Minority Report (2002) is an American sci-fi (science fiction) action film. The film is directed by the master filmmaker at the peak of his career, Steven Spielberg, who cast Tom Cruise, who can be better than him for such a thriller action plot.
The movie is ahead of its time not only because of its future plot but when movies were thinking between action and ideas, Spielberg’s “Minority Report” is a film that tackles both our minds and our emotions making us wonder even after it ends.
Many sci-fi movies feel outdated after a few years of their release while Minority Report still looks like the future is yet to come. Steven Spielberg and his team knew it clearly that when looking upon the future, visual design and smart technology would be the key to grasp the attention of the spectators, therefore, nailing in creating a society that people would look up to.
The film plot shows Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia in the year 2054, where a specialized police department, named ‘PreCrime’ deals with criminals based on foreseen knowledge provided by a trio of “precogs”. The main theme of the film is the question of free will versus determinism, if the future is preset and known in advance does free will exist then.
Minority Report cast includes Tom Cruise as John Anderton, Samantha Morton as Agatha, Colin Farrell as Danny Witwer, and Max Sydow as Lamar Burgess. Minority Report had been the best-reviewed film of 2002 and was nominated for several awards and also received loads of awards including Best Science Fiction Film, Best Direction, Best Writing, Best Sound Editing, Best Actor, etc.
Plot
Minority Report opens with a series of visions that are captured coming to a group of the trio called in the film as “precogs”, who can see into the future and predict murders before they happen. The film showcases how the agency works with a scenario where the forecasts are used by the PreCrime agents to arrest a man who would have killed his wife and her lover.
While United States Department of Justice agent Danny Witwer audits the Pre-Crime operation during this scenario, the Precogs happen to predict that the commanding chief, John Anderton( Tom Cruise) will commit a murder, forcing him to flee the facility, prompting a hunt for him by the very own people whom he trained.
The plot’s main focus is on a rare glitch in the forecasts by the Precogs, where Anderton learns that when one Precog sees a different future vision than the other two, a “minority report” of a possible alternate timeline.
Theme and Design | Minority Report
Minority Report is a futuristic film portraying themes like ‘free will’ vs ‘determinism’, also elements of both ‘dystopian’ and ‘utopian’ future. It shows the year 2054 with futuristic skyscrapers with the aerodynamic fluidic design that coexists with the famous monuments and houses from 19th century Washington.
The film based on Washington of 2054 has been portrayed into three different area zones: the Capitol area with its huge monuments, the “bedroom community” developing vertically, and like every other city the area which did not develop along with the technological advancement.
Steven Spielberg smartly blended technology with society to give the futuristic approach, he showed people shopping at The Gap, reading on the metro, and using computers, but the step up is what one can notice clearly- people on the trains are reading paper-thin screens that update itself as news slides in; customers shopping at malls are scanned by their retinas identified and are greeted with customized ads showing their interests as they walk by. When Cruise’s Anderton walks into The Gap, the store recognizes him and recites his shopping history.
The technology in the film focused more on the surveillance and connectivity around with eye-scanners everywhere and vertical screens wherever possible on walls, building facades, etc highlighting the digital importance.
Spielberg also sought to integrate the technologically advanced infrastructure and cityscape design into the film, having tall skyscrapers with aerodynamic and fluidic design melting into the landscape and nearby structures and directly linking the transport to each other as a complete single entity.
We can notice magnetic levitation vehicles in seamless motion along the facades of the buildings complementing each other which run along the inclined roadways that melt into horizontal roads like a waterfall. It makes the transport-independent of gravity ensuring unhindered traffic flow. The film takes urban planning to an entirely new level of development and makes designers ponder on such ideas.
