In the movie it’s the future (2054) and we now see Washington D.C. where a system known as pre-crime is born. Pre-Crime is a new law system where people known as pre-cognitive are used as machines which can foretell the future and predict a major crime. Tom Cruise plays John Anderton, one of the best officers who bust the people who commit the pre-crimes. The system is perfect, flawless and it does the job… but what happens when the system turns on you? Now, accused of killing a man in thirty-six hours he doesn’t know, he is now on the run from his own task force and a Government official (Colin Farrell) who wants him at all costs.
I am a huge fan of Steven Spielberg’s works. So, it was no surprise I’d try and check this out as soon as possible. I became a little jaded by his latest work “A.I.” which was sub-par, gloomy, and very confusing. I had my doubts going into this, but as I suspected I was in for a good time. This has to be one of Spielberg’s best ever; we instantly begin to become dazzled as Spielberg leaves us in awe with an incredible world which seems to be a mix of futuristic landscapes and skyscrapers mixed with small town suburbia and old-fashioned houses. We also get an amazing view of the highways of the future as cars not only drive along the ground but up on the sides of building into the skies.
The city is very overcome by computer -generated ads by fashion companies and commercials that know our names and offer us products non-stop. We’re also kept under monitor as our eyes are scanned and indexed before we enter anyplace from bathrooms to trains. We get this view of the new world which is beautiful yet still very dangerous. The cast is phenomenal as Tom Cruise is at his top as John Anderton. We believe he is in danger and never doubt his desperation. I always question Tom Cruise as an actor, but this movie has proven me wrong.
We get excellent stunts performed by Cruise himself as he scrambles desperately throughout the movie attempting to cheat a system that is basically fail safe. Colin Farrell is also truly excellent as Danny Witwer, the suspicious government operative who questions the system’s accuracy and will stop at nothing to catch John. The two plays off each other very well in action scenes and truly have excellent chemistry as they throw dialogue back and forth to one another, challenging each other’s expertise. Max Von Sydow is a great compliment to this movie as Tom’s Mentor and often his confidant helping him to fight off the law.
The movie makes itself out to be a man-on-the-run movie when truly it is an intricate Hitchcockian murder mystery with plot twists and turns at every corner that kept me on the edge of my seat. This movie is very reminiscent of the golden era of movies where a thriller truly relied on character emphasis and plot twists rather than cheap contrived plot devices. Spielberg pulls out all the stops and is at his prime in this as he gives us truly dramatic camera angles that only increase the movie’s element of suspense and atmosphere. Spielberg lets us know that he can do any type of movie as he mends this movie into a masterpiece of art and acting. Ah, I remain loyal to Mr. Spielberg and continue to follow his movies and bow to his skill as he honors the movies with this masterpiece.