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Minority Report

2002, Sci-fi/Mystery & thriller, 2h 24m

What to know

Critics Consensus

Thought-provoking and visceral, Steven Spielberg successfully combines high concept ideas and high octane action in this fast and febrile sci-fi thriller. Read critic reviews

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Minority report   photos.

Based on a story by famed science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, "Minority Report" is an action-detective thriller set in Washington D.C. in 2054, where police utilize a psychic technology to arrest and convict murderers before they commit their crime. Tom Cruise plays the head of this Precrime unit and is himself accused of the future murder of a man he hasn't even met.

Rating: PG-13 (Drug Content|Brief Language|Some Sexuality|Violence)

Genre: Sci-fi, Mystery & thriller, Action

Original Language: English

Director: Steven Spielberg

Producer: Gerald R. Molen , Bonnie Curtis , Walter F. Parkes , Jan de Bont

Writer: Philip K. Dick , Scott Frank , Jon Cohen

Release Date (Theaters): Jun 21, 2002  wide

Release Date (Streaming): Aug 1, 2013

Box Office (Gross USA): $132.0M

Runtime: 2h 24m

Distributor: 20th Century Fox

Production Co: DreamWorks SKG, Twentieth Century Fox, Cruise-Wagner Productions, Amblin Entertainment, Blue Tulip

Sound Mix: Surround, DTS, Dolby EX

Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

Cast & Crew

Chief Paul Anderton

Colin Farrell

Danny Witwer

Samantha Morton

Max von Sydow

Pre-Crime Director Lamar Burgess

Dr. Iris Hineman

Peter Stormare

Dr. Solomon Eddie

Tim Blake Nelson

Steve Harris

Kathryn Morris

Lara Clarke Anderton

Mike Binder

Leo F. Crow

Daniel London

Wally the Caretaker

Neal McDonough

Jessica Capshaw

Patrick Kilpatrick

Jessica Harper

Anne Lively

Ashley Crow

Sarah Marks

Howard Marks

Jason Antoon

Rufus Riley at Cyber Parlor

Steven Spielberg

Philip K. Dick

Scott Frank

Screenwriter

Gerald R. Molen

Bonnie Curtis

Walter F. Parkes

Jan de Bont

Gary Goldman

Executive Producer

Ronald Shusett

Janusz Kaminski

Cinematographer

Alex McDowell

Production Design

Michael Kahn

Film Editing

Deborah Lynn Scott

Costume Design

Scott Farrar

Visual Effects Supervisor

John Williams

Original Music

Denise Chamian

Sergio Mimica-Gezzan

Associate Producer

Michael Doven

Sharon Mann

Production Manager

News & Interviews for Minority Report

Rank Tom Cruise’s 10 Best Movies

Why Some Philip K. Dick Adaptations Work (And Others Are Total Disasters)

Critic Reviews for Minority Report

Audience reviews for minority report.

The film did well overall, but it is not as smart and as promising as many have claimed it to be.

tom cruise the minority report

Minority Report is a bit too long and can at times seem inconsistent in its pacing. That being said, Tom Cruise delivers as always, and a strong supporting cast help to make this Spielberg Sci-Fi worth taking a look at.

Minority Report is definitely one of Spielberg's best with very thought provoking scenes, thrilling sequences and having sci-fi elements that are ahead of its time.

Minority Report is a very exciting movie filled with amazing action, great visuals, awesome acting from a great cast and an interesting plot line. The only issue I have with this movie is the title. Nevertheless "Minority Report" is a fun action movie and I give it a 8.5/10/

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At a time when movies think they have to choose between action and ideas, Steven Spielberg's "Minority Report" is a triumph--a film that works on our minds and our emotions. It is a thriller and a human story, a movie of ideas that's also a whodunit. Here is a master filmmaker at the top of his form, working with a star, Tom Cruise , who generates complex human feelings even while playing an action hero.

I complained earlier this summer of awkward joins between live action and CGI; I felt the action sequences in " Spider-Man " looked too cartoonish, and that "Star Wars Episode II," by using computer effects to separate the human actors from the sets and CGI characters, felt disconnected and sterile. Now here is Spielberg using every trick in the book and matching them without seams, so that no matter how he's achieving his effects, the focus is always on the story and the characters.

The movie turns out to be eerily prescient, using the term "pre-crime" to describe stopping crimes before they happen; how could Spielberg have known the government would be using the same term this summer? In his film, inspired by but much expanded from a short story by Philip K. Dick , Tom Cruise is John Anderton, chief of the Department of Pre-Crime in the District of Columbia, where there has not been a murder in six years. Soon, it appears, there will be a murder--committed by Anderton himself.

The year is 2054. Futuristic skyscrapers coexist with the famous Washington monuments and houses from the 19th century. Anderton presides over an operation controlling three "Pre-Cogs," precognitive humans who drift in a flotation tank, their brain waves tapped by computers. They're able to pick up thoughts of premeditated murders and warn the cops, who swoop down and arrest the would-be perpetrators before the killings can take place.

Because this is Washington, any government operation that is high-profile and successful inspires jealousy. Anderton's superior, bureau director Burgess (Max von Sydow) takes pride in him, and shields him from bureaucrats like Danny Witwer ( Colin Farrell ), from the Justice Department. As the pre-crime strategy prepares to go national, Witwer seems to have doubts about its wisdom--or he is only jealous of its success? Spielberg establishes these characters in a dazzling future world, created by art director Alex McDowell, that is so filled with details large and small that we stop trying to figure out everything and surrender with a sigh. Some of the details: a computer interface that floats in mid-air, manipulated by Cruise with the gestures of a symphony conductor; advertisements that crawl up the sides of walls and address you personally; cars that whisk around town on magnetic cushions; robotic "spiders" that can search a building in minutes by performing a retinal scan on everyone in it. " Blade Runner ," also inspired by a Dick story, shows a future world in decay; "Minority Report" offers a more optimistic preview.

The plot centers on a rare glitch in the visions of the Pre-Cogs. Although "the Pre-Cogs are never wrong," we're told, "sometimes ... they disagree." The dissenting Pre-Cog is said to have filed a minority report, and in the case of Anderton the report is crucial, because otherwise he seems a certain candidate for arrest as a pre-criminal. Of course, if you could outsmart the Pre-Cog system, you would have committed the perfect crime...

Finding himself the hunted instead of the hunter, Anderton teams up with Agatha ( Samantha Morton ), one of the Pre-Cogs, who seemed to be trying to warn him of his danger. Because she floats in a fluid tank, Agatha's muscles are weakened (have Pre-Cogs any rights of their own?) and Anderton has to half-drag her as they flee from the pre-crime police. One virtuoso sequence shows her foreseeing the immediate future and advising Anderton about what to do to elude what the cops are going to do next. The choreography, timing and wit of this sequence make it, all by itself, worth the price of admission.

But there are other stunning sequences. Consider a scene where the "spiders" search a rooming house, and Anderton tries to elude capture by immersing himself in a tub of ice water. This sequence begins with an overhead cross-section of the apartment building and several of its inhabitants, and you would swear it has to be done with a computer, but no: This is an actual physical set, and the elegant camera moves were elaborately choreographed. It's typical of Spielberg that, having devised this astonishing sequence, he propels it for dramatic purposes and doesn't simply exploit it to show off his cleverness. And watch the exquisite timing as one of the spiders, on its way out, senses something and pauses in mid-step.

Tom Cruise's Anderton is an example of how a star's power can be used to add more dimension to a character than the screenplay might supply. He compels us to worry about him, and even in implausible action sequences (like falls from dizzying heights) he distracts us by making us care about the logic of the chase, not the possibility of the stunt.

Samantha Morton's character (is 'Agatha' a nod to Miss Christie?) has few words and seems exhausted and frightened most of the time, providing an eerie counterpoint for Anderton's man of action. There is poignancy in her helplessness, and Spielberg shows it in a virtuoso two-shot, as she hangs over Anderton's shoulder while their eyes search desperately in opposite directions. This shot has genuine mystery. It has to do with the composition and lighting and timing and breathing, and like the entire movie it furthers the cold, frightening hostility of the world Anderton finds himself in. The cinematographer, Janusz Kaminski , who has worked with Spielberg before (not least on " Schindler's List "), is able to get an effect that's powerful and yet bafflingly simple.

The plot I will avoid discussing in detail. It is as ingenious as any film noir screenplay, and plays fair better than some. It's told with such clarity that we're always sure what Spielberg wants us to think, suspect and know. And although there is a surprise at the end, there is no cheating: The crime story holds water.

American movies are in the midst of a transition period. Some directors place their trust in technology. Spielberg, who is a master of technology, trusts only story and character, and then uses everything else as a workman uses his tools. He makes "Minority Report" with the new technology; other directors seem to be trying to make their movies from it. This film is such a virtuoso high-wire act, daring so much, achieving it with such grace and skill. "Minority Report" reminds us why we go to the movies in the first place.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film credits.

Minority Report movie poster

Minority Report (2002)

Rated PG-13 For Violence, Brief Language, Some Sexuality and Drug Content

145 minutes

Tom Cruise as John Anderton

Samantha Morton as Agatha

Max von Sydow as Director Burgess

Colin Farrell as Danny Witwer

Tim Blake Nelson as Gideon

Directed by

  • Steven Spielberg
  • Scott Frank

Based on the story by

  • Philip K. Dick

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20 years ago, Minority Report predicted a future that feels eerily like today

The Steven Spielberg film all about faked prescience has turned out to be genuinely prescient—and often imitated

tom cruise the minority report

Think of Minority Report and your mind’s eye probably conjures up Tom Cruise wildly gesticulating as he moves computer “screens” through thin air. But the storyline that drives the film (and the original short story it’s based on) — a breakneck good-guy-versus-government-corruption battle fueled by state-sponsored paranoia — means Minority Report has never felt more relevant. And as a result, often imitated.

Based on a 1956 short story by Philip K. Dick, Minority Report is set in 2054 and a future where Washington D.C. is monitored by an experimental law enforcement division known as the Precrime program. Its goal: prevent murders by knowing when they’ll happen. That all hinges on the abilities of three humans, known as “Precogs,” who are capable of looking into the future. Precrime officers act on the Precogs’ visions, arresting supposed murderers before they get the chance to act. The system seemingly works until the Precogs mark commanding officer John Anderton ( Tom Cruise ) as a future murderer, and he’s forced to go on the run. In the process of trying to clear his name, Anderton spars with Colin Farrell’s Danny Witwer, a rival government agent, and discovers a dangerous conspiracy hidden in Precrime’s history.

Given it was directed by Steven Spielberg , there’s little surprise that the film itself continues to hold up. Minority Report is as entertaining and technically brilliant as anything else the Jaws filmmaker has created. It moves at a breakneck pace and features standout performances from Farrell and Samantha Morton (as Agatha, the most adept of Precrime’s three Precogs).

It’s worth revisiting just for its stunning one-take aerial sequence. The now-iconic scene, which unfolds about halfway through the film and follows the Precrime’s Spyder robots as they scan the various residents of an apartment complex, is one of Spielberg’s more jaw-dropping visual moments.

John Anderton (Tom Cruise) finds himself surrounded by a swarm of Spyder robots in one of the tenses...

John Anderton (Tom Cruise) finds himself surrounded by a swarm of Spyder robots in one of the tensest moments in Minority Report.

What makes Minority Report feel relevant today is the paranoia, stoked by a deep distrust of Big Brother, that underpins the film. In a post-Snowden world where both the U.S. government and private businesses alike gather more information about American citizens than they ever have before, Minority Report ’s concerns no longer seem like science fiction so much as present-day fact. Even in relation to the ubiquity of target marketing and social media algorithms, the film can read as a warning against technologically-enhanced assumptions in the hands of institutions that keep promising that it’s all for our benefit.

What’s more, Philip K. Dick’s depiction of “pre-crime,” brought to life by Spielberg, has clearly lodged itself in the minds of Hollywood filmmakers. Even Marvel borrowed the “What if you could stop crime before it happened?” premise twice now. First for 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier , which revolves around a government plan to preemptively target potential terrorist threats, and then again in this year’s Moon Knight . The central antagonist in the Disney+ series is a cult leader intent on dispatching anyone who his deity believes may one day hurt another person.

The result is that, 20 years on, Minority Report — the story and the film — is something of a triple threat. It’s quietly influential. It’s an underrated entry in Spielberg’s career. And it’s enduringly relevant, increasingly so, year after year.

Colin Farrell as Danny Witwer in Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report

Colin Farrell as Danny Witwer in Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report .

This article was originally published on June 18, 2022

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Minority Report at 20: How Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise envisioned our problematic present in a not-so-distant future

The 2002 blockbuster continues to comment on the technological and institutional invasions of our privacy.

(from left) Samantha Morton as Agatha and Tom Cruise as John Anderton in Minority Report.

Twenty years after its theatrical release in June 2002, the futuristic thriller Minority Report remains a fascinatingly immersive and remarkably prescient blockbuster. The first film to pair Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise (the director and the star would reteam for 2005's War of the Worlds ), Minority Report connected with audiences in a big way, pulling in nearly $400 million at the box office, a huge take for a film at that time.

But it wasn’t just the star power of the Spielberg-Cruise pairing that attracted moviegoers. Adapted from the Philip K. Dick story of the same name, the film parlayed its themes of invasive technology and constant surveillance in the year 2054 into a story that resonated in 2002—and one that still reverberates in 2022 as we continue to grapple with tech’s pervasive and too often insidious influence.

Minority Report ’s ambitious vision of the future, using sets designed chiefly by Alex McDowell ( The Crow , Watchmen ) in conjunction with director Steven Spielberg and a think-tank of experts, set a striking tone for the film. The future was constructed as a collage of neo-noir and modernist aesthetics: blue-hued streets at night, hauntingly reflective holographic displays, sleek multi-directional cars, and most eerily, constant eye-scanners—reminiscent of our own cell phones and laptops—tracking every person in Washington D.C.

The script, adapted by Jon Cohen and rewritten by Scott Frank ( Logan , Queen’s Gambit , Out Of Sight ) into more of a character piece, was developed separately from the design of the film’s world. The result is a striking cinematic portrayal of the ways that the severe intrusion of privacy have become an irredeemable, inescapable facet of American society.

