Thursday, Dec. 12, 2002
Minority Report, Steven Spielberg, U.S.
In this Mensa-smart fantasy epic, the year is 2054, but it might be 2002, with the government rounding up citizens before they can commit a crime. Instead of an Arab-American, the suspect here is Tom Cruise, who also happens to be the town's top mind-cop. Spielberg, jazzed by the plot-and-picture opportunities in opening up and updating Philip K. Dick's 1955 story, creates a gorgeous-grotty amalgam of the retro future. He also is faithful to the vision of a great SF writer, while entertaining the millions of ordinary moviegoers who don't know Dick.