June 24, 2002

8:43 AM

OK, the movie is out. What did everyone think? I thought it was freakin' incredible, even if it was about 15 minutes too long. I'd put it in Spielberg's Top 5 for sure. (Let's try not to give any specific spoilers to people who haven't seen it - the trailer shows too many great scenes already!)
posted by sassone (26 comments total)

Oh, that everybody runs thing. I thought you were talking about the best film of the year so far, John Sayles' Sunshine State. Nevermind.
posted by muckster at 8:55 AM on June 24, 2002

I thought it was amazing. I want to see it again just to try to catch some of the stuff going on in the background.
posted by yerfatma at 8:58 AM on June 24, 2002

I really enjoyed it. I've seen a lot of the big-ticket movies over the past year or two, and this was one that actually delivered. Solid film, and the images (even the 'minor' scenes) are still in my head.
posted by cell divide at 9:04 AM on June 24, 2002

It was very good. There was a great consistency in the technologies and the implications of them. But I'm very hung up on the pragmatic issues. I live in DC, and I'm thinking, it would take more than 52 years to design and build all those darn highways, cars etc.

Also, women and minorities were virtually invisible as players. Always a disappointment.
posted by Red58 at 9:04 AM on June 24, 2002

Using my "precog" abilities, I can already tell that someone will remind you that this is not "MovieFilter."
posted by ColdChef at 9:05 AM on June 24, 2002

The critic who called the last half-hour or so "Murder She Wrote" was spot-on, but I enjoyed the rest of the film greatly. I see why everyone says this is Spielberg mainlining Kubrick, but I also kept thinking Ridley Scott (the multiple plays on "eyes" and "sight" reminded me very strongly of Blade Runner).
posted by thomas j wise at 9:10 AM on June 24, 2002

Isn't this a double post?
posted by macadamiaranch at 9:13 AM on June 24, 2002

I liked it. Not as good as it could have been, perhaps, but not as dumbed-down as one would expect/fear. Visually interesting.

Tom Cruise is picking some interesting projects lately. Vanilla Sky was also well worth a watch.
posted by rushmc at 9:17 AM on June 24, 2002

I liked it. Not as good as it could have been, perhaps, but not as dumbed-down as one would expect/fear. Visually interesting.

Tom Cruise is picking some interesting projects lately. Vanilla Sky was also well worth a watch.
posted by rushmc at 9:18 AM on June 24, 2002

I liked it. Not as good as it could have been, perhaps, but not as dumbed-down as one would expect/fear. Visually interesting.

Tom Cruise is picking some interesting projects lately. Vanilla Sky was also well worth a watch.
posted by rushmc at 9:19 AM on June 24, 2002

Red58: yeah, that bugged the group I was with a little too, but I was willing to forgive the movie a lot of practicalities like that. Not the zany-cars so much, because they were so freakin' cool and I want one, but the questionable access policies their buildings have. Won't say more on the subject, but I'm sure people who've seen the movie know what I mean.

And racial minorities were invisible, I agree, which is especially ironic given that the movie title makes it sound like a race-related-crime-drama, but women? There were like three pivotal women characters. None of them was Tom Cruise, of course, but still. (I guess that was a spoiler: Tom Cruise does not play a woman in Minority Report.)
posted by jacobm at 9:19 AM on June 24, 2002

What bugged me about this movie? The Tooth.
posted by ColdChef at 9:26 AM on June 24, 2002

The women were in tractional roles. None of the cops were women. Women were wives, the one weak, sensitive pre-cog, etc, but not decision makers, action takers, etc.

At least one of the cops was a minority.
posted by Red58 at 9:27 AM on June 24, 2002

Regarding "questionable access policies" ...

The Pre-Crime Unit must have a piss poor human resources department.
posted by grabbingsand at 9:29 AM on June 24, 2002

A number of people in my theatre were grumbling: they thought they were in for a lot more action and a lot less thinking.
posted by TurkeyMustard at 9:33 AM on June 24, 2002

None of the cops were women.

Not true.
posted by ColdChef at 9:34 AM on June 24, 2002

Maybe they should sue.

That bastard Spielberg, making them think!
posted by rushmc at 9:37 AM on June 24, 2002

Red58: I wish I could mention specifics, but without spoiling things I don't think there's any way I can meaningfully argue the point with you. Suffice it to say that I can think of a couple scenes that could be used as evidence against your position.
posted by jacobm at 9:43 AM on June 24, 2002

Also, women and minorities were virtually invisible as players. Always a disappointment.

Oh my, is there a rule somewhere against that? Politically correct future in Sci-Fi? Yawn....
posted by eas98 at 9:52 AM on June 24, 2002

Thanks a lot, ColdChef. I had to go find a picture of Cruise to make sure, but you're right. He has one perfectly centered top tooth.

I will never be able to watch another Cruise film again without being bothered by this.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 9:53 AM on June 24, 2002

When I saw the movie it came with a trailer for the new Austin Powers movie which featured a guy with an ugly (humorous?) mole on his upper lip. Then about an hour into M.R. an inconsequential character bearing an identical mole appears in a few scenes. It made me think back to the trailer and took me out of the movie entirely for about a minute or so (while I fumed). I can't believe this was a coincidence so I'm sure it was a marketing ploy by the Austin Powers people. They may as well have stopped the movie and had a commercial. Fucking assholes! I don't think I will be seeing anymore of the AP movies. Has anyone else seen this trailer/movie combination?
posted by plaino at 9:54 AM on June 24, 2002

plaino: I thought the same thing.
posted by ColdChef at 9:57 AM on June 24, 2002

I didn't make the mole connection, but I found the mole so distracting. I thought Spielberg was above making ugly-woman jokes. That character's partner was played by Peter Stormare, who played the blond-haired killer in Fargo, and he was freakin' hilarious. I would like to see Stormare in more movies.
posted by Holden at 10:00 AM on June 24, 2002

Actually, I went to see Lilo & Stitch, instead.
Best Disney movie in decades. No lame broadwayish musical numbers.
Still laugh when I remember Lilo on phone to social worker :"Oh good, my dog found a chainsaw".
posted by signal at 10:02 AM on June 24, 2002

I liked it a lot. The world and its technology seemed to be very well thought out. I also thought that the overall (somewhat desaturated) color balance and the soft film grain gave it a really interesting visual style beyond that of the world itself.
posted by crumbly at 10:12 AM on June 24, 2002

I thought a weapon reminded me of:the se and the bullet is a magnetic force that did this discussed in an earlier post( I cannot find). Yet it goes to show if you see it in a movie, it already exists or. As I think, if you can dream it, you can invent it. Now we know what dreams are made of, inventions. Great hine sight by Spielberg.
And plaino since reading MF I feel everwhere I'm being followed by him.
posted by thomcatspike at 10:40 AM on June 24, 2002