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.
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 at that time; 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.
Cruise’s muscular star performance is abetted by a terrific supporting cast, led by rising Irish actor Colin Farrell as the aggressive, skeptical Justice Department observer who becomes the movie’s prime suspect. The camera likes Farrell every bit as much as Cruise, and their every two-shot makes an interesting charisma contest. The gifted Samantha Morton (Sweet and Lowdown) is fabulous as the haunted lead psychic Agatha, while veteran Lois Smith is slyly brilliant in her one scene as the scientist who inspired the Pre-Crime program. Another acting great, Max von Sydow, is indispensable in the key role of the division’s founder.
“Minority Report” rivals some of Spielberg’s top adventure/science fiction epics, such as Close Encounters. What’s more, it affirms that movies do not have to be brain-dead to be exciting.