Well, for starters the bot only scanned one eye, so he wouldn’t have gone totally blind in any case. Since the scan was so brief, the damage might have been minimal. Maybe he’s now a little near-sighted in that eye, or has a better chance of developing cataracts.
They’ve been in that tank, semi-conscious, using only their psychic senses, for several years. P’raps they’ve gotten better at it. Also, I think they would be disinclined to reveal their full powers to the people who are, essentially, enslaving them.
You know how beureucracies work. “Please allow all requests for changes in security status four to six weeks for processing.”
I really like **Mandos’ ** explanation of why the access was kept open. I still don’t get how John got that close, okay he has a new face and new eyes, but he has no uniform or anything, and it’s not like his new face or eyes are in the database for any of the other scanners or cameras. They let any scumbag get that close to the temple door? What if he had a big bomb or something?
“You know how beureucracies work. “Please allow all requests for changes in security status four to six weeks for processing.””
Exactly. Don’t forget the visas given to dead terrorists by the INS !
As to why the eye-scanner doesn’t recognize dead eyes, it might just be that since dead eyes are so rare no one has bothered to give them that ability. Perhaps the technology is relatively recent and hasn’t been fine-tuned.
The precogs and police call John’s murder of Crow “premeditated” – that’s why they have so long to find him. But that’s silly, he doesn’t even know Crow. The urge to murder Crow only occurs when he finds the apartment and pictures of the kids, and that’s a “passion” not premeditated. So the whole premise of chasing him is … wrong.
Finally major nit-picks: The problem with the system was not the police part, but the lack of trial. The police catch you for a pre-crime and put you away for good, no trial, no nothin.
Seems to me that the system shouldn’t have been killed altogether. The system still prevents crimes. The opening crime with the scissors and adulterous wife was prevented; they don’t need to lock the guy away forever on account of it. So this whole thing about how the pre-crime system collapses seems nuts to me. What would reasonably happen is that there would need to be a court system that imposed shorter penalties (or even no penalties, perhaps just preventing the crime of passion was enough.)
Ah, but it’s not John’s crime they predicted, it’s Lamar’s carefully plotted and premeditated plan to kill Crow and destroy John’s life. Also note that Agatha clearly has greater powers than even the people who work in Pre-Crime are aware (the scene in the mall) and that she knows that Lamar murdered her mother, giving her a greater emotional bond with Lamar, and perhaps making it easier for her to track his future.
And, while the idea of a Pre-Crime unit might still have been useful, it was clear by the end of the movie that the pre-cogs were being used against their will. So you have a system that involves slavery, sometimes produces false data, can be manipulated by a clever criminal, and was set up by a guy who murdered at least two people in cold blood. Potential benefits aside, the hue and cry that would be raised over all of these revelations coming out at once would shut Pre-Crime down permanently. It might (arguably) not have been the smartest decision, but I don’t think you fault the movie for lack of realism on this count.
I agree with C K Dexter Haven about the way these precrimes should be handled. It’s enough for the cops to turn up and just prevent a murder of passion from happening. perhaps have counseelors on hand to sort out whatever dispute led to the attempt in the first place, and to determine whether or not the ‘murderer’ was a continuing threat to the ‘victim’ and separate them if necessary. Premediated murders could, I’d imagine, be treated in much the same way as attempted murder is today.
Apart from that, anything sensible I could think of has been mentioned so let me just ask this:
Did anyone else see the Goldmember trailer beforehand and then think ‘Moley moley mole!’ when the doctor’s assistant appeared? No? Just me then.
True. But not from the Reagan Building. As I recall the scene these were a few free-standing funky looking skyscrapers in the middle of lower buildings. Unless Rosslyn was destroyed then rebuilt with only three skyscrapers this wasn’t what we were seeing.