opinion | Tom Cruise has certainly not lacked good to very good films in his career. However, our editor Michael Hille thinks one masterpiece in particular stands out from the star’s filmography: 2002’s Steven Spielberg’s ‘Minority Report.’
But one of his films combines the best of both worlds, is both great entertainment cinema and cerebral art film, delivers exciting and visually stunning action as well as philosophical reflections at the same time, which will keep you busy long after the credits have passed: “Minority Report”. The dystopian sci-fi action thriller is one of the best films of its timeimpresses with fantastically staged scenes and an intricate, multi-layered script – and also Tom Cruise and his most distinctive qualities as an actor are used here better than anywhere else.
“Minority Report” aka “Tom Cruise on the Run”
20th Century Fox
Tom Cruise on the brink: In “Minority Report” he plays a man about to escalate.
For those who have never seen the masterpiece, here is a brief synopsis of the content: In the future, thanks to three mutants (so-called precogs), the Washington DC police have succeeded in developing a procedure that can prevent murders before they happen. The authority’s star investigator is John Anderton (Tom Cruise), who thanks to the support of director Lamar Burgess (Max von Sydow) has ensured that there has been no murder in the US capital for years. Now an independent detective named Danny Witwer (Colin Farrell) is tasked with convincing the “Precrime” process before it’s rolled out across the country.
But then the investigators get a new vision from the Precog mutant Agatha (Samantha Morton) – and it shows that John Anderton himself will shoot a man in the next 36 hours who is still a complete stranger to him. Anderton, now disillusioned with the actual infallible system, takes flight and is relentlessly pursued by widowers. But how do you prove your innocence if you haven’t done anything wrong yet? And can Anderton choose not to commit the future murder – or does he have no other choice?
Minority Report’s chilling vision of the future
20th Century Fox
Terrific action: You want to see “Minority Report” several times just for the chases alone.
The rough story of “Minority Report” is based on the short story of the same name by Philip K. Dick (who already inspired the classic “Blade Runner”). What Steven Spielberg, arguably one of the greatest and most important filmmakers of all time, has made of it is a sensational and frighteningly prophetic crime thriller. It is about free will, predestination, determination and guilt. Can someone be punished for something they are yet to do? And knowing the future, can we still change it or is it inevitable? In 2002, this political accusation of a fascist surveillance system may have meant the war on terror after the attacks of September 11 in the previous year, but even more than 20 years later these philosophical questions have not lost their validity – especially since many of the future scenarios of the film (e.g the touchscreen or hologram technologies shown) have long since become reality.
Spielberg uses many cinematic role models here: A proximity to other great sci-fi films such as “Total Recall”, “The Fifth Element” or “Blade Runner” comes naturally, but it goes even further: The core story of one The way the unjustly persecuted man is told is reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Invisible Third” or the 90s hit “On the Run” with Harrison Ford Film-noir-esque conspiracy the black-and-white classic “Dead Sleeping Tight” and “LA Confidential”, which appeared only a few years before “Minority Report”, were the godfathers. But Minority Report is more than the sum of its parts, and Spielberg has created something entirely original. Just how deep he delves into this fictional future is shown by the fact that he hired a group of futurologists and had them work out a series of future scenarios for months before adapting the script to reflect these findings.
The strength of the Tom Cruise – and why he refines “Minority Report”.
20th Century Fox
Poetic: Agatha and John look in different directions, yet see the same outcome of events.
There is still a lot to praise about this wonderful film, just the splendid picture composition. There are action scenes in “Minority Report” that ooze with creativitythat you have to see them several times to be able to take everything in. When, for example, small camera drones (which look like robotic spiders) sneak through a residential complex and Spielberg lets the camera move over a cross section of the apartments, you gasp in admiration. Also a long chase by jetpack and later by a fully automated garage simply virtuoso. But it’s the cast of Tom Cruise that puts the finishing touches to this film.
Like many movie stars, Cruise has one immense charisma. Roles automatically become likeable because they are played through him. But such stars often find it difficult to play roles that have nuances, that make mistakes, or that have a darker side. The difficult balancing act is with such characters: They must also embody negative qualities in a credible way, and still must not become unsympathetic. Tom Cruise manages this tightrope walk in an exemplary manner. In fact, in the film’s key scene, which sees Anderton freaking out in a hotel room, he’s so brilliant it makes you wonder why he didn’t earn an Oscar for it.
You don’t have to be a precog to know that no matter how well the rest of Tom Cruise’s career goes, it is difficult for him to follow up on “Minority Report”.. That would really be one Mission impossible.