Tom Cruise, (future) crime fighter

Cruise stars as John Anderton, a high-ranking official in Washington D.C.’s Precrime Division, an experimental and well-funded policing enterprise looking to expand nationally. Three imprisoned psychics, known and semi-worshipped societally as the Precogs, experience visions of murders before they happen. The program has been so successful that premeditated murder has become a thing of the past in D.C. Now the Precogs only see crimes of passion; visions triggered by the emotional intensity that comes from spontaneous homicide. Those visions are then sifted through by Anderton, whose conductor-like haptic gestures rewind, fast-forward, and shift the visions through opaque glass that reflects the sterile, desaturated faces of himself and his fellow policemen.

Our initial exposure to this process is in the opening scene, via three perspectives. First we watch the vision of the lead Precog, Agatha (a poignant, eerie Samantha Morton), of a man murdering his wife and her paramour with scissors. Next Anderton and his team cross-reference Agatha’s vision with public records to triangulate the location of the murder. Spielberg then alternates the present scenes of Anderton’s search, with scenes in the expected murderer’s present, as he gradually picks up on the breadcrumbs that reveal his wife’s infidelity.

The dramatic, and temporal, irony in these scenes reflects the ways Anderton is initially separate from the world he inhabits. By exposing viewers to this would-be murderer’s point of view, the world engages them in the possibility that he’s being violated. Agatha’s vision is not necessarily set in stone, and the discrepancy between the dramatic point of view of Anderton, and the contradicting point of view of this man in Anderton’s world, plants seeds of doubt as to whether or not he really would have killed his wife.

John Anderton (Tom Cruise) uses precognitive visions to solve a crime before it happens.

The emotional boundaries of limitless technology

Anderton’s ignorance to the surrounding perspectives, and his belief in the dystopic system, is driven by his grief and exacerbated by his dependency on illegal synthetic drugs. While high, he watches special-ordered holographic videos of his presumably dead son Sean—kidnapped under his watch at a public pool—and his estranged wife, Lara (Kathryn Morris). Anderton, whose private life is an indigo haze of retrospective pain, is unequipped to see beyond what’s initially presented to him, both by the Precogs, and by his duplicitous partner and mentor Lamar (played with disarming mischief by Max von Sydow), the director of the Precrime unit. It’s not until the world comes crashing down on Anderton, and the Precogs’ vision shows him as the murderer, that he loses the ability to wield his power over others, and is consequently challenged to see the fascistic effects of his predeterminist perspective.

In Minority Report invasiveness—personal and otherwise—is a given. Throughout Anderton’s desperate efforts to prove himself innocent, Spielberg’s camera (in collaboration with the sharp eye of director of photography Janusz Kamińsky) captures Anderton’s impositions into that world. When he fights off the jetpack-toting associates he helped train and who’ve been ordered to take him in, he makes life hell for every civilian that happens to be in his way. Anderton crashes his assailants through a window while a family is preparing for dinner, then launches the assailants up through the dinner table of another family who live above. He escapes at the cost of other people’s privacy. Holding onto his delusion of innocence, Anderton is insistent on running, ignorant to the disruptions he causes in the lives of the people around him.

This scene is mirrored later when Anderton becomes even more desperate. After realizing that his every move is tracked by the eye-scanners that monitor D.C., he engages the underground network from which he buys drugs to have his eyes replaced with someone else’s. While he recovers from surgery, Anderton’s fellow officers deploy a cadre of spider-like drones to search for him by scanning the eyes of everyone in the apartment complex where he’s hiding. In a virtuoso overhead one-shot, Spielberg follows as the insistent spider drones interrupt people during their most private moments (a couple engaged in passionate sex, a taciturn man sitting on a toilet) to scan their eyes and confirm their identities, all before the crawling bots finally close in on Anderton.

The expanded perspective of the camera suggests the developing perspective of Anderton: By literally seeing the world through another person’s eyes, Anderton put himself in a more vulnerable position, the position of a civilian. Like the Norse God Odin sacrificing his eye to see Ragnarok, the end of the world, Anderton is now more privy to the danger of weaponizing precognition to intrude upon the intimacy of others.

Samantha Morton as Agatha in Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report.

A cop awakens to a criminal’s perspective

These are the moments that the intersection of the imaginative world and story of Minority Report feel the most engaging; when the design of the world pushes Anderton through a physical ringer, wearing him down to a point where he can recognize the impact of his actions. Beat-up and literally deformed by an enzyme that disguises his face, Anderton kidnaps the Precog Agatha in search of his minority report—the alternate version of the future Agatha sometimes sees—as proof he won’t commit murder. But in the pursuit of that goal, he becomes more open to the suffering of others in his world, and gradually unveils the truth about Agatha, whose mother was killed by Anderton’s mentor, Lamar, to preserve the Precrime program.

John never gets the minority report he wants from Agatha. She instead helps to remind him that he has a choice; that the grace he was unable to extend to the people he arrested, the foreknowledge of his own murder, is also the opportunity to choose otherwise. Though Anderton chooses not to be a murderer—at least not purposefully—the film spirals towards a dénouement where Anderton works with Agatha and Lara to reveal the crime that gave birth to the Precrime program. Lamar commits suicide, Precrime is disbanded, Anderton reconnects with his wife who becomes pregnant once more, and the Precogs are allowed to live the rest of their lives at a cabin far from the chaotic futures of other people.

However, before all of that, Agatha delivers another, unexpected minority report, a vision triggered by the love she feels in the room of Anderton and Lara’s lost son, and a touching counterpoint to the emotions of anger and desperation that trigger her visions of crimes of passion. John admits how much he misses his son out loud, connecting with Agatha, who reflects/reveals that her mother was murdered for wanting Agatha back after having given her up due to drug addiction. He asks Agatha to tell him who killed her mother. She screams for John to run, but it’s too late. He’s captured and imprisoned.

Tom Cruise as John Anderton in Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report.

Exploring the mysteries of the third act

There’s a theory that the third act of the film, full of maybe too-satisfying resolutions, is the dream of the captured Anderton. A haunting shot that caps off the film’s second act is the strongest evidence of this. We see John, comatose, in a graveyard of luminescent, floating pods, all people he put away while working for Precrime. “They say you have visions,” says the bemused prison watchmen, “That your life flashes before your eyes. That all your dreams come true.” Anderton’s pod descends, and he is left alone in a darkness whose only illumination is the glowing halo that keeps him unconscious.

From that point on, we never see Anderton actually escape the facility, but the film’s third act seems to cater to his deepest wishes; his wife is assured he wasn’t a murderer, Agatha’s mother is given justice. Even Lamar, the closest thing Anderton has to a father figure, apologizes as he collapses and dies by his own hand. But if it’s a dream, where is Anderton’s lost son, Sean? But the admittance of his grief after Agatha’s account of Sean’s alternate future, the unexpected but more meaningful minority report, may have opened his mind and heart to desire further resolution beyond his loss. Especially in Spielberg’s sentimental hands, there’s little reason not to accept the warm resolution of the film. But the possibility of an even darker ending, where the bad guy wins and Anderton pays for his lack of perspective, aligns with the film’s sci-fi dystopia, and noir roots.

Minority Report was the first of two features released by Spielberg in 2002 that featured a lead character desperately running from the inescapable, monitoring influence of a larger American institution. The second was Catch Me If You Can , and in both films, running proves to be futile. And yet, both films have disarmingly positive endings. But what’s remarkable about Spielberg’s filmmaking is the contrast between captivating, emotionally inviting images that draw us to the symbolic foundations of Western society, and the shadows of corruption that haunt them.

Whichever of Minority Report ’s endings is the “right” one, its doomed path towards a surveillance state marches on into our current all-seeing, all-recording present. But the fact that Spielberg has historically leaned into sentimentality as one of his greatest tools makes him especially prescient in depicting next-generation technology; because as Anderton demonstrates, it’s the intimacy—and power—of emotion which ultimately may mark the right (or wrong) choice between seemingly predestined futures.

The Untold Truth Of Minority Report

Samantha Morton wide-eyed

In 2002, Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise joined forces for the first time for the blockbuster "Minority Report." This tale of a future America where crime is prevented before it even happens is a harrowing piece of cinema, and it's one that's thrilling but also has genuine weight to its depiction of a man on the run. There are grave consequences to everyone's actions, which only makes the story extra immersive. Coming out in the early 2000s alongside other darker Spielberg fare like "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence" and "Munich," "Minority Report" is a fascinating entry into one of the boldest eras of this director's filmography. Despite making quite a bit of money at the box office, though, there's plenty about "Minority Report" that most people simply don't know.

The history of "Minority Report" is wide-ranging and covers everything from how long Cruise and Spielberg had been planning to work together to the specific vision Spielberg had for this futuristic society to what movie "Minority Report" was originally supposed to be a sequel to. Much like with the tiniest details in a vision offered up by the future-seeing precogs, there's a lot to unpack in the untold truth of one of Spielberg's grimmest and most propulsive blockbusters.

Minority Report was once set to be a Total Recall sequel

Years before Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise brought "Minority Report" to the big screen, audiences almost saw a radically different version of this project. Per Gizmodo , Philip K. Dick's short story "Minority Report" was optioned in the 1990s for a feature film that would be helmed by "Total Recall" director Paul Verhoeven. When looking over the story, Verhoeven felt it would be perfect material for a sequel to his 1990 film "Total Recall." The connection between these two sci-fi properties wasn't totally random, as "Total Recall" was based on another Phillip K. Dick story, "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale."

From there, the follow-up began to move quickly into production, with "Total Recall" leading man Arnold Schwarzenegger agreeing to come back for the sequel. However, just as the project was getting off the ground, Carolco — the production company in charge of the feature — went bankrupt. The script then got snagged by 20th Century Fox, who decided to make a stand-alone "Minority Report" movie that didn't have any connection to "Total Recall." This eventually lead to Spielberg's take on "Minority Report," which was co-produced by 20 th Century Fox. While the final version of "Minority Report" garnered widespread acclaim , fans of "Total Recall" are doubtlessly disappointed they never got a sequel to this film.

Why Steven Spielberg was attracted to Minority Report

There was a lot that might make "Minority Report" an attractive project for director Steven Spielberg. For one thing, it was a production that would unite the filmmaker with Tom Cruise, an actor he'd not yet had the chance to work with. For another, it was a science-fiction film, a genre Spielberg had extensive experience with, dating back to his work on "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" in 1978. Finally, the plot concerned a broken family, a recurring fascination for Spielberg in his films in everything from "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" to "Empire of the Sun."

However, what specifically attracted Spielberg to the world of "Minority Report" was how it was largely something he'd never done before. Talking to Seattle PI, Spielberg noted that he'd never made a mystery movie like "Minority Report," which was steeped in the kind of uncertainty and griminess that defined so many vintage noirs he loved. He explained, "I had never structured a mystery before. ... I went back to (the ones) I remembered loving, like 'The Man Who Knew Too Much,' 'North By Northwest,' 'The Maltese Falcon' and 'Key Largo.' I had a field day looking at, you know, what's the protoplasm that makes those mysteries work." Within these exciting new confines, Spielberg was able to tap into some familiar storytelling elements , but it was the unprecedented aspects of "Minority Report" that truly excited him as an artist.

Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg's long desire for collaboration

"Minority Report" wasn't just another Tom Cruise action movie nor was it just another sci-fi film helmed by Steven Spielberg. This was a momentous moment in the career of both of these men, as it finally gave Cruise and Spielberg a chance to work with each other. It was no coincidence that the duo was finally making a movie together on "Minority Report," either, as they had been trying to unite forces for years.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly , Spielberg recalled how he had first met Cruise on the set of "Risky Business" back in the early 1980s. Right then and there, a spark began to form between the two and they were determined to work together. Cruise put it plainly: "I just knew I wanted to work with the guy. Even back then he was Steven Spielberg. The guy who did 'E.T.' and 'Raiders of the Lost Ark.”' Years went by, however, as they kept trying to figure out the perfect project to join forces on. 

Things almost came together for them when Spielberg was set to direct Cruise on 1988's "Rain Man." However, Spielberg had to depart the film because of scheduling conflicts with "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," but he never gave up on his ambitions of directing a Tom Cruise star vehicle. Eventually, Cruise brought "Minority Report" to Spielberg, and suddenly, these years of yearning came to fruition. Finally, here was a production that united an iconic director with an equally iconic actor.

Minority Report was supposed to be made before A.I.

At the dawn of the 21 st -century, speculation was running rampant over what would be the next Steven Spielberg directorial effort. The filmmaker's last film had been the 1998 feature "Saving Private Ryan," which scored Spielberg his second Best Director Oscar win and was one of the highest-grossing films of the year (via Box Office Mojo ). These feats, combined with the man's reputation as one of the most acclaimed and successful directors ever, meant that all eyes were on where he would go next. "Minority Report" initially looked like a potentially ripe candidate to be the first Spielberg movie of the 2000s, especially once he turned down the opportunity to direct "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (via The Guardian ).

Plans to have "Minority Report" film in the first year of the 21 st -century were scuttled in March 2000 when it was announced that Spielberg would be helming "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence" first (via BBC News ). "A.I" was a production that had been lingering on Spielberg's "to-do list" for years, but it took precedent once Stanley Kubrick, who wrote the screenplay for "A.I.," passed away in March 1999. Kubrick had spent decades writing "A.I." and this, combined with the deep bond he and Spielberg shared, inspired Spielberg to make this film a priority. So, the start date of "Minority Report" got pushed to April 2001, which meant it would not have the honor of being Spielberg's first directorial effort of the new century.

Matt Damon was supposed to be in Minority Report

While Tom Cruise was always set to anchor the world of "Minority Report" as the protagonist John Anderton, several other actors came and went from the film's supporting cast over the course of its production. Many of these were massive names, who could've been right at home with the level of prestige associated with Cruise and Steven Spielberg. One such person was Matt Damon, who was approached to play a character who has a kinship with John, but then is forced to hunt him down when John is pre-accused of murder.

