Minority Report

It's the year 2054, and a new form of justice is in operation. In the area in and around Washington DC, the "pre-crime" system is in effect. Pre-crime centres on using three human beings who, as a result of traumas throughout their lives, somehow have gained the ability to see predictions of murders yet to be committed. Those working for pre-crime are able, through seeing that which the so-called "precogs" dream, to stop the murder happening before it even takes place, thus opening up an entire political can of worms about the implications of arresting those who in actuality have never committed the crime and are therefore not guilty.

After losing his son, John Anderton (Tom Cruise) joined Pre-Crime in order to stop others suffering that which he himself had to go through. He is the unequivocal star of Pre-Crime until one day the pre-cogs predict that in 36 hours he will murder somebody - somebody he's never heard of before in his life. What follows is a futuristic chase movie combined with a murder mystery, with Anderton having to take desperate measures in order to evade the system in which he had previously held so much faith whilst investigating the possibility of a so-called "Minority Report" which could prove crucial.

This is a slick film, well directed by Spielberg and featuring solid performances. Cruise looks suitably harried throughout, while Colin Farrell is pretty damn smooth as the investigator who wants to make Anderton's life a misery. If you're looking for something to complain about then yes, it is a bit long, and yes, it is a bit of a Spielberg cop-out at the end, and yes, alright, there are plot holes the size of the Grand Canyon all over the place. But at the end of the day, it's an entertaining film and you don't really think about all that while you're watching it. It just makes for even more heated discussions in the pub and that's what films are there for anyway, isn't it?

Laura Watson