Let me take one moment to stop bashing all of modern culture. Last night, I had the privilege of experiencing something that actually deserves to be praised. Please excuse me while I interrupt this website to praise it.
"Minority Report" is a masterpiece. It is a brilliant work of art in nearly every respect: direction, cinematography, plot, style, special effects, and is (hold onto your seat) a beautifully moral film. You want moral clarity, you got it.
I need to see it again before even beginning to analyze its multiple themes and how Spielberg presents them through a directing job which is not just at the top of his game, but the top of anyone's game. He uses a range of camera techniques and special effects which are so amazingly integrated with the plot that it is difficult at times to separate the style from the substance. This is how a movie should be made.
It has a plot which only gets better and more suspenseful as the movie progresses, action scenes which are exciting and integral to the story, an actual style for Christ's sake, competent acting, and a particularly cute moment when you can't help but give a little credit to a tiny robot for doing its job.
There are only three weaknesses that I can recall in this movie. One is a brief scene in a futuristic greenhouse which tries to imply that self-preservation is every living organism's dirty little secret. However, that the movie even acknowledges that self-preservation is the fundamental characteristic of all life, is impressive.
The second weakness is the murkiness of the video images presented in the film. There is no doubt that this quality is completely intentional, but at times it is a minor distraction rather than a tool for guiding the viewer's perception.
The third, more general problem that I had was the emotional distance I felt from the main character for approximately half or two-thirds of the movie. This seems to be due to Spielberg's choice not to present a complex psychological motivation in the movie's hero. Importantly, and partly what makes "Minority Report" a great movie, is that this problem is rectified by the movie's end. If you don't care what happens to the characters by the end of the movie, you should ask somebody to pull out your plug.
After directing such classics as "Jaws", "E.T.", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", and "Amistad" (an overlooked classic), Spielberg has shown the potential for integrating style, plot, and theme. But never before has he presented any of these qualities so confidently or artistically. (One might argue that he comes close in "Schindler's List", but I prefer to forget that movie's existence.)
Watching "Minority Report", I almost (but not quite) felt embarrassed for having sat through other flashes of light with the audacity to consider themselves "films". (Special note to fans of "Spider Man", this summer's other blockbuster: before you throw around terms like "great", remember that movies like "Minority Report" can be made, too.)
"Minority Report" makes you feel like you're inhabiting another dimension, and I don't just mean that in an artistic sense. Watching "Minority Report", you feel like you live in a world where movies this great are actually made. And then you realize, "Wait, this movie was actually made." And then you think: damn, that's pretty cool.