Per USA Today , Damon was interested in the part, and his then-recent Oscar win for writing "Good Will Hunting" would have made him an appropriately acclaimed artist for such a star-studded project. Plus, Damon and Spielberg had already worked together once before on the box office juggernaut "Saving Private Ryan." While Damon was dying to reunite with this filmmaker, it was never meant to be. Scheduling conflicts prevented him from joining Cruise in "Minority Report." Damon was already on the line to do "Ocean's Eleven" and the filming schedule for that Steven Soderbergh ensemble piece directly conflicted with "Minority Report." With that, "Minority Report" began to look around for someone else to take on the role instead (which eventually went to Colin Farrell).

Minority Report's newfound post-9/11 relevance

"Minority Report" was filmed in the summer of 2001 , and wrapped just a few months before the terrorist attacks of September 11 would forever alter the United States of America. In the wake of such devastating horrors, it was inevitable for people to read new 9/11-relevant layers into pieces of art that were never meant to talk about this historical event. When it came to "Minority Report," even director Steven Spielberg recognized how the project would inevitably come across as something that had extra important and timely relevance to moviegoers due to the state of the world after 9/11.

Speaking to The New Zealand Herald , Spielberg was upfront about how a film like "Minority Report" — which is about policing and privacy — would register with people in the wake of 9/11. He noted that the film mirrored how authorities were rounding up people in real life to get information and prevent future atrocities, saying "I feel that history has caught up with our imagination and given us a cold soak of reality." "Minority Report" would only become even more eerily relevant in the years to come, though, as the PATRIOT Act enhanced the surveillance of the American government on its citizens, while controversy over torture tactics on innocent civilians would make people question the lengths the United States had gone in the name of preventing future terrorist attacks.

The noirs that guided Spielberg's Minority Report vision

In many ways, "Minority Report" was a movie that could only exist in the 21 st  century, namely with its digital-effects wizardry and its use of then-fresh-faced talent like Colin Farrell and Samantha Morton. But it's also a feature rooted deeply in one of the great film genres of the 20 th century: noir. Film noir — which literally means "black film" — often focuses on stories of lone protagonists, who must endure in the face of societies gone haywire due to moral corruption. So, it's easy to see why "Minority Report" would fit into the hallmarks of this genre.

But to ensure that "Minority Report" lived up to all of its potential, Spielberg opted to do a crash course in the all-time greats of the noir landscape before he started shooting this Tom Cruise vehicle. Talking to Entertainment Weekly , Spielberg said that he "wanted to give the movie a noir feel," and subsequently threw himself a film festival of classics of the genre: "Asphalt Jungle," "Key Largo," and "The Maltese Falcon" were the movies he turned to while molding his vision for "Minority Report." He also noted that he tried to embrace the darker edges of the genre in order to counter his "sentimental side." 

How Spielberg approached technology within Minority Report

Much like our own modern world, the universe that "Minority Report" inhabits is one defined by technology. Not only is futuristic tech used to prevent crimes before they even happen, but virtual ads show up all over the place, while spider robots are used to hunt down lethal criminals. This is a world defined by machines even more than by the men that made them. Because of their importance to the story, Steven Spielberg was very careful about the role technology would play in "Minority Report" and how it would be realized.

According to Entertainment Weekly , Spielberg gathered a group of futurists and asked them to brainstorm about a plausible vision of what life in 2054 could be like. Talking to Roger Ebert , Spielberg elaborated that his goal with "Minority Report" was to make a movie where all the futuristic tech shown on-screen could eventually become a reality. This informed some hopeful details about "Minority Report's" vision of what's to come, including the idea of a transportation system that isn't as harmful to the environment. Simultaneously, he wanted to present an eerie quality to the intrusive nature of futuristic advertising. 

Spielberg believed that "in the future, television will be watching us, and customizing itself to what it knows about us." He continued, "The thrilling thing is, that will make us feel we're part of the medium. The scary thing us, we'll lose our right to privacy." This dichotomy gets reflected in various spots in "Minority Report," which both demonstrates how far media and consumer materials have come, and also how nobody has privacy in this society on-screen. This approach to technology informed the urgent darkness of "Minority Report," but also proved prescient (or precognitive, if you will) in how the digital world would evolve in the decades to come.

Spielberg's insistence on practical sets

In the summer of 2002, both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg released new directorial efforts that were costly action blockbusters. Lucas debuted "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones," which heavily utilized digital sets. In contrast, Spielberg's "Minority Report" primarily employed practically realized backgrounds. Even though this mystery takes place in the future, Spielberg still went the route of building elaborate sets that the actors could see and feel as they shot the film. Though they had both come into their own as iconic filmmakers in the 1970s, the summer of 2002 made it clear that Lucas and Spielberg had drastically different aims now in terms of visual sensibilities and approaches.

Talking to Roger Ebert , Spielberg expressed admiration for "Attack of the Clones" and all that Lucas had accomplished with his digital sets. However, Spielberg also said that he was hoping to never get to the point where he was shooting movies that would involve just green screens and CGI sets, in part because physical sets stimulate and inspire the actors.

On "Minority Report," Spielberg was insistent that practical sets be used whenever possible, while even the most seemingly impossible pieces of camerawork — such as the overhead shot of the robotic spiders entering the building where John is hiding — were realized through on-set ingenuity rather than post-production digital wizardry. Spielberg's commitment to old-school production design choices ensured that the world of "Minority Report" reverberated with tangibility and grit.

Samantha Morton's experience working with Spielberg

In reflecting on Steven Spielberg to OC Movie Reviews in January 2022, "Minority Report" actor Samantha Morton, who portrays the precog Agatha, had a startling declaration to make about this filmmaker: He's good at his craft. Referring to him as "an incredible filmmaker," Morton especially appreciates "Schindler's List." This 1993 Oscar-winning film struck Morton as the kind of feature that's brutal to watch, but also important to remind the world of atrocities that "should never happen again."

Morton's admiration for Spielberg goes deeper than just what he accomplishes as an artist, though. She also noted that he is "an absolutely amazing person to work for." Remarking that because she was "quite young" when she did "Minority Report," her experience working with Spielberg established a great threshold and "set the bar very high" for the remainder of her career.

Even better, Morton's fondness for Spielberg only deepened when she did the 2022 film "Save the Cinema," an inspirational drama about a small town trying to save a movie theater. The film is based on a true story about the mayor of the Welsh town Carmarthen sending a letter to Steven Spielberg in 1993, imploring the director to make it possible for "Jurassic Park" to be screened in Carmarthen (via Wales Online ). Amazingly, Spielberg responded and the film premiered in this small town the same day as in London. Realizing what Spielberg had done to help everyday people in real life only emphasized how much Morton adored her former "Minority Report" director.

The distinctive cinematography of Minority Report

Perhaps more distinct than any of the fight scenes or explosions in "Minority Report" is the look of the entire feature. The visual style of "Minority Report" is unique and feels drained of color, which complements the grim atmosphere of the film. Talking to The New York Times , Steven Spielberg noted that he used a process called bleach-bypassing to achieve this effect. Bleach-bypassing is done in post-production, and drains out the color from people's faces. Now instead of having cheeks and skin tone that radiate warmth, everyone in "Minority Report" has pale faces, which helps to accentuate their constantly intense and paranoid demeanors.

Spielberg noted that touches like this brought "to the photo-realism a kind of abstract expressionism," while several sequences were shot on 800 ASA film stock to further ensure an old-school grainy appearance that would make "it feel more like old noir." The end result was that "Minority Report" combined older-looking techniques and styles seen predominately in the 1940s with a modern tale and technology, which truly made it look like no other movie out there. This was especially the case among the big-budget blockbusters made at the dawn of the 21 st -century, which tended towards more modern and digital looks.

The box office run of Minority Report

"Minority Report" arrived in theaters with lots of hype, thanks to its between Tom Cruise and director Steven Spielberg. The melding of these Hollywood titans excited film fans, but there was also some concern wafting in the air around its release. Chiefly, this was an unusual blockbuster in the summer of 2002. This was a season dominated by lighthearted "Star Wars" adventures and the first "Spider-Man" movie (via Box Office Mojo ). These movies were a sharp contrast to the more grounded and darker noir-inspired tale that "Minority Report" was delivering. Spielberg and Cruise were also coming off titles that were widely perceived to be box office missteps ( "A.I." and "Vanilla Sky," respectively), a sign that even immortal legends could stumble financially.

In the end, "Minority Report" did manage to secure $358.8 million worldwide , more than tripling its sizable $102 million budget. This feature also came in ahead of other notable Spielberg titles globally , such as "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." If there was a complaint to be had here, it's that "Minority Report" did get overshadowed by several other 2002 movies. While it was the  10 th  biggest film of the year worldwide , domestically, "Minority Report" was in 17 th place . It even came in behind titles like "Signs" and "xXx," neither of which promised the union of Cruise and Spielberg. While it didn't crush all other 2002 movies, "Minority Report" was still a profitable exercise, reinforcing that Spielberg blockbusters can always draw a mighty crowd.

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Minority Report Remains a Flawed But Fantastic Sci-Fi Noir

The philip k. dick adaptation from steven spielberg and tom cruise turns 20 this week..

Samantha Morton and Tom Cruise in Minority Report.

The best movie rewatches happen when you revisit a film you know you liked, but don’t really remember. That happened to me last week with Steven Spielberg ’s 2002 sci-fi film   Minority Report . I saw it in theaters when it was released 20 years ago this week but have probably only seen it once since then. So I was honestly very excited to sit down and dive back into a Steven Spielberg movie I had little to no memory of... outside of memes of Tom Cruise moving video feeds with his hands and the knowledge that the film predicted much of our modern technology.

Rewatching Minority Report on its 20th anniversary, a few things instantly became clear. First, this film hasn’t aged at all. One or two shots look a little wonky effects-wise but everything else, from the visual and practical effects to the compelling story, award-worthy production design, and hugely talented cast, all feel timeless. That’s also in large part to the fact that as time moves along, concepts in the film like facial recognition, targeted advertising, self-driving cars, etc., have all become either common or much closer to reality. And yet, despite all of that, I also realized why Minority Report hasn’t really stuck with me all these years. That’s because while it’s very good, it has a few major narrative issues that hold it back from being top-tier sci-fi, or top-tier Spielberg.

three people floating in water

Based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, Minority Report takes place in the year 2054. Society has figured out a way to predict murders before they happen, thanks to a trio of clairvoyant individuals called Precogs (for precognition). John Anderton (Tom Cruise) works in Precrime, a police division that interprets the Precog visions and thwarts the murders before they happen. The department has basically stopped all murder in the Washington D.C. area and the founder Lamar Burgess (Max Von Sydow) is hoping to expand the program nationally.

Then, one fateful day, the Precogs have a vision of Anderton himself committing a murder of a man he’s never seen. How could they see a vision of him committing a murder, especially of a person he doesn’t know? And so Anderton goes on the run, beginning a film noir-inspired quest to solve not just his own future crime, but its ties into the roots of Precrime itself.

Oddly, the best parts of Minority Report are also some of its weakest, which seems impossible but hear me out. The story here is multilayered, with tons of twists, turns, double-crosses, and more. But in order for many of those things to make sense, the audience also has to understand the nuts and bolts of Precrime: w here it came from, how it works, its moral and ethical implications, etc. That requires a handful of dense exposition scenes where characters stand in a room and explain things to each other. The topics discussed are fascinating, including the reason why the film is called “Minority Report,” but the scenes work against the film, slowing it down enough to hinder it.

Cruise with a stunned look on his face.

That’s partially the film’s fault because the action sequences linking everything can be rather spectacular. Cruise jumps across floating cars, dodges robots on an assembly line, flies through alleys on a jet pack— t he movie is filled with a lot of super cool stuff. So when a pulse-pounding action scene concludes, and as a result, you get a long, plodding info dump, it’s very constrictive.

And yet, pacing aside, the topics discussed are ultra rewarding. The best examples are the film’s arguments about fate, some of which are implied, while others are explicitly dealt with in the text. Precrime is an idea where a person is arrested before they are going to commit a crime. So they never actually commit the crime they’re arrested for. Is that fair? Was it absolutely going to happen? Later, when Anderton knows he’s fated to commit a murder, does he still have to go through with it? And if he doesn’t, does that mean the whole system is fatally flawed? Spielberg deals with these issues a lot, especially in the film’s final act, and as prominent as they are, you also wish there was more of it. Meaning, that even those many of those scenes may hurt the film in one way, they boost it up in others.

cruise manipulates videos, colin farrell watches

Another major issue with the film happens at its most crucial point: the ending. Minority Report is so excited to unravel all its very smart narrative reveals, it ends up tripping over itself. For example, throughout the whole movie, Anderton has been at odds with Colin Farrell’s character, another detective named Danny Witwer. Eventually, Witwer realizes that Anderton is not the villain at all and ends up solving the whole mystery on his own. In fact, he describes it to another character in one of those aforementioned exposition-heavy scenes. A few scenes later, Anderton himself does the exact same thing... to the exact same character Witwer did it too. The shocking revelations just aren’t as shocking when you hear them twice in 10 minutes. Not to mention, near the end of the film Anderton gets captured, only to be broken out mere seconds later by a character that’s barely been in the movie— h is ex-wife, played by Kathryn Morris. These are just a few more examples of the ways Minority Report holds itself back.

Despite some problems with the storytelling, though, Minority Report is a super solid film. The visual effects and production designs are so magical, you want to spend extra time exploring this world, obsessing over all of the cool technology that was created to be placed on a shelf in the background. The supporting cast too, which includes not just Van Sydow and Farrell, but Samantha Morton, Tim Blake Nelson, and Peter Stormare, feels like a sampling of the coolest actors from the past, present, and future. And, of course, Cruise makes for a formidable, compelling lead.

Simply put, Minority Report is awesome. Is it perfect? Hell no. But 20 years after its release it can still take you on an adventure that enriches the mind as well as the senses. And while I’m no precog, I think the same will be said 30, 40, 50 years down the road too. Minority Report is currently not available to stream anywhere for free, but it is available to rent and purchase in all the usual spots.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel and Star Wars releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV , and everything you need to know about House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power .

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'Minority Report' Ending Explained: What Happens to John?

The sci-fi film's conclusion hints at finality, but the totality of the film points to ambiguity.

