fact not very far off already.

Set in this world is a story that can surprise even the jaded moviegoer. It is a mystery filled with red herrings and surprise twists. Just when you think you know what's happening, something changes, and you're left scrambling. That they manage to do this speaks highly of the script. That they manage to do this more than once speaks ever more highly.

SPOILERS BELOW!!!!! If you want to see them simply highlight the text below.

The only issue I had with this film at all was the ending. In fact, I find this movie vaguely reminiscent of AI in a way. There were two separate times when I thought I was staring at the end of the film, only to see it continue. At either of these points, I could have seen credits roll and found it to be a complete story with a satisfying ending.

And then I saw the real ending. Sufficive to say, the problems that arise in precrime reveal that it is in fact not a perfect system, and it is eventually dismantled. In the end, precrime is bad, and bad looses. Rejoice.

However, in the closing monologue that details what happens to the organization and its participants, there is one glaring fact missing: DC's murder rate climbs. It has to. Without precrime to stop it, there will be murders again.

But instead, the movie cleans up nice and pat and happy with absolutely no negative repercussions to toppling the bad organization, even though it was really doing more good than harm.

END SPOILER ALERT

Overall however, I found this movie to be an engaging, entertaining film. Tom Cruise manages to play the shining hero with skeletons in the closet, the protagonist with issues that of course will come into play during the film. But instead of appearing blandly formulaic (despite the fact that such a setup is in fact formulaic), the mix of this development combines incredibly well with the film. Collin Farrell also plays a character who appears easily pegged from the outset, only to completely spin your expectations about as events unfold.

In fact, this appears to be a hallmark of Minority Report. It allows you to believe you know what is happening for a time, before completely changing everything by introducing a crucial bit of information.

This is a solid film. Compelling characters in a driving story set in an intriguing world. Action is well choreographed, roles are well played, and glaring gaffs in logic are rare. Were it not for the cop out ending I feel it took, I'd rate this even higher. Even so however, there is far more done right in this film than wrong, and it's certainly worth both the time and money involved in a viewing.

RATING: 4.5/5 Stars

- Clifford Horowitz

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