# I just saw Minority Report (No Spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 21, 2002, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-minority-report-no-spoilers/115332 "2002-06-21T20:28:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-minority-report-no-spoilers/115332/1 "2002-06-21T20:28:28Z")
It’s my favorite movie of the year so far. The futuristic philosophical aspects reminded me a bit of A.I. The f/x are fantastic. I like the way it wasn’t too over the top and it isn’t hard to imagine some of the new technology in our not too distance future. The newspapers of the future will be really cool! 🙂 A good storyline, too. I can’t wait for the DVD of this movie! I give it two thumbs up! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-minority-report-no-spoilers/115332/2 "2002-06-21T20:48:26Z")
P.S. I was a little disappointed that they had no tooth phones in the future ☹ But they had some pretty cool ‘ear phones!’ 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ReservoirDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@ReservoirDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReservoirDog)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-minority-report-no-spoilers/115332/3 "2002-06-21T21:34:30Z")
After reading about five absolutely glowing reviews of this movie, I set out to find a negative one. I went to [www.rottentomatoes.com](http://www.rottentomatoes.com) only to discover that Minority Report has received an astounding 97% positive reviews. That’s practically unheard of! Since this weekend happens to be “between paychecks”, I’m waiting to go until next weekend, but I want to know from people I trust (sort of) if this is really THAT great. So, for anybody who has seen it, give us your take. Hold the spoilers, please! Also, just so we know if we can trust you, list out a couple of your favorite movies, too. (If you’re favorites are stinkers, we’ll know enough to disregard your opinion, right?) ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-minority-report-no-spoilers/115332/4 "2002-06-21T21:48:31Z")
I think I have very good taste in movies, and I am not easily entertained. Here are some of my faves: Braveheart Bladerunner Shawshank Redemption Office Space Terminator Dr. Strangelove A Clockwork Orange The Godfather One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest Taxi Driver God, there are so many more… ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-minority-report-no-spoilers/115332/5 "2002-06-21T21:52:54Z")
Damn! I forgot to include Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Atreyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Atreyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atreyu)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-minority-report-no-spoilers/115332/6 "2002-06-21T22:47:03Z")
I just got back from seeing “Minority Report”, and I’d have to say that the positive reviews are all justified. This is a DAMN good movie. ---
**Author:** ![Daniel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Daniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2002, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-minority-report-no-spoilers/115332/7 "2002-06-22T01:28:03Z")
It’s awesome. I’ve been looking forward to this movie for years (Spielberg put off the project two years so he could work on that three-hour-long bowel movement he calls A.I.). I’m a huge fan of the short story it’s based on. It’s different from the Philip K. Dick story that inspired it, but not too much. The concept’s there, you can see traces of the original story showing up at specific plot points, but it’s greatly expanded on and the ending is a bit more involved (and a bit more difficult to predict). I guess my point is that even though I was expecting something different, I still enjoyed it. And I don’t have to act embarrassed about talking so highly about this movie for the past three years 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2002, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-minority-report-no-spoilers/115332/8 "2002-06-22T04:25:31Z")
I just got back from it and I highly recommend to anyone to go see it. Some of my favorite movies are: Brazil (obviously) Head Yellow Submarine Cube Trainspotting Memento Easy Rider I hope that makes me qualified. Once again, Minority Report was very, very cool and you must go see it. [sub]I need to go to bed, I usually can express myself better than saying “very, very cool.” God, I’m such a dork.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2002, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-minority-report-no-spoilers/115332/9 "2002-06-22T05:14:25Z")
I just saw it and I thought it was worth it. It didn’t leave me speechless, but it was entertaining. One thing I _hate_ about movies is when endings are _explained_ to the viewer by means of narration or the cliched “detective explains it all” at the end. The ending of _Minority Report_ stinks of the latter, which annoyed me. But all in all, it was a good movie. Spielberg has definately redeemed himself for destroying AI. Some of my favorites: \* Shawshank Redemption The Man Who Wasn’t There Memento The Score Monty Python and the Holy Grail American History X Monsters, Inc Run Lola Run Zoolander Dr. Strangelove Wag the Dog Barry Lyndon Pi City of Lost Children \* ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2002, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-minority-report-no-spoilers/115332/10 "2002-06-22T06:24:30Z")
Just got back from _Minority Report_, and I must say that it’s the best movie I’ve seen this year. Lots of fun twists and turns - and the car Cruise gets to …um… cruise in was awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2002, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-minority-report-no-spoilers/115332/11 "2002-06-22T06:28:46Z")
Harry Knowles at _Aint It Cool News_ gave it a negative review. ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2002, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-minority-report-no-spoilers/115332/12 "2002-06-22T16:22:50Z")