I had Minority Report wrong. When you look at it in the context of Steven Spielberg 's overall filmography, the film's ending seems like it follows in the footsteps of movies like Schindler's List , Saving Private Ryan , and even A.I. Artificial Intelligence (some view the ending as bleak, but Spielberg says its happier conclusion is where he and Stanley Kubrick wanted to take it). Spielberg is a director who doesn't really go for ambiguous endings and wants to give the audience a feeling of hope even in the face of humanity's darkest impulses, and so I viewed Minority Report the same way—a film that has a bleak ending ( Tom Cruise 's protagonist John Anderton goes in the ground, sentenced for a crime for which he was framed), but then it keeps going so that Spielberg can have a happier conclusion. Upon a recent viewing, however, it's clear that Spielberg crafted the most ambiguous ending of his career and one that speaks to the film's larger thematic intersection of choice and observation. With Minority Report recently streaming on HBO Max, it's an ending worth revisiting.

'Minority Report' Questions If Seeing Is Believing

Minority Report is a movie obsessed with what we can see, and that seeing is believing. The Department of Precrime is based on visions of the precogs. The precogs only give out little bits of information and it's up to detectives to piece them together into a narrative that makes sense of an upcoming murder. John Anderton, a man haunted by visions of his past where his son was kidnapped and never found, now devotes his life to visions of the future even though, as the film unfolds, these visions are far from ironclad despite the religious implications put upon the precogs (the film comes right up to the line of calling them "oracles", their dwelling is nicknamed "the temple", and even one of John's fellow detectives remarks, "We're more like clergy than cops."). People want to believe that the precogs are infallible, so they build the case around that. As is so often the case with human nature, believing is seeing rather than the other way around.

Spielberg and screenwriters Scott Frank and Jon Cohen (working from a short story by Philip K. Dick ) constantly draw attention to notions of observers and the observed. The Washington, D.C. of 2054 is pretty much a surveillance state where privacy has been eliminated for one reason or another. Sometimes it's to sell your crap as scanners read your eyeballs (note that Spielberg chose to base identification around eyes—our instrument of vision—rather than faces) and sometimes it's the government to track your every movement like when John boards a train. John is a drug addict, and his drug is supposed to provide "clarity" even though he just gets high and hides in the past of happier times with his lost son. When Agatha grabs John for the first time to show him a particular vision, she asks him, "Can you see?"

Added Surveillance Doesn't Make 'Minority Report's World More Just

And yet the world presented in Minority Report , a world that has cut down on 90% of murders, is not a "better" or "more just" world. It's a world with a filthy underbelly where the surveillance state hasn't solved poverty or improved people's lives. Rather than a pleasant dystopia, Spielberg and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski shoot almost the entire movie in greys and blinding lights, a world where nothing is clearer, just more sterile until you need a crime like getting your eyeballs replaced. But even in the scene where the cops send "spiders" around to scan everyone's eyes, it's all a matter of what we don't see. The cops are looking for John, but they miss all the human tragedy around them whether it's the scared family or the bickering couple or the dilapidated surroundings. As is often the case with Minority Report , just because something has your focus, that doesn't mean you've seen the whole picture.

That's the trap I fell into. I was so focused on Spielberg's narrative tendencies that I missed understanding the film holistically. Instead, I viewed it structurally, and the structure seemed to hinge more on the inevitably of fate even though, as I saw on this recent viewing, fate is upended multiple times. "You can choose," Agatha ( Samantha Morton ) pleads with John, and John decides not to kill Leo Crow ( Mike Binder ). The second choice arrives in the film's conclusion.

What Happens at the End of 'Minority Report'

At the climax of the film, John has been apprehended and "haloed", a device put around his head that basically causes him to go catatonic so the authorities can put him into the ground for the rest of his natural life. The story then continues with Lamar Burgress ( Max Von Sydow ) preparing to be feted for the nationwide implementation of the precrime program. However, John's ex-wife Lara ( Kathryn Morris ), breaks into the containment unit where John is being kept and liberates him. They then work together to expose the evidence that Lamar worked his way around the pre-crime system to avoid being captured for the murder of Anne Lively ( Jessica Harper ), Agatha's mother. Anne wanted her daughter back, but that would have broken the precrime department, so Lamar decided to kill her and make the murder look like an echo, an aftershock that technicians would write off rather than the actual murder. Yet again, people see something, but what they're seeing has been altered by their own beliefs.

Meanwhile, as John moves to confront Lamar, the precogs signal a new upcoming murder—Lamar will kill John at the party. When John arrives at the party where Lamar has been exposed for killing Anne, John presents Lamar with a choice: fulfill the precogs' prophecy and commit murder, or admit that the system is flawed and that the future can be changed once it has been observed. As the Observer Effect states, the act of looking at something changes it. My look at the film changed it into a pattern of Spielberg's filmography, but looking at the whole picture—the stuff I overlooked and missed, similar to the characters—changes its entire complexion.

Looking at the film now, it's not that the film's conclusion happens or if it's just a vision in John's head. Does the bad guy get away with it, or does the hero save the day? It depends on how you're willing to look at it. We've just been treated to a film that's all about the fallibility of our own visions. We have a surveillance state that misses the justice it's supposed to implement. We have a program ostensibly to protect humanity that comes from the suffering of three innocent beings who are perpetually tormented by visions of murder. We have a hero who made it his mission to avert a horrible vision and ended up fulfilling it like Oedipus Rex, who famously gouged out his own eyes. So is Minority Report a depressing Greek tragedy or an uplifting Hollywood blockbuster? You can choose.

Minority Report Tried to Warn Us About Technology

Steven Spielberg’s film predicted how having more convenience would mean sacrificing personal freedom.

Tom Cruise (as Chief John Anderton), at a pre-crime screen featuring PreCog visions in "Minority Report"

In Minority Report , when the detective John Anderton goes on the run in Washington, D.C., one of the first things he needs to do is swap out his eyes. The police of Steven Spielberg’s film, set in 2054, are not the only ones tracking people with eye-scanning machines mounted around the city. Public transit does so too, as does every business, and even all the billboards, which scream slogans such as “John Anderton! You could use a Guinness right about now!” as he walks by them.

That tracking system is the most mundanely frightening part of the film’s surveillance-state future, in which you might be arrested for a crime you haven’t yet committed. After a harrowing back-alley surgery, Anderton (played by Tom Cruise) reemerges into society with a new set of eyes. When he pops into a store, a holographic attendant greets him cheerfully: “Hello, Mr. Yakamoto! Welcome back to the Gap! How did those assorted tank tops work out for you?” The laugh line is much needed in a high-tension movie, but when I watched Minority Report recently, in a time when every social-media app I use seems to be listening to and anticipating my wants and desires, the gag sent a new chill up my spine.

When Minority Report hit theaters 20 years ago, it was marketed mainly as a long-awaited first-time collaboration between Hollywood’s biggest director and one of its biggest stars. Beyond that, 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks mostly promised an action-packed chase movie, pushing the punchy tagline “Everybody runs.” The film certainly delivers on that front, with some of the most inventive visual flourishes of Spielberg’s career. In one scene, a team of flying policemen smashes into an apartment where dinner’s being made, and one of their jet packs flash-fries some burger patties . In another, Anderton fights his would-be captors in an auto factory, dives into the assembly line, and then drives away in a newly built car—a set piece Alfred Hitchcock had once supposedly fantasized about including in North by Northwest.

And yet: Every bit of Spielbergian fun in Minority Report is laced with unspoken menace. Lexus designed the avant-garde cars, depicting what automobiles of tomorrow might actually look like. The sleek design is appealing, but the car is also a self-driving pod that offers its user no real control, changing direction to take Anderton straight to jail when he’s eventually discovered. A wide array of forward-thinking technology in the film was cooked up by experts whom Spielberg asked to envision life five decades hence, and in almost every case, advances in convenience come with insidious restrictions on personal freedom.

Read: Minority Report and the drawbacks of foresight

The central concept of Minority Report , based on a novella by Philip K. Dick, is that D.C.’s new “Precrime” division has eliminated murder in the city by tapping the brains of three psychics dubbed “precogs,” whose dreams of death are used to prevent killings before they happen. The notion is troubling: Police scrutiny has expanded into a guessed-at future, though the program is publicly presented as such a triumphant success that the city is lobbying to expand it nationally. “We are arresting individuals who have broken no law,” grouses Danny Witwer (Colin Farrell), the Department of Justice agent brought in to evaluate the system. But they will , he’s assured. Anderton is Precrime’s most devoted advocate—until the precogs predict that he’ll murder someone in the next 36 hours.

That’s when he goes on the run, resolute in the belief (like much of the quarry he’s chased) that he’s innocent. And then the superficially benevolent culture around him starts to close in. The viewer never sees any public opposition to Precrime, or to the brutal tactics employed by its agency; propagandistic commercials boasting about the end of murder are seemingly enough to silence any protest. One extraordinary sequence sees Anderton hiding out in an apartment building after his eye surgery. The cops storm in, but rather than simply batter down doors, they toss out insect-like drones named “Spyders” that roam the halls, scanning every inhabitant. In one unbroken shot , the camera pans from room to room as the Spyders breach each home, a sinister manifestation of a society without privacy.

Minority Report ’s world building never feels particularly didactic—Spielberg’s persistent need to entertain his viewers means that even the most unsettling material is a delight to watch and rewatch. Still, the film was not quite a runaway success on the scale of his other releases around that time, such as The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Saving Private Ryan . It grossed only $132 million domestically. Summer theatergoers may have picked up on the movie’s gloomy tone: Spielberg’s regular cinematographer, Janusz Kamiński, gave it a washed-out color palette by overlighting scenes and then bleach-bypassing the film negative, similar to what he’d done for Saving Private Ryan . The aesthetic is pitch-perfect for the noir-y tale Spielberg is telling. But in the summer after September 11, 2001, the films that did best at the box office had a much poppier accent, including Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man and the breakout hit My Big Fat Greek Wedding .

The dark outlook is, however, of a piece with much of Spielberg’s oeuvre in the 2000s. In the years just before and after Minority Report , his output ranged from mercilessly sad to doggedly bittersweet. By 2005, he’d made two of his grimmest works and his most obvious responses to 9/11, War of the Worlds (which reunited him with Tom Cruise) and the acidic revenge film Munich . War of the Worlds depicts mass destruction (via alien invasion) with visceral terror, and Munich investigates the worthlessness and cruelty of government-sponsored vengeance after a national tragedy.

But Minority Report , though it was written and filmed before 9/11, might be Spielberg’s most prescient work of all. Tasked with predicting our near future, he imagined an America filled with dazzling inventions but rotting from the inside out, one in which the erosion of civil liberties is thinly veiled by chest-thumping braggadocio about technology’s power to solve every problem. Spielberg's eye-scanning cameras and autocratic cops could easily be exchanged with the overreach of the PATRIOT Act, or the NSA listening in to casual conversations. The film’s warning is one the world is only beginning to heed. We may not have precogs dreaming of murders in police precincts, but so much beloved technology of today is just as effective at watching and constricting our lives.

15 Major Facts About 'Minority Report'

It was the first Hollywood movie to feature a completely digital production design.

By Roger Cormier | Mar 11, 2024, 1:31 PM EDT

'Minority Report'

The 2002 movie Minority Report was a long-planned collaboration between actor Tom Cruise and director Steven Spielberg. Based on Philip K. Dick’s short story of the same name, the movie explores a future in which criminals are captured before they commit their crimes. Here are 15 things you might not have known about the first Hollywood movie to feature a completely digital production design .

1. IT WAS ORIGINALLY INTENDED AS A SEQUEL TO TOTAL RECALL .

Total Recall was another movie adaptation of a Philip K. Dick story. The Minority Report movie rights were held by cinematographer-turned-director Jan de Bont ( Speed , Twister ) at one point, who ended up getting a producer credit on the film without ever setting foot on set. Eventually Cruise approached Spielberg about an early version of the script, written for de Bont by Jon Cohen, which Spielberg hired Scott Frank to rewrite. When Cruise and Spielberg’s schedules were finally both clear at the same time, they went to work.

2. IT WAS INTENDED AS A FUTURISTIC VERSION OF THE FRENCH CONNECTION .

Spielberg and screenwriter Scott Frank met for months to talk about the story for Minority Report before the outlining stage even began. The general idea the two came up with was doing The French Connection , but set in the year 2050 .

3. MERYL STREEP SIGNED UP TO PLAY DR. IRIS HINEMAN.

Streep's casting was reported in March of 2001, but she didn’t end up in the film at all (Lois Smith played the part). Matt Damon was offered the role of Danny Witwer, but couldn’t do it because of Ocean’s Eleven . Cate Blanchett was offered the part of the precog Agatha, Jenna Elfman was offered Lara Clarke, and Sir Ian McKellen could have been Lamar Burgess.

4. STEVEN SPIELBERG TOLD TOM CRUISE NOT TO TAKE A SALARY.

At the time, Spielberg claimed that he had not taken a salary on a movie in 18 years. And he wanted Cruise to do the same. Instead, the two reportedly agreed to receiving no upfront money in exchange for approximately 15 percent of the box office apiece. (The film made more than $358 million worldwide.)

5. SPIELBERG WANTED TO GET DIRTY.

Spielberg told his longtime cinematographer, Janusz Kaminski, that he wanted Minority Report to be the “ ugliest, dirtiest movie ” he had ever made. This was partially achieved by Kaminski’s “bleach bypass” approach to post-production, which pulled “about 40 percent” of the color out of the final images, but more color was added to the lights. The bleached-out feature gave the film deep shadows and bright highlights.

6. A THINK TANK WAS ORGANIZED TO HELP IMAGINE THE FUTURE.

To determine what the world might be like in the year 2054, Spielberg brought together 23 futurists for a brainstorming session. He wanted a reality-based future instead of a science fiction-informed one. All 23 of the participants believed that privacy was going to be a thing of the past. An 80-page “ 2054 bible ” was on hand to keep the movie’s universe consistent.

7. TIM BLAKE NELSON WAS TOLD TO USE A BOSTON ACCENT.

The Oklahoma-born Nelson (Gideon) was thrown a little bit when Spielberg and Cruise went through his rehearsed lines and made some last-minute changes, including the addition of a Boston accent. "It seemed so arbitrary," Nelson told The A.V. Club , "but it was really a brilliant piece of direction because everything suddenly started to click. Not only did it click in terms of pushing me to an extreme that he would appreciate and would work for his movie but every single change they made suddenly made sense rhythmically."

