The Year 2002: Minority Report (Steven Speilberg)

Philip K.Dick meets Tom Cruise, hardly the most likely of pairings, in this sci-fi thriller, where murder can be detected before it actually happens in a Dystopian/Utopian future, directed by one Stephen Speilberg. Successful all round, in both box-office receipts and in finding favour with critics, Minority Report finished the year as one of the best received big hits and with award nominations aplenty. Counting Down The Zeroes welcomes David Bishop of the classy named blog 'Hoping For Something To Hope For'; the place for excellent reviews, rants and opinions on the best popular culture has to offer - check out the superb Summer of Firefly series in which he expertly takes apart the cult classic TV series - who takes on 'one of those great films that entertain the viewer while giving them something to talk about' whilst giving us a little philosophy lesson in the process in this excellent submission.

"The Minority Report" is a short story written by Philip Dick and in 1956 was published in the January issue of the science-fiction magazine Fantastic Universe. A film adaptation was produced in 2002 with the screenwriting talents of Scott Frank and Jon Cohen as well as the directorial vision of Mr. Steven Spielberg. Taking its name from the source material, Minority Report is a neo-noir science-fiction thriller. While there are some significant changes made from the original short story, including making the main character much younger and more athletic, most of the underlying ideas are carried over into the film. That is, while the filmmakers did inject much more action into the story, we are not deprived of a film that whets our more cerebral appetites. Upon its initial release, Minority Report met with financial and critical success. The movie received a theatrical gross profit of roughly $30 million in the U.S. alone, and film critics such as Roger Ebert saw fit to name Minority Report one of the best films of 2002.

The year is 2054, and a police agency known as Precrime resides in Washington D.C. The agency proudly boasts that it has helped to create a murder-free Washington D.C. for the last six years. How does Precrime achieve such a feat? By relying on the gifts of three seemingly divine individuals known as the Precognitives (Precogs for short): Agatha, Arthur, and Dashiell [whose names are chosen after famous crime authors Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Dashiell Hammett]. Their ability to see into the future, allows Precrime to stop murders before they happen. Detective John Anderton (Tom Cruise) is Precrime's Chief of Police. Motivated by the loss of his son years ago, Anderton is committed to enforcing the system that, had it been around, may have prevented his o wn tragedy. Precrime's Director Lamar Burgess (Max Von Sydow) is working toward getting Precrime nationalized. Before that can happen, the agency will have to be approved by the Department of Justice who has sent Danny Witwer (Colin Farrell) to investigate on their behalf. During this investigation, the Precogs reveal that John Anderton is to murder a man named Leo Crow, whom he's never met, within a day and a half. Rather than submit himself to the agency, John Anderton runs, hoping to find some answers. The most important answer for John is whether there's a chance the Precogs could be wrong. Anderton learns that there are instances where Agatha sees a vision differently from the other two. This disagreement is referred to as a minority report, and Anderton quickly realizes that this would be his only chance to prove his innocence. Just how John is going to obtain his minority report and where Leo Crow falls into all of this...well, I think it's best if I just let Steven Spielberg tell that story.


At the heart of Minority Report is the notion of free will versus determinism. Not in any way a new thought, philosophers have been trying to ascertain whether we actually are free to make our choices or if our own future is already determined by a chain of causes and effects. René Descartes declared that our will is clearly free while Baruch Spinoza believes it absurd that human beings have free will when the choices we make are simply a result of our lives up to the point that we make them. John Locke also chips in when he claims that we don't have freedom to choose our wills. We can't manipulate our desires or appetites, according to Locke, but we can choose to act on them or not. That is, we don't have free will, but we are free.

So, where does Minority Report stand in this debate? Is there a definitive answer? Surely, if we are to accept that it is morally right to arrest people for crimes they haven't yet committed, we would have to be talking about a pre-determined universe. By becoming aware of an individual's future, you can alter the cause and effect chain that would lead to them murdering another. Then again, just because you can glimpse into the future to see how things would happen on this current course doesn't mean that they happen that way because life is devoid of actually choice. The John Anderton case brings the most out of this topic. John Anderton is actually able to witness his future crime first hand. One of the Precogs tells John that this allows him the freedom to choose his fate. Knowing how the murder happens frees him from having to commit it. Surely, this is a case for the free will people! But it's not that clear. Seeing the vision is also what leads John Anderton to the exact setup as predicted. It's not free will, but rather a series of cause and effects (with the vision just being a new cause). Because John was seeing his own fut ure, the future itself was altered. He's no longer an external force in somebody else's destiny, but he doesn't exactly seem to be the commander of his own fate either. However, when it comes down to the actual murder act, I'll let you decide whether this is when the movie is taking a stand on either side of the argument.


A recurring element within Minority Report is the notion of sight. The Precogs see the future, and the detectives are in charge of monitoring their visions. When Agatha tries to demonstrate the Anne Lively murder to John, she whispers "Can you see?" John Anderton meets with a blind drug dealer on the street who mentions "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king." So, what does all this mean? Well, I think the drug dealer sums it up perfectly. The Precogs are given a gift. We look to them because we are blind, but they can see. Furthermore, when Anderton views his own future, it diminishes the power of those who are in charge of tracking him. The rules of capture for the previous murderers do not apply. As the Department of Justice agent notes at one point, he can't be stopped. Anyway, enough of my pseudo-philosophy. Let's talk cinematic.

Minority Report is neo-noir. There are quite a few noir elements going on in this movie from the obvious to the not so obvious. First, our protagonist is a detective who quickly finds himself on the opposite side of the law. He's not a clear cut hero. We learn quickly of his drug addiction, and when he finally confronts the man he's supposed to kill, Anderton doesn't hesitate as much as a more 'moral' man would. Let us not forget that we have a femme fatale in Agatha (ok, may be reaching, but bear with me). She's the one who sends Anderton on a mission that eventually leads to his 'downfall.' Aside from the plot elements Spielberg also worked to create a film that retained the look of the classic film noir movies. Heavy shadows can be found throughout the movie. Moreover, the color palette chosen for Minority Report is almost monochromatic, a nod to the black, white, and gray that classic noir is oh-so-comfortable in.


Minority Report is a very fulfilling movie experience. Learning that critics have called it one of the best films of 2002 fits nicely. If such a movie existed that only used the elements I've discussed above, I would be satisfied. Minority Report goes beyond that by creating an enthralling world of mystery and two back-to-back action scenes whose ultimate conclusion leave me with a smile every time (seriously, that was one of the niftiest escapes I've ever seen). Minority Report is one of those great films that entertain the viewer while giving them something to talk about at the local coffee shop. It's certainly deserving of any recognition we can bestow upon it for the year of 2002 in films. Well, I've gotta run, but then, you knew that. For if there's anything we come away with here, it's that "everybody runs."