I often wonder what Spielberg is going to do to top himself (with the exception of "A.I." which was absolute trash).  I mean, let's face it, he has NO competition other than himself and it must be hard to come up with fresh ideas when you've made such fabulous pictures in the past.  He is at his very best when his stories are in the Adventure genre. Raiders of the Lost Ark was a fine example and so is this latest effort.  What sets this picture apart from previous ones is that it is an urban adventure set in Washington D.C. in 2054 as opposed to the romantic past of the "Indy" pictures.

Imagine living in a large city where murder has become almost extinct.  This is accomplished by an agency that can stop a murder BEFORE it happens.  The "murderer" is then put into suspended animation so they can no longer attempt violence on others.  Sounds great, huh?  Well, where humans are involved, things WILL go wrong.  BET ON IT!

Enter our hero, John Anderton, played flawlessly by Tom Cruise.  He's a detective in the "Pre-Crime" unit and though he has pain and issues of his own, he is in charge of stopping the types of crimes that caused his suffering.  Things get really bad for him when HE becomes the target of the unit and must clear himself before he commits the "crime".  Confused?  Don't be. It is a little hard to follow in the beginning but everything gets cleared up in a hurry.

It's a unique idea for a movie and Spielberg uses his own brand of magic to tell the story.  He uses just the right amount of special effects but not too much as some directors would have been tempted to do.  Those effects are fabulous and add greatly to the stature of this picture as did Max Von Sydow with a fine performance.

This was a HUGE movie in story, scope and substance.  It's an action picture, a murder mystery, a sci-fi thriller and all the cops and robbers anybody would want.  It moves so fast that you get dizzy in places and then slows down and lets us catch up.  It is well made and will certainly be one of the huge successes of the summer, but what else would you expect from Mr. Spielberg?

"To sometimes see the light, one must accept the darkness".

RECOMMENDATION:  I would pay FULL price to see this one (did I say that?) and you KNOW that ain't my style!!!  Some violence and a little sex, rated PG 13.

TWO, PRE-COGNITIVE, SPIELBERG-ESS THUMBS UP!!!    (Hovering in mid-air!)

Movie Review © 2002 by Terry Anderson