8. THE PRECOGS WERE NAMED AFTER FAMOUS AUTHORS.

Arthur, Agatha, and Dashiell were named for the mystery writers Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, and Dashiell Hammett.

9. THE CAR FACTORY SCENE WAS BASED ON AN UNFILMED SCENE IN A HITCHCOCK MOVIE.

Hitchcock wanted to put something similar in North by Northwest .

10. CRUISE DID HIS OWN BATHTUB STUNTS.

Cruise's John Anderton managed to make an air bubble in the tub because of the actor playing him, not from CGI, which Spielberg was prepared to use. Cruise wanted to do it naturally .

11. COLIN FARRELL NEEDED 36 TAKES TO NAIL ONE LINE.

“I’m sure you all understand the fundamental paradox of Precrime methodology” was the one Witwer line that gave Farrell trouble. The actor’s defense was that it was the morning after his birthday. "And I got worse as we went along," Farrell told IGN .

12. A FOURTH OF THE BUDGET WAS FINANCED BY PRODUCT PLACEMENT.

Toyota paid $5 million to get a futuristic Lexus called the Mag-Lev in Minority Report . Nokia shelled out $2 million for the characters to wear Nokia headsets. The Gap, Pepsi, American Express, and Reebok got in on the sci-fi action, too.

13. CAMERON DIAZ AND CAMERON CROWE MADE CAMEOS ON THE TRAIN.

After Spielberg made a cameo in Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky (which starred Cruise and Cameron Diaz), Crowe returned the favor. Originally Crowe was going to be a futuristic bum, but his role was changed to a businessman reading the newspaper. Diaz played a businesswoman talking on her cell phone right behind Crowe.

14. PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON WAS ALSO ON THAT TRAIN.

But even Anderson couldn’t find himself in the movie.

15. JOHN WILLIAMS SCORED THE FILM, BUT CAME TO THE PROJECT RATHER LATE.

Typically, longtime collaborators John Williams and Steven Spielberg begin discussing and working on the score for a project in the very early stages of production. In the case of Minority Report , Williams didn't come aboard until the film was mostly shot. Which ended up working out well for Williams, as he was able to experience the many twists and turns of the film before creating its music, and create an emotional arc to complement that. His noir-style composition for Minority Report was meant to end on a hopeful note for the future. "That surprises a lot of people," Williams said . "We've been in a dark, futuristic mode and then, unexpectedly, there's this lyricism reflecting a sense of innocence and hope."

Minority Report Ending Explained: What Actually Happened?

Everybody runs...but are they running to the truth?

Tom Cruise studies evidence on his computer display in Minority Report.

During the early aughts, the pairing of Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg delivered two of the best sci-fi movies of our recent era. Both Minority Report and War of the Worlds have a pretty staunch fanbase, with the first film being based off of the Phillip K. Dick novella The Minority Report. It was a box office success, with the sort of impressive action and happy ending you’d expect from a Spielberg movie. Depending on who you talk to though, the Minority Report ending only wants you to think it’s a happy conclusion. 

Is this the hidden truth, or is the internet just digging into rabbit holes that don’t have a basis in reality? Let’s revisit the finale of the story, as well as the one scene that planted this paranoid seed to begin with, and ultimately decide if Minority Report ’s conclusion really is a typical Steven Spielberg ending.

Tom Cruise and Kathryn Morris stand together in a dimly lit apartment in Minority Report.

What Happens At The End Of Minority Report?

Precrime Chief John Anderton (Tom Cruise) has been arrested for a murder he was predicted to commit. That act was an elaborate frame job, all thanks to Anderton’s boss, Precrime director Lamarr Burgess (Max Von Sydow). While Minority Report’s hero is predicted to have murdered a man he never met, it was all a setup due to the detective stumbling on a truth he was never supposed to know: Burgess literally killed to protect the future of this fledgling law enforcement body.

After his arrest, John is sent to a stasis prison that houses all of the suspects Precrime has arrested in its six year history. It isn’t long before Anderton’s estranged wife Lara (Kathryn Morris) breaks him out, with the pair setting out to expose Lamarr Burgess and his actions to the world. What started with Burgess killing the mother of vital Precog Agatha (Samantha Morton) ended in a suicide to prevent himself from winding up in the same prison John Anderton ended up spending some time in.

Minority Report ends with John and Lara reuniting, the pair now expecting another child. As for Agatha and her fellow Precogs, they move to the countryside and start a quiet life, with Precrime now shut down in light of the revelations made in reference to its creation.  

Tim Blake Nelson smiles creepily in Minority Report.

The Minority Report Scene That Spawned Two Interpretations

What’s described above sounds like a pretty solid Steven Spielberg ending, right? Minority Report feels like it wraps up rather nicely, with the sense of justice prevailing and family reuniting being something that this legendary director seems to love to land on when he can. However, there’s one scene in particular that has made fans of the 2002 neo-noir blockbuster question this reality ever since the film’s release.

It comes from the moment where John Anderton is about to become imprisoned, like all the perps he put away through Precrime. Before he’s fully secured in what could generously be called a “cell,” prison warden Gideon ( Tim Blake Nelson ) describes this futuristic incarceration experience as follows: 

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They say you have visions. That your life flashes before your eyes. That all your dreams come true.

That’s right folks! We’ve got another Phillip K. Dick adaptation that includes one scene of dialogue that makes you question everything. This same sort of thing happened with Total Recall’s ending , which not only littered the film with clues hinting at it all being a dream, but also had one scene that laid out a carefully crafted alternate hypothesis. 

One last fact that should be noted is that in a draft of Scott Frank’s script dated May 2001 (via Daily Script ) the dream theory we’re about to discuss gets a bit muddier. In a scene deleted from this version of Minority Report, we see John Anderton actually have a dream about his lost son Sean. 

Does this scene confirm that John is dreaming, or does it set up a clear barrier between the stasis prison reality and the outside world? In this opinion, it feels like another grey area, as we never got to see that sequence and how it was filmed; which plays into another piece of supposed evidence we’ll discuss in a little while. 

Minority Report’s stasis prisons are made to keep people imprisoned for an indeterminate period of time, with all the visions they could hope for occupying their trapped bodies and minds. So those that thought the ending to this detective story was a bit too upbeat have an alternate theory when it comes to interpreting what they’ve just seen. As it turns out, interpreting Minority Report’s ending includes a minority report of its own.

Tom Cruise strapped into his bright white cell in Minority Report.

Is Minority Report’s Ending Actually A Dream?

In keeping with the neo-noir vibes of the production script credited to writers Scott Frank and Jon Cohen, this other interpretation of Minority Report’s ending is that the reality is much darker. Thanks to Gideon’s rather suggestive warning, there’s a theoretical possibility that John’s still in prison at the end of the film, merely dreaming of this happy ending. 

Were this ending to be true, Minority Report’s noir inspirations would be fulfilled as it would ironically reinforce what we’re being told throughout the movie: Precrime is perfect. In this sense, that’s technically so, as Lamar Burgess’ crimes ensure the survival of the futuristic institution. No sacrifice is too great, and no player is considered to be better than this hypothetical game being played.

John Anderton’s confrontation of his former mentor doubles down on this sort of paradox. Anderton mentions to Lamarr Burgess that by killing him to protect Precrime, the system still works: he just has to suffer the consequences to allow it to survive. Strangely enough the Wiki description of Phillip K. Dick’s novella keeps that decision on Anderton, with the ending seeing our Precrime cop going to prison after willfully committing the murder he’s predicted to commit.

Tom Cruise in a daze with a halo on his head in Minority Report,

Which Interpretation Of Minority Report’s Ending Works Better?

Determining which interpretation of Minority Report’s ending works best really depends on where you draw the line between dreams and reality. But to hand down a ruling that truly does the film’s ending justice, we might have to go with the old fashioned concept of reasonable doubt.

In the case of Steven Spielberg’s futuristic crime caper, there is reasonable doubt over the finale we witnessed being the actual chain of events. Gideon’s bit of salesmanship noting that the stasis prison experience allows a person to dream their own happy ending is all it takes to give us that idea, and as such we can’t truly tell if this is reality or fiction. 

Not to mention, as io9 pointed out in its case discussing this theory, the visual style of the starkly blueish white palette of Minority Report does soften a bit as we get closer to the third act. That shift could be another clue towards the outlook of Tom Cruise’s character getting a bit more Technicolor as a result of his imprisonment. 

It’s hard not to watch the ending of Minority Report and question whether or not it’s all a dream. The questions, the evidence, and even how these events map up with what we saw previously are too powerful to wave them off. Knowing how Phillip K. Dick’s novella ends, the dream theory would keep the film right in line with the message that the author was trying to convey: the system is only perfect if you force it to be.

Dick was an author known for stories of distrust in shadowy authoritarian organizations, as well as paranoia in general. To give Minority Report an ending this happy works on the surface because of some additions that fit Steven Spielberg’s drive to humanize the story . 

Even then, you can’t deny the bones provided by the source material show their structure rather well in the first two acts. Reasonable doubt means that the dream theory feels like the more fitting ending to this mystery, despite the ending playing towards the strengths of Steven Spielberg’s brand.

Of course, that’s all subjective. No matter where you fall on this discussion, Minority Report is currently available for streaming through a Paramount+ subscription . Perhaps now’s a good time to revisit Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg’s neo-noir classic, and see what evidence you gather to support or debunk the argument made above. 

To take a look into the future at a theater near you, head over to the list of 2023 new movie releases . We swear that no Precogs were harmed in the compiling of this database.

Mike Reyes

Mike Reyes is the Senior Movie Contributor at CinemaBlend, though that title’s more of a guideline really. Passionate about entertainment since grade school, the movies have always held a special place in his life, which explains his current occupation. Mike graduated from Drew University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, but swore off of running for public office a long time ago. Mike's expertise ranges from James Bond to everything Alita, making for a brilliantly eclectic resume. He fights for the user.

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2002 rewatch: The infinite influence and disappointment of Minority Report

Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg's futuristic freakout remains eye-popping in every sense. Too bad it never ends.

Leah Greenblatt is the critic at large at Entertainment Weekly , covering movies, music, books, and theater. She is a member of the New York Film Critics Circle, and has been writing for EW since 2004.

tom cruise the minority report

Darren is a TV Critic. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFranich for opinions and recommendations.

tom cruise the minority report

Every week, Entertainment Weekly is looking back at the biggest movies of the summer of 2002. As audiences struggled to understand the new post-9/11 world order, Hollywood found itself in a moment of transition, with upcoming stars and soon-to-be-forever franchises playing alongside startling new visions and fading remnants of the old normal. Join us for a rewatch of the first true summer of Hollywood's strange new millennium. This week: Leah Greenblatt and Darren Franich feast their transplanted eyes on Minority Report , while Patrick Gomez and Christian Holub rediscover one of Disney's least expected sensations, Lilo & Stitch . Next week: Mr. Deeds goes to Sandlertown .

LEAH: Did Samantha Morton have a premonition we were going to write this, Darren? That's Morton in Minority Report 's opening scene murmuring " Murrrr-durrr " in a primordial pool, her wired-up brain pumping out little Lotto balls of destiny so that Tom Cruise 's stern time-cop John Anderton can make sure a cuckolded man (Arye Gross) never kills again.

Of course Gross's character hasn't actually killed anyone yet; Morton's Agatha is a precog, which means she sees crimes before they happen (though not, apparently, the thief who stole her eyebrows ). And John carries out his job with full conviction, because the precogs are never wrong. Or are they ? But let's back up a second for some context: Minority Report spent nearly two decades in development before Cruise and Steven Spielberg finally got it made, somewhere between Vanilla Sky and The Last Samurai (two more high-concept Cruises) and A.I. and Catch Me If You Can (the latter two which Spielberg helmed in 2001 and 2002, respectively).

It turns out they did a lot to Philip K. Dick's original 1956 short story, including giving John an entirely different motivation to care: a dead son, who we see in shimmery holograms of old home movies. If the precog system had existed just a few years earlier, we're told more than once, John would still have his little boy. So he's a true believer, though a visit from DOJ agent Danny Witwer ( Colin Farrell , so young! And so much snappy gum) sows indignation at first, then doubt: What if everything is not actually kosher in the house of Pre-Crime?

I had forgotten how outrageously visual this movie is, Darren, and what a future-styled smorgasbord Spielberg makes of it. There's some Jetsons kitsch in there, a heavy dose of Blade Runner , a little Fritz Lang. And several bits, alas, that now just make me think of CBS procedurals (the oversaturated flashbacks; the quirky-officemate banter over crime scenes and blood spatter), though that's probably just what trickled down, inevitably. But how does it all hold up for you?

DARREN: We talked a lot last week about influence, Leah, and how The Bourne Identity sent a whole generation of action movies into on-the-ground-running grit. It's funny how Minority Report immediately doubled down on a lot of those grime-glam instincts. Here's a big-budget science-fiction adventure that purposefully washes every visual into ghoulish gray. The camera gets right up close to Tom Cruise, whose never-more-perfect skin looks pallid. I go back and forth between thinking the tone of the movie is "metallic" and "corpse-like," and you're right to trace this visual palette into two terrible decades of purposefully flavorless cop grunge. It also kind of became the de-facto science fiction look. J.J. Abrams saw the lens flares and wanted more, and you can trace this high-fantasy brutalism through at least a couple of Batman reboots.

But Minority Report is also glorious . Janusz Kaminski's 30-year collaboration with Spielberg is one of film history's great cinematographer-director relationships, and this film's first hour feels like their apex as kinetic storytellers. There's a fluidity in the photography, with a restless camera that nevertheless always seems to find perfectly framed illustrations of future-world paranoia. The opening pre-crime sequence is a perfect ticking-clock thrill ride, introducing so many far-out concepts (murder prophecy, motion-activated viewscreens, dangling airship super cops) with a brisk flair. The real fun starts when John has to go on the run, framed (maybe?) for a murder he has no plans to commit. Camerawork fetishists love the robo-spider invasion, with its god's-eye view of a whole apartment building. Personally, I love the precog heist, when John kidnaps (frees?) Agatha and she uses her prophecy powers to hide in plain sight.