I saw it last night and thought it was terrific. The final third could have been shorter and written a little more tightly, but the overall effect was outstanding. A few thoughts: Some of the best _direction_ by Spielberg in a long time. With this and with last year’s _A.I._, he’s starting to adopt a whole new vocabulary of camera moves. It’s impressive to me that after a 30-year career and nearly as many movies, he’s still willing to learn and experiment. Tom Cruise is in his element in this one, playing a combination of the two kinds of roles he excels at: The cocky, super-capable loner, and the out-of-his-element man looking for answers. People can say what they like, but I’ve always enjoyed Cruise as an actor, and this is his best performance since _Jerry Maguire_. Janusz Kaminski is a very, very good DP. Nice work by the cast all around. Colin Farrell was terrific; great reaction to Cruise in the elevator, by the way, after Farrell says, “I don’t hear a red ball.” Samantha Morton has a great future in Hollywood, and it’s always good to see Max von Sydow. That was a pretty hard PG-13, all things considered. I bet we see some deleted scenes on the DVD. Some real flashes of wit in both the screenplay and the direction, and it never seemed forced. Peter Stormaare is one weird dude. I think the first time I ever saw him was in _Fargo_, and he hasn’t gotten any less weird. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2002, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-minority-report-no-spoilers/115332/13 "2002-06-22T16:59:11Z")
It left me reasonably flat. I’m not sure why, the effects are good, there is a great sense of style, the story is solid, the acting good to very good. But at the end I was left with a feeling of “huh”. That seemed to be the general feeling at the theater I went to. Applause is common after good films at this theater, but there was none here. People didn’t immediately get up and start talking, so that is good. The biggest defect that has already been pointed out is all the exposition at the end, just in case you hadn’t been able to follow the previous two hours; that always annoys me, since nothing was explained that I hadn’t understood during the discovery period of the movie. There is one other issue that bothered me, but I don’t know how to mention it without spoiling or provoking conversation that would be a spoiler so I’ll save it for another thread. All the pieces are there for this to be a movie I really enjoy, but somehow it just didn’t click. Still entertaining, and better than 99% of summer films, but missing something I can’t quite put my finger on. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2002, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-minority-report-no-spoilers/115332/14 "2002-06-22T18:46:52Z")
I enjoyed it, I expected to be totally wowed, but wasn’t. Perhaps I went in with inflated expectations, considering all the positive reviews. I liked most of the technological advancements, the cars were a bit over the top, too much infrastructure to build in 50 years. I thought the computer interfaces were fantastic, and potentially realistic. The story was good, but it seemed to drag a bit. ---
**Author:** ![annieclaus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5a626/32.png) [@annieclaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/annieclaus)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2002, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-minority-report-no-spoilers/115332/15 "2002-06-22T20:24:41Z")
There are some pretty nasty reviews on the IMDB. I thought it was the most intelligent film I’ve seen in a long time. Good f/x. Good acting. Good production design. Really interesting story. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2002, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-minority-report-no-spoilers/115332/16 "2002-06-23T03:53:04Z")
The mag-lev Beltway sure would improve the communting time around here! I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, although I found the free wil vs. determinism theme much less profound than others did. The washed out color palette lent the film an eerie tone that definitely got the Dickian sensibility across. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2002, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-minority-report-no-spoilers/115332/17 "2002-06-23T04:50:20Z")
It’s was pretty good. But not **that** good. I think the positive reviews classing it as some kind of brillaint masterwork are way offbase. And there’s an ENORMOUS plothole. An unavoidable one, too, I think, so they chose to ignore it. A shame, as that particular point is really brought a lot of attention. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2002, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-minority-report-no-spoilers/115332/18 "2002-06-23T05:06:47Z")
I also wonder if the names of the three Pre-cogs–Arthur, Dashiell, and Agatha–were inspired by the well-known detective story writers Arthur Conan Doyle, Dashiell Hammett, and Agatha Christie. ---
**Author:** ![Estilicon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Estilicon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Estilicon)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2002, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-minority-report-no-spoilers/115332/19 "2002-06-23T12:37:46Z")
Can anyone tell me the name of the short story minority report is based on? ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2002, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-minority-report-no-spoilers/115332/20 "2002-06-23T12:41:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Estilicon \* > \*\*Can anyone tell me the name of the short story minority report is based on? \*\* Philip K. Dick’s “Minority Report” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-saw-minority-report-no-spoilers/115332.md?page=2)