You've got Farrell as a marvelous sleaze with a surprising moral code, Max von Sydow as a lovable mentor with a secret, and Neil McDonough as the man with cinema's bluest eyes. And I think the most noir thing about Minority Report is how willfully some actors dominate their single scenes, like Lois Smith as a witty-freaky scientist or Peter Stormare as an oddly sensual underworld sawbones.

Of course, the movie always had a problem: It's too damn long. I know we were mid- Lord of the Rings in the summer of 2002, and three-hour runtimes were about to become the new normal for Pirates of the Caribbean movies. But a lot of Minority Report 's appeal is its sheer velocity, and inertia hits in the last half hour. This was the moment I remember savvy film fans complaining about the Spielberg Ending — his gut instinct for mass appeal that encouraged the director toward talky-sappy final acts. Do you think the film's second half suffers a bit in comparison to the first? And I'm curious: Do you think we've moved past its visual influence for onscreen science fiction? Directors do seem to have rediscovered colors.

LEAH: A little trivia for you, apparently Meryl Streep was originally slated to play Lois's mad-scientist role, which is a take I feel like we both would have enjoyed: Meryl whispering sweet nothings to her Little Shop of Horrors house plants and delivering the movie's most important exposition — what is a minority report? — in a greenhouse caftan while poor, poisoned Tom quivers into his tea.

Anyway, I love the word "metallic" as the mood board for the color palette here, though it doesn't feel distinctly Spielberg-y to me. It's almost as if he borrowed it from 1995's Seven — that sense of saturation and light, all the tone-on-tone coolness. (Speaking of Kevin Spacey-adjacent things, the twist of a main-character murder in Minority 's third act also reminded me a little too much of another iconic death scene , in L.A. Confidential ). Stormare, at least, certainly seems to come from that grimier David Fincher world, while John's ex-wife ( Kathryn Morris , who would soon be the star of… a CBS procedural ) lives in another place entirely, the land of soft-focus lake houses and linen-shirt sadness.

Newer films like Arrival and Ex Machina are certainly echoes or extensions of that glossy quiet-menace aesthetic, though they also created such a distinct visual language of their own. And I love the warmer, more — can I use the word artisanal ? — visions of late 21st-century living that Her and After Yang gave us, too. But whenever someone is trying to explain something logistically complicated to me, I still find myself reverting to Minority 's urgent, swooshing AI arm motions , like an upper-body Electric Slide only Tom Cruise can see. Give me a pair of light-up robo-gloves and let me crack the case! So much about this movie really saturated the pop-culture firmament and stayed there, which says a lot about the bygone monoculture of that moment, but it's still pretty amazing.

So I wish I could say I enjoyed the back third of the movie more. But on rewatch, certain gaping plot holes did get to me — as did the dragging of poor Agatha through the actual Gap (I mean yes, she needed pants) and into a precogged scenario she's literally begging to be excluded from. John Anderton, super cop, could not wait ten minutes to negate the prophecy, even when the infallible dream-psychic was screaming at him to leave? And he never suspected that he might have a reason to kill a man he'd never met, when his grief over his son was still a raw, weeping wound? Oh, and the "orgy of evidence," as Farrell's doomed Witwer smartly puts it: Anderton didn't even pause to wonder why a killer would essentially build a "BEHOLD MY CRIMES" diorama in his own hotel suite before he aimed that fateful gun.

What's important, of course, is that he didn't pull the trigger. And that von Sydow's sloppy-villain whoopsie gave the game away ( "But I never said she drowned" ) so that John and his wife could be reunited in a burst of second-chance fertility, and Agatha and the waifish twins could go…read books in a barn, I guess? And wear cozy cable-knit sweaters, which seems nice. It is interesting how much the movie glosses over their dehumanizing — just the bare fact that they were essentially kept drugged and spandexed in a weird viscous pool for six years. They're people! The pre-cogs were made out of people.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the script was blunter and a little sillier than I remembered it (that Cyber Parlor alone); last week's Bourne excursion generally stood up better to my youthful memories, in the end, than this one. Still, there's a disturbing amount that the movie gets right about our future-now, from the individually targeted ads to the Siri-like system that turns John's lights on by verbal command when he comes home. Though in Philip K. Dick's original story, spoiler, John and his wife both end up in a penal space colony, not pregnant with righteous justice. Darren, would you do it any differently?

DARREN: I actually read Dick's story when I was pretentious enough to think Hollywood would never fully capture the author's psycho-prophetic cynicism, no matter how many wannabe Blade Runner s slapped his literary conceits onto an action movie. "The Minority Report" is one of his little tossed-off tales, which means it's full of ideas and thin on character. I actually think credited screenwriters Scott Frank and Jon Cohen do a solid job of importing the talky premise into a massively emotional chase saga. And all praise to Morton for bringing shocking depths of humanity to a role that's half-Vulcan and half-primal. She has to unload computer-sounding exposition and embody a battle-hardened state of constant feeling. Thanks to her, you feel that Agatha feels everything: a whole world of potential violence playing on video-repeat in her brain. My favorite single moment in the movie comes during her run with John, when she grabs a bystander and offers a bleak warning: "He knows. Don't go home."

The actual future turns every sci-fi movie into a checklist: What did it get wrong? I think you're right to note Minority Report 's casual cleverness in guessing toward a more personalized (and more impersonal) future. We're now 32 years away from the film's projected time period of 2054, and despite some heavy federal investment recently in infrastructure, I seriously doubt new stratospheric freeways will be carrying magnet cars by then. (Likewise, the whole awesome-looking concept of suspended-animation mind-terror prisons would require rather more penitentiary funding than our country usually allows.) Also, I can't decide if it's charming or secretly incisive that the whole concept of smartphones seems foreign to this new America. As awesome as the movie still looks, it's recognizably a clash of analog aesthetics with digital possibilities. Like: balls of destiny! A bit silly on reflection, but totally mesmerizing to look at — and a reminder that realism isn't always the best approach.

Like Bourne Identity , the movie evokes an emerging era of paranoia, despite being filmed in pre-9/11 D.C. (among other areas). The whole idea of pre-crime moved unsteadily through the next period of real history, as the U.S. armed up for a preemptive war to prevent the use of weapons of mass destruction. (Could've used Agatha on that one, eh?) That's just Spielberg being a vital storyteller who really had his finger on the pulse. What a turn he took after Saving Private Ryan . Despite its overwhelming (and tantalizing) brutality, that film exemplified the 1990s' fervent Greatest Generation nostalgia, and a new national myth of indisputable finest-hour nobility. Then came A.I. and Minority Report , and then Munich and War of the Worlds in the same dang year. That's a lot of untrustworthy authorities, shifting identities, and so many cute actors punished in monochrome. (Even the wonderfully frothy Catch Me If You Can and the painfully frothy The Terminal feel haunted along the margins — not to mention eerily fixated on airplanes.)

Actually, this is my favorite period of Spielberg's and Cruise's careers — the moment when both legends pushed their shared decades of success toward unusual concepts. They were never not making massive big-budget thrill rides, but 2002 was a time when the mainstream seemed to demand unsettled entertainments. That is not a common opinion today. But we should always pay more attention to the minority reports.

Read past 2002 rewatches:

  • The Bourne Identity reinvented action for the new millennium
  • The Sum of All Fears was somehow too late and too early
  • Insomnia was a flawed but promising daylight noir from pre-Batman Christopher Nolan
  • Star Wars: Episode 2—Attack of the Clones is still fascinating and confusing
  • Unfaithful brought sex to the summer
  • Spider-Man still swings high one multiverse later

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Is ‘precrime’ enforcement headed for Canada?

A troubling bill brings to mind the dystopian world in the film ‘minority report’.

tom cruise the minority report

By Valerie Hudson

As a science fiction fan, I remember how excited I was when Philip K. Dick’s 1956 novella was made into a Steven Spielberg movie, “Minority Report,” starring Tom Cruise.

In the world of 2054, Cruise heads an elite law enforcement unit called “Precrime.” It was called this because they arrest people “precognitively” — that is, before a crime is committed or even thought of by the predicted future perpetrator. In the film, released in 2002, the process is corrupted to snare the innocent, and Cruise must right this wrong.

I thought of this movie when I read about legislation proposed in Canada, bill C-63 . Ostensibly a bill about online safety and fighting AI-generated deepfake porn — who could be against any of that? — the bill’s details are a chilling read. Proponents intend to create the first “precrime” enforcement established by a democratic country. Indeed, one of the ways we used to be able to tell an authoritarian government from a democratic government is that authoritarian governments are masters at identifying people they consider “precriminals” and locking them up in gulags for decades. Democratic countries didn’t do that, or try to. Until Canada, that is.

Let me just pause to say that I grew up in a time when most people saw Canadians as the sensible North Americans, while Americans, in contrast, could be somewhat, well, batty. That narrative has shifted 180 degrees. Under the government of Justin Trudeau, we’ve seen an unconstitutional response to a truckers’ strike that involved preventing the truckers (and anyone who contributed to their cause) from accessing their own checking accounts. We’ve seen a galloping rate of increase in euthanasia due to constantly expanding access for people who are not terminally ill. We’ve seen the Canadian government use new anti-discrimination legislation (bill C-16) to police pronouns .

But Canada would take things to a whole new level with bill C-63′s creation of precrime. Let’s suppose you hold an unpopular opinion, such as a certain transgender woman is male. You need to be careful because part of the bill would amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to provide that “it is a discriminatory practice to communicate or cause to be communicated hate speech by means of the Internet or any other means of telecommunication in a context in which the hate speech is likely to foment detestation or vilification of an individual or group of individuals on the basis of a prohibited ground of discrimination.”

Further, the bill authorizes the Canadian Human Rights Commission to deal with complaints and authorizes the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to investigate and “order remedies.”

In other words, stating your opinion online might be hate speech, and if it is so judged, it would be punishable by between five years and life in prison. Yes, life in prison for online hate speech is a possibility under bill C-63.

Lest you think there is no way that posting an opinion online contrary to government policy would see you hauled up before a Canadian judge, consider that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and Canada’s Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre believe that the growing parental rights movement is a “violent threat” to Canada and that the supporters of “parental rights” and the “anti-gender movement” are “likely connected to neo-Nazi and white nationalist groups.” Your belief in, say, biological reality could easily be judged the product of hate.

But that’s not all. If a person “fears on reasonable grounds” that you will commit such an offense in the future, even if you have not yet done so, they may make a complaint to a provincial court judge and they have the right to ask that their identity not be revealed to you. If the judge decides the informant has “reasonable grounds to fear” your opinion (i.e., hate speech) will be communicated online in the future, then the judge may decide that, for a period of one to two years, you might have to wear an electronic monitoring device, be confined to your home for set periods of time, be prohibited from being in certain locations, and be prohibited from using alcohol and drugs. In addition, you may be required to pay $20,000 apiece to any complainant(s) (whose identity you cannot know), on top of $50,000 to the government. The justice minister of Canada added that you might also be prohibited from accessing the internet, as well.

Remember — this is all possible even if you have not posted anything online yet; it is based on the “reasonable fear” that you will post something. This is “precrime.”

“The prospect of jail or house arrest for distasteful speech should terrify everyone, but, more than that, the new laws will have a silencing effect on so many people,” says Meghan Murphy, a Canadian who is critical of gender ideology. It’s hard to disbelieve her. Bill C-63 is meant to completely silence those who think outside the accepted narrative.

Biological realism being labeled hate is, of course, a trend creeping into the United States as well. An Oregon woman was recently convicted of a hate crime after she shoved a transgender woman in a women’s restroom, told the person to “get out” and “told her she ‘was a man’ and should use the other toilet,” according to a report in The Oregonian.

More encouraging, across the Atlantic, when a misgendering complaint was made to the U.K. police against author J.K. Rowling, the police announced that the incident did not “meet the criminal threshold.” But neither of these cases involved the sinister “precrime” element seen in Canada’s proposed legislation.

Canada is headed in a very troubling direction; let us hope bill C-63 does not pass. As “Game of Thrones” author George R.R. Martin so aptly put it , “When you tear out a man’s tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you’re only telling the world that you fear what he might say.”

Valerie M. Hudson is a university distinguished professor at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University and a Deseret News contributor. Her views are her own.

tom cruise the minority report

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Watches In The Wild The Road Through America, Episode 1: A Model Of Mass Production

The early aughts were an interesting era of big-budget, blockbuster filmmaking. George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic (the preeminent visual effect house in all of filmmaking) was really feeling itself having just come off a run of two new Star Wars films – and creating an entirely CG character by way of Jar Jar Binks. The same can be said of another effects shop, WETA whose claim to fame came via Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings where they too crafted a full computer being though the Andy Serkis voiced (and bodied) Gollum ( or Smeagol depending on who you ask). It appeared there was nothing that could not be accomplished with a bunch of green screens and CGI. Movie magic was being redefined by the computer.

As time has gone on, some of these effects have proven to age worse than others. Minority Report (2002), directed by Steven Spielberg, is one such film. The adaptation of a Philip K. Dick story about a law enforcement agency called the Precrime Division, tasked with preventing murders before they happen, is packed to the hilt with computer effects that, today, distract from what is otherwise a pretty compelling story.

x-33

In the future, computers require gloves and Frankenwatches. Image, 20th Century Studios

The reason I bring this up in the context of watches and movies is that this film takes the capabilities of computerized effects and transposes them onto the dial of a watch resulting in something of a dual-brand Frankenstein timepiece that has confounded watch-loving cinephiles for decades. And it's on the wrist of the film's star, Tom Cruise. You thought the MoonSwatch was a crazy collaboration. Get a load of this. 

This might be hard to believe, but Minority Report is twenty years old, a birthday worth celebrating in my book. It's one of Spielberg film's that's been lost to time a bit – not old enough to be classic, but still dated – similar to another Cruise-led film, War of the Worlds (2004). I'll be the first to admit that this movie never made it into my re-watch list. It strikes me as a "huh that's on" flick when I see it listed next to any number of basic cable properties. But then I discovered a horological nugget that I didn't notice the first time I saw the film two decades ago.

The topic first came up during an in-office conversation about movies (not a rare occurrence for me). That's when we began dishing about Minority Report – a movie that seemed to be brought into the conversation out of left field until I was shown a picture of the so-called Frankenwatch. Ok, so what is it? Well, it's a bit difficult to explain, but I'll try.

Tom Cruise

Anderton (Cruise) hot on the case with his Omega/Bulgari in Minority Report. Image, 20th Century Studios

Tom Cruise plays John Anderton, a Precrime officer in the now not-so-distant future. He wears a large timepiece that at first glance looks to be a chronograph, at second glance, an Omega chronograph, and at third glance a very specific ana/digi Omega Chronograph with certain spacefaring bonafides. I'm referring to the X-33, which is precisely what Anderton's watch appears to be. 

The dial is fully digital, what I assume is an ILM effect – and outfitted without the Omega logo. Instead, this watch is prominently branded "Bvlgari." Confused? You should be, but there are reasons pertaining to the less sexy side of Hollywood which explain this. The film does a nifty job of integrating product placement into the narrative with such companies as Lexus, American Express, Nokia, and Bulgari utilized through in-film advertisements.

Tom Cruise

Anderton loses his eyes, and the the X-33 loses its CGI in Minority Report. Image, 20th Century Studios

But with the watch, the placement stretches into a piece of kit worn by Anderton. And it's interesting because Omega is, in real life, a supplier of watches to NASA (you may have heard of the Moonwatch) and the X-33 is the choice of many NASA astronauts. It could have been easily explained that the Precrime division in Washington, D.C. also wanted X-33s of their own. 

X-33

A true Speedmaster X-33 by Omega

But Spielberg and crew took it in another direction. Instead of a standard X-33, we got a cross-branded fantastical one … a Bulgari X-33. It's a watch that does not exist, and there's nothing even close to it in the actual Bulgari catalog. It's movie magic in watch form. Crusie wears the piece for effectively the entire film – and in different ways. Sometimes under his uniform jacket with a sleeve window that allows him to read the dial, other times the normal way, and occasionally on the underside of his wrist. 

The story follows his escape after it's revealed that he may be premeditating a murder — necessitating his going on the run from the law. Cruise goes full Cruise in this movie and the utilitarian X-33-esque case is the perfect pairing for his escapades.

The film begins with a Hitchcock meets James Bond style cold open where we get to see the Precrime division in all its might, working to solve a murder before it happens. As Anderton and his team approach the house of a would-be murderer husband about to kill his wife after catching her in bed with another man, the pre-criminal is apprehended by Cruise. He then looks down at his wrist [00:13:13] where the Bulgari X-33 peers out from under his sleeve displaying a countdown function. We don't see the Bulgari branding yet, but it certainly foreshadows the messy horology to come.

x-33

Image, 20th Century Studios

The inciting incident in the film is when Anderton learns that he is the next pre-criminal target, though he's convinced he's being framed. Knowing he has some time to get out of his office before he's caught, he endeavors to make a run for it. As he makes his way through the lobby of Precrime HQ, he glances down at his watch [00:42:01]. It's the hero shot of the film and we can clearly make out the case of an Omega X-33 as well as the Bulgari wordmark in bold digital lettering.

X-33

Minority Report (starring Tom Cruise) is directed by Steven Spielberg with props by Jerry Moss. It is available to rent on iTunes and Amazon.

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Wealth of Geeks

Wealth of Geeks

Tom Cruise Movies That Showcase His Versatility and Range

Posted: March 21, 2024 | Last updated: March 21, 2024

<p><span>There aren’t many actors as universally recognized as Tom Cruise. For the past four decades, the award-winning Cruise has appeared in many large-scale films throughout his career. </span></p> <p><span>Starting in teen dramas and comedies, the young actor made a name for himself thanks to successful films like </span><i><span>The Outsiders</span></i><span> and</span><i><span> Risky Business</span></i><span> in the 1980s. By the decade’s end, he gained a foothold in the mainstream film industry, starring in highly publicized movies like </span><i><span>Rain Man</span></i><span> and </span><i><span>The Color of Money.</span></i></p> <p><span>Starting with 1986’s </span><i><span>Top Gun</span></i><span>, Cruise has held onto his place at the top of Hollywood, appearing in numerous comedies, dramas, action films, and sci-fi epics in the years that followed. To this day, he ranks as the most bankable movie star of the modern era, as seen with films like</span><i><span> Top Gun: Maverick </span></i><span>or the </span><i><span>Mission: Impossible</span></i><span> franchise.</span></p> <p><span>From some of Cruise’s most recent action movies to his earliest breakthrough roles, here are some of the greatest films to feature Tom Cruise. </span></p>

There aren’t many actors as universally recognized as Tom Cruise. For the past four decades, the award-winning Cruise has appeared in many large-scale films throughout his career. 

Starting in teen dramas and comedies, the young actor made a name for himself thanks to successful films like The Outsiders and Risky Business in the 1980s. By the decade’s end, he gained a foothold in the mainstream film industry, starring in highly publicized movies like Rain Man and The Color of Money.

Starting with 1986’s Top Gun , Cruise has held onto his place at the top of Hollywood, appearing in numerous comedies, dramas, action films, and sci-fi epics in the years that followed. To this day, he ranks as the most bankable movie star of the modern era, as seen with films like Top Gun: Maverick or the Mission: Impossible franchise.

From some of Cruise’s most recent action movies to his earliest breakthrough roles, here are some of the greatest films to feature Tom Cruise. 

<p><span>Three decades after he graduates from the prestigious Top Gun flight school, the thrill-seeking Maverick (Tom Cruise) returns to instruct the academy’s newest students, among whom is his deceased best friend’s son (Miles Teller).</span></p><p><span>The first</span><i><span> Top Gun</span></i><span> movie has its fair share of flaws – its pacing, its thin plot, and its 2D characters being most glaringly obvious among them. Improving upon its predecessor in every way imaginable,</span><i><span> Top Gun: Maverick</span></i><span> is a pulse-pounding action film that ranks among Cruise’s finest work in years.</span></p>

Top Gun: Maverick

Three decades after he graduates from the prestigious Top Gun flight school, the thrill-seeking Maverick (Tom Cruise) returns to instruct the academy’s newest students, among whom is his deceased best friend’s son (Miles Teller).

The first Top Gun movie has its fair share of flaws – its pacing, its thin plot, and its 2D characters being most glaringly obvious among them. Improving upon its predecessor in every way imaginable, Top Gun: Maverick is a pulse-pounding action film that ranks among Cruise’s finest work in years.

<p><span>Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is an intrepid field agent attached to the secretive espionage organization, the Impossible Mission Task Force. Hunt and his team battle some of the world’s most dangerous criminals, including assassins, undercover moles, and nuclear arms dealers.</span></p><p><span>Getting better with each new installment, every entry in the hit</span><i><span> Mission: Impossible</span></i><span> series is worth seeing at least once. While the initial three films struggle to find their footing, everything from</span><i><span> Ghost Protocol</span></i><span> onward manages to rival the best of either the spy or action genres – whether it’s </span><i><span>James Bond</span></i><span> or </span><i><span>John Wick.</span></i></p>

The Mission: Impossible Series

Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is an intrepid field agent attached to the secretive espionage organization, the Impossible Mission Task Force. Hunt and his team battle some of the world’s most dangerous criminals, including assassins, undercover moles, and nuclear arms dealers.

Getting better with each new installment, every entry in the hit Mission: Impossible series is worth seeing at least once. While the initial three films struggle to find their footing, everything from Ghost Protocol onward manages to rival the best of either the spy or action genres – whether it’s James Bond or John Wick.

<p><span>With his parents away on vacation, a high school senior (Cruise) uses his temporary freedom to let loose and have fun, only for things to quickly spiral out of control.</span></p><p><span>One of Cruise’s earliest breakout roles, </span><i><span>Risky Business</span></i><span> is unlike most other teen movies, establishing itself as a far darker, more cynical alternative to the John Hughes coming-of-age dramas of its era. Portraying the habitual overachiever Joel, Cruise manages to hand in an impressively subtle performance, growing from youthful inexperience to pragmatic realism (almost yuppie cynicism) throughout the film.</span></p>

Risky Business

With his parents away on vacation, a high school senior (Cruise) uses his temporary freedom to let loose and have fun, only for things to quickly spiral out of control.

One of Cruise’s earliest breakout roles, Risky Business is unlike most other teen movies, establishing itself as a far darker, more cynical alternative to the John Hughes coming-of-age dramas of its era. Portraying the habitual overachiever Joel, Cruise manages to hand in an impressively subtle performance, growing from youthful inexperience to pragmatic realism (almost yuppie cynicism) throughout the film.

<p><span>Recently let go from his job, a now independent sports agent (Cruise) tries to retain the only athlete (Cuba Gooding Jr.) signed to his contract.</span></p><p><span>The film that gave Cruise his second Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, </span><i><span>Jerry Maguire </span></i><span>is likely more well-known for the large supply of oft-quoted lines it contributed to pop culture (“Show me the money!”, “Help me help you,” and “You had me at hello”). However, aside from its endlessly quotable dialogues, </span><i><span>Jerry Maguire</span></i><span> is a delightful film, led by some fantastic performances courtesy of Cruise and Gooding.</span></p>

Jerry Maguire

Recently let go from his job, a now independent sports agent (Cruise) tries to retain the only athlete (Cuba Gooding Jr.) signed to his contract.

The film that gave Cruise his second Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, Jerry Maguire is likely more well-known for the large supply of oft-quoted lines it contributed to pop culture (“Show me the money!”, “Help me help you,” and “You had me at hello”). However, aside from its endlessly quotable dialogues, Jerry Maguire is a delightful film, led by some fantastic performances courtesy of Cruise and Gooding.

<p><span>In <em>Minority Report</em>, law enforcement uses the idea of pre-crime to stop criminals before they commit crimes. Throughout the film, we see future technology, such as self-driving cars and personal advertisements, something we see today in the form of targeted ads. One user of the online community explains that the movie “had some great insights into the loss of privacy once we gave up our data to every company around us.” </span></p>

Minority Report

In a future where crimes are detected before they happen, a police officer (Cruise) is accused of a future murder, evading authorities and trying to stop the crime before it occurs.

The first of two collaborations between Cruise and Steven Spielberg (the other being the underrated War of the Worlds ), Minority Report is a brilliant and original sci-fi film just as visionary as its source material. Essentially a Hitchcock film thrown against a sci-fi background, Minority Report extensively builds off its interesting central premise and the daunting mystery it creates.

<p>This film again features Tom Cruise and the impeccable Emily Blunt as its protagonists. Call it <em>Groundhog Day</em> with aliens; a soldier keeps reliving the same day over and over again. The day ends when he dies, but everything restarts the next day. Amidst this, he must figure out how to save the world from destruction by aliens.</p>

Edge of Tomorrow

Cage (Cruise) is a military public relations officer forced to participate in a large-scale battle against a hostile alien species. Meeting his death on the battlefield, Cage realizes he’s living the day of the invasion repeatedly.

A sci-fi take on Groundhog Day ’s never-ending “time loop” premise, Edge of Tomorrow may owe plenty to Bill Murray’s 1993 comedy classic, but it more than manages to set itself apart through its clever innovations. In the decidedly outside-the-box role of the hapless Cage, Cruise portrayed a character that essentially acted as the opposite of Ethan Hunt. (Whereas Hunt is brave, outgoing, and physically capable in combat, Cage is cowardly, insecure, and a complete liability in the field.)

<p>The 1970s invented the Hollywood blockbuster, first with <em>Jaws</em> and then <em>Star Wars</em>. But the blockbuster came of age in the 1980s. During that heady decade, Hollywood figured out how to make big, glossy, and incredibly satisfying pictures, many of which launched franchises. <em>Back to the Future</em>,<em> Indiana Jones</em>, and <em>Ghostbusters</em> became part of the cultural framework, movies that have shaped an entire generation.</p> <p>But not every popular movie of the ’80s has enjoyed such a legacy. The decade saw its share of stinkers, many of which still made millions in ticket sales. Here are 23 of the worst hits of the blockbuster decade, the movies that thrilled us in the 80s but embarrass us today.</p>

Learning that his estranged father has died and left his vast estate to his intellectually disabled brother (Dustin Hoffman), a slimy Los Angeles salesman (Cruise) tries to worm his way into his brother’s inheritance.

Continuing his ascent to Hollywood royalty throughout the mid-1980s, Cruise used the spotlight gained from The Color of Money and Risky Business to appear in Rain Man. With Dustin Hoffman as his co-star, Rain Man allowed Cruise to mix comedy with drama, Hoffman and Cruise making for a more memorably effective odd couple pairing.

<p><span>Seeing a potential talent in the making, a veteran pool hall hustler (Paul Newman) takes a promising young man (Cruise) under his wing, teaching him all about the tricks of the trade as they tour the country together.</span></p><p><i><span>The Color of Money</span></i><span> marked a major turning point in Cruise’s career. One of his earliest forays into drama, it proved his acting abilities were on par with some of the industry’s most notable stars at the time. In the film, Cruise more than holds his own against the iconic Newman, establishing Cruise as a more dramatic star by the mid-1980s.</span></p>

The Color of Money

Seeing a potential talent in the making, a veteran pool hall hustler (Paul Newman) takes a promising young man (Cruise) under his wing, teaching him all about the tricks of the trade as they tour the country together.

The Color of Money marked a major turning point in Cruise’s career. One of his earliest forays into drama, it proved his acting abilities were on par with some of the industry’s most notable stars at the time. In the film, Cruise more than holds his own against the iconic Newman, establishing Cruise as a more dramatic star by the mid-1980s.

<p>Oliver Stone took the Academy by storm when he won Best Director for his film <em>Platoon</em>, which also won Best Picture in 1986. His follow-up film, <a href="https://wealthofgeeks.com/best-80s-movies-on-netflix/"><em>Born on the Fourth of July</em></a>, stands even stronger with Tom Cruise in a powerhouse performance, against type, as Ron Kovic, a discharged Vietnam vet who returns to the U.S. where he no longer feels at home. Based on a true story, the biting wartime commentary must have been too much to take home the Best Picture win this time.</p><p>The Best Picture category thrived with great competition this year. <em>My Left Foot</em>, <em>Dead Poets Society</em>, or <em>Field of Dreams</em> could have won, in addition to <em>Born on the Fourth of July</em>. However, Director Bruce Beresford’s <em>Driving Miss Daisy</em> took the trophy home despite its antiquated and cordial treatment of racial issues between a Jewish woman and her Black chauffeur, who eventually become friends.</p>

Born on The Fourth of July

Returning home from the Vietnam War, a once idealistic veteran (Cruise) spearheads an activist organization for veterans’ rights and protests America’s growing involvement in Vietnam.

One of the few biographical films Cruise has starred in, Born on the Fourth of July is also among Cruise’s most notable dramatic performances. Building off the momentum of The Color of Money and Rain Man, Cruise is able to play an almost dual performance in Born on the Fourth of July . Initially, he’s shown possessing a dewy-eyed patriotism in the film’s first act that slowly gives way to a more nuanced realism regarding his outlook on war. 

<p><span>Barry Seal (Cruise) is a talented pilot recruited by the CIA for a top-secret mission in the 1980s. Smuggling drugs out of South America, Seal eventually finds himself at the center of what would become known as the Iran-Contra Affair, a controversial episode in Ronald Reagan’s administration.</span></p><p><i><span>American Made</span></i><span> isn’t as well-known as most other films on this list. However, that doesn’t stop it from being just as fantastic. Loosely based on the life and career of real-life pilot Barry Seal, </span><i><span>American Made </span></i><span>may not always be factually correct in its story. Still, Cruise is nothing short of delightful as the charming, charismatic, overly confident Seal.</span></p>

American Made

Barry Seal (Cruise) is a talented pilot recruited by the CIA for a top-secret mission in the 1980s. Smuggling drugs out of South America, Seal eventually finds himself at the center of what would become known as the Iran-Contra Affair, a controversial episode in Ronald Reagan’s administration.

American Made isn’t as well-known as most other films on this list. However, that doesn’t stop it from being just as fantastic. Loosely based on the life and career of real-life pilot Barry Seal, American Made may not always be factually correct in its story. Still, Cruise is nothing short of delightful as the charming, charismatic, overly confident Seal.

<p><span>When a young Marine is found murdered at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, a Navy lawyer (Cruise) defends the two soldiers (Wolfgang Bodison and James Marshall) charged with killing him.</span></p><p><span>One of the best courtroom dramas of all time,</span><i><span> A Few Good Men</span></i><span> shows the boundless possibilities of pairing a well-written script with an enormous ensemble cast. Though the film comprises supporting players like Jack Nicholson, Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, and Cuba Gooding Jr., Cruise himself is never drowned out, playing his main role with as much candor and dedication to justice as Atticus Finch.</span></p>

A Few Good Men

When a young Marine is found murdered at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, a Navy lawyer (Cruise) defends the two soldiers (Wolfgang Bodison and James Marshall) charged with killing him.

One of the best courtroom dramas of all time, A Few Good Men shows the boundless possibilities of pairing a well-written script with an enormous ensemble cast. Though the film comprises supporting players like Jack Nicholson, Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, and Cuba Gooding Jr., Cruise himself is never drowned out, playing his main role with as much candor and dedication to justice as Atticus Finch.

<p>All Dr. Bill Harford (<a href="https://wealthofgeeks.com/tom-cruise-movies-2/" rel="noopener">Tom Cruise</a>) wants for Christmas is a happy holiday with his beautiful wife Alice (Nicole Kidman) and his daughter. But after Alice admits thoughts of infidelity early in <em>Eyes Wide Shut</em>, Bill goes on a journey of sexual intrigue that insnares him in a mysterious conspiracy.</p><p>For his final film, director Stanley Kubrick applies his cold eye and determined camera movements in New York City drenched in not-so-merry Christmas lights. Nowhere is that clearer than when Bill and Alice take their daughter Christmas shopping in the final scene, the weight of their forbidden knowledge muffling the aggressive music playing over store speakers. </p>

Eyes Wide Shut

Intensely jealous over his wife’s (Nicole Kidman) late-night admission, Manhattan physician Bill (Cruise) leaves their apartment with infidelity on his mind. After crossing paths with an old friend (Todd Field), Bill sneaks into an underground organization, uncovering some bizarre mysteries that he learns are better left unsolved.

The final film by the legendary Stanley Kubrick, Eyes Wide Shut is usually viewed in one of two lights. Depending on the individual viewer, it’s either a brilliant, underrated entry in Kubrick’s canon or a slow-building, pretentious disappointment in an otherwise flawless career. No matter the camp you fall in, you can’t deny Eyes Wide Shut is a bold experiment on Kubrick’s part, with Cruise and Kidman each exceptional in their lead performances.

<p>I love the makeover in <em>Pretty Woman</em> because it’s all about Vivian getting to spoil herself, which she’s never been able to do before. It’s also vindicating to watch after she’s treated so poorly by the snooty sales ladies in the first store she tries to visit.</p>

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A scene from Restore Point

Restore Point review – Czech Blade Runner is a valiant attempt to satisfy cyber-noir cravings

Robert Hloz’s debut is a competent copy of Hollywood sci-fi, but it’s too heavily indebted to its influences to develop its own philosophy

A pparently the first sci-fi film from the Czech Republic in 40 years, this so-called Czech Blade Runner is actually equally indebted to Minority Report (whose domestic futurism continues to be quietly influential). Like Tom Cruise’s character in Steven Spielberg’s film, detective Em Trochinowska (Andrea Mohylová) is a cop prone to brooding over clips of an absent loved one. Her concert pianist husband was murdered by members of the Rivers of Life terrorist group, who are outraged by the nature-flouting “restoration” technology that allows any recently snuffed person to be resurrected.

Bad news for those who don’t clear out their inboxes regularly: the technology only works if you have bothered to upload your memories within the last 48 hours. Where Minority Report riffed on the notion of pre-crime, this is a post-crime insurance in a Mitteleuropean dystopia awash in violence. Trochinowska is called to investigate a double “absolute murder” of a couple who have been oddly remiss about backing up: restoration scientist David Kurlstat (Matěj Hádek) and his wife. Resident tech demigod Rohan (Karel Dobrý), who is head of the institute that invented it all and mindful of an upcoming privatisation, is unhelpful. So a strong whiff of corruption is emanating from those glittering brutalist towers.

Robert Hloz’s directorial debut is certainly good-looking for a $2m (£1.6m) film, nailing the hyper-metropolis vistas and ubiquitous glassy wearables expected of the near-future dystopian idiom. But however slick-looking the interface, under the hood it is bolted together from so many borrowed parts – including Blade Runner’s preoccupation with unreliable memory – that it forgets to locate its own philosophical kernel. Hloz overcompensates instead with a needlessly byzantine plot – in which a Europol agent (Václav Neužil) encroaches on Trochinowska’s sleuthing – and a vehement, airless performance style across the board. Mohylová, supposedly the emotional linchpin, comes across as robotic – and not in an enigmatic Rick Deckard way. A valiant stab nonetheless at equalling Hollywood futurescapes, Restore Point should stave off cyber-noir cravings for a couple of hours. It’s a competent copy but unmistakably synthetic.

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COMMENTS

  1. Minority Report (2002)

    Minority Report: Directed by Steven Spielberg. With Tom Cruise, Max von Sydow, Steve Harris, Neal McDonough. John works with the PreCrime police which stop crimes before they take place, with the help of three 'PreCogs' who can foresee crimes. Events ensue when John finds himself framed for a future murder.

  2. Minority Report (film)

    Minority Report is a 2002 American science fiction action film directed by Steven Spielberg, loosely based on the 1956 novella "The Minority Report" by Philip K. Dick.The film takes place in Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia in the year 2054, where Precrime, a specialized police department, apprehends criminals by use of foreknowledge provided by three psychics called "precogs".

  3. Minority Report (2002) Official Trailer #1

    Subscribe to CLASSIC TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/1u43jDeSubscribe to TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/sxaw6hSubscribe to COMING SOON: http://bit.ly/H2vZUnLike us on FACEB...

  4. Minority Report (2002)

    Minority Report (2002) - Plot summary, synopsis, and more... Menu. Movies. ... (Tom Cruise), must perform a meticulous process called "scrubbing", where they process the images produced from the PreCogs' visions in order to locate telltale clues and thus narrow down the location. Once they are certain of the location, the team flies off in a ...

  5. Minority Report

    Tom Cruise plays the head of this Precrime unit and is himself accused of the future murder of a man he hasn't even met. ... "Minority Report" is an action-detective thriller set in Washington D.C ...

  6. The Minority Report

    The 2002 film Minority Report, directed by Steven Spielberg and with Tom Cruise as main actor, was based on the story. A video game, Minority Report: Everybody Runs, published in 2002 by Activision, was based on the film. A sequel television series, more than a decade after the events of the movie and also titled Minority Report, premiered on ...

  7. Minority Report

    Release Date: 21 June 2002For six years, Washington D.C. has been murder free thanks to astounding technology which identifies killers before they commit the...

  8. Minority Report movie review & film summary (2002)

    Minority Report. At a time when movies think they have to choose between action and ideas, Steven Spielberg's "Minority Report" is a triumph--a film that works on our minds and our emotions. It is a thriller and a human story, a movie of ideas that's also a whodunit. Here is a master filmmaker at the top of his form, working with a star, Tom ...

  9. MINORITY REPORT Trailer (2002)

    Official trailer from "Minority Report " with Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell and Samantha Morton | Cinema: 21 Jun 2002 | For more clips & trailers check https://K...

  10. Minority Report at 20: Cruise and Spielberg test their limits in top

    If it were only a Tom Cruise star text, Minority Report would be a lot of fun, and a fine companion piece to Vanilla Sky. Remarkably, it's also a top-tier Spielberg film, in which the film-maker ...

  11. 20 years ago, Tom Cruise made his most visionary sci-fi movie ever

    In 2002, Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise teamed up for one of this century's best sci-fi films. Since then, 'Minority Report' has only become more relevant.

  12. Steven Spielberg's Minority Report at 20

    The first film to pair Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise (the director and the star would reteam for 2005's War of the Worlds), Minority Report connected with audiences in a big way, pulling in ...

  13. The Untold Truth Of Minority Report

    In 2002, Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise joined forces for the first time for the blockbuster "Minority Report." This tale of a future America where crime is prevented before it even happens is a ...

  14. Minority Report Retro Review: Flawed But Fantastic Sci-Fi Noir

    The Philip K. Dick adaptation from Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise turns 20 this week. Rewatching Steven Spielberg's Minority Report on its 20th anniversary, a few things instantly became clear.

  15. Minority Report (2002)

    Robert Amerian Jr. ... electrician Danny Andres ... grip Michael Arvanitis ... best boy Mark Ballentine ... best boy: blue screen

  16. 'Minority Report' Ending Explained: What Happens to John?

    A deep-dive into the conclusion of Steven Spielberg's 2002 sci-fi film Minority Report and how the ending relates to observation. ... (Tom Cruise's protagonist John Anderton goes in the ground, ...

  17. 'Minority Report' Tried to Warn Us About Technology

    In Minority Report, when the detective John Anderton goes on the run in Washington, D.C., one of the first things he needs to do is swap out his eyes.The police of Steven Spielberg's film, set ...

  18. 15 Major Facts About 'Minority Report'

    The 2002 movie Minority Report was a long-planned collaboration between actor Tom Cruise and director Steven Spielberg. Based on Philip K. Dick's short story of the same name, the movie explores ...

  19. Minority Report Ending Explained: What Actually Happened?

    During the early aughts, the pairing of Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg delivered two of the best sci-fi movies of our recent era. Both Minority Report and War of the Worlds have a pretty staunch ...

  20. The infinite influence and disappointment of 2002's Minority Report

    2002 rewatch: The infinite influence and disappointment of. Minority Report. Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg's futuristic freakout remains eye-popping in every sense. Too bad it never ends. Every ...

  21. Watch Minority Report

    Minority Report. In the future, a psychic technology allows police to arrest and convict criminals before they commit their crime. One of the officers in this special unit finds himself accused of the future murder of a stranger and must set out to prove his innocence. 4,997 IMDb 7.6 2 h 19 min 2002. PG-13.

  22. What is 'Minority Report' about and why are people saying that a

    A troubling bill brings to mind the dystopian world in the film 'Minority Report' ... "Minority Report," starring Tom Cruise. In the world of 2054, Cruise heads an elite law enforcement unit called "Precrime." It was called this because they arrest people "precognitively" — that is, before a crime is committed or even thought ...

  23. What Watch Did Tom Cruise Wear In Minority Report'?

    - In 'Minority Report' What's New UPDATED WEEKLY. Hodinkee Radio Pre-Owned Picks Vintage Watches Watch of the Week Watching Movies Weekend Edition LATEST ARTICLES. Watching Movies ... Watching Movies Tom Cruise Wears A Bulgari - Or Is It An Omega? - In 'Minority Report' He can predict crime, but not the future of timepieces in our watch ...

  24. Tom Cruise Movies That Showcase His Versatility and Range

    The first of two collaborations between Cruise and Steven Spielberg (the other being the underrated War of the Worlds), Minority Report is a brilliant and original sci-fi film just as visionary as ...

  25. Tom Cruise As John Handerton In The Minority Report

    7 likes, 0 comments - tomcruisefanpagess on April 26, 2023: "Tom Cruise As John Handerton In The Minority Report"

  26. Minority Report Computer Scene

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  27. Restore Point review

    A pparently the first sci-fi film from the Czech Republic in 40 years, this so-called Czech Blade Runner is actually equally indebted to Minority Report (whose domestic futurism continues to be ...

  28. Tom Cruise-WBD Deal Can't Hurt His $8 Billion Relationship ...

    THE MATH. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning grossed $567.5 million around the world in 2023. After the final Mission: Impossible 8 movie for Cruise releasing in 2025 and upcoming Top Gun 3 ...

  29. Sydney Sweeney expresses her wish to perform stunts like Tom Cruise

    Sydney Sweeney has recently expressed her wish to perform stunts like Tom Cruise. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Sydney responded to a post on X claiming she's "saving the movies like a ...