As I said, this movie contains a lot of kinetic, cinematic action which takes place in a futuristic environment.
I'd like to focus on some certain aspects now.
The present in the future
Minority Report presents a perfect combination of utopian and everyday life elements that result in a authentic futuristic vision.
You can recognize a lot of architecture, objects and clothes which seem to be right out of our time (in this case the 2000ies) or even older decades (especially some buildings and part of the environment, parks etc). This familiar parts of that "future" reconnects directly into our present and at the same time, state of the art technology (like highly advanced touch-screens, hovercraft vehicles, etc) which is developing faster and faster around us, is already established and almost ordinary in the film's present. The future becomes alive and authentic. And we can have a real look at it for about two hours.
You can recognize a lot of architecture, objects and clothes which seem to be right out of our time (in this case the 2000ies) or even older decades (especially some buildings and part of the environment, parks etc). This familiar parts of that "future" reconnects directly into our present and at the same time, state of the art technology (like highly advanced touch-screens, hovercraft vehicles, etc) which is developing faster and faster around us, is already established and almost ordinary in the film's present. The future becomes alive and authentic. And we can have a real look at it for about two hours.
I very like this old/new combination, the "unfinished" future vision, which still has to potential to go further, to set new standarts again and again (e.g. transportation into outer space, which is not shown in the film). People still suffer from common cold (like the surgeon who removes John's eyes) or poverty, and some buildings still look like they'll be torn down soon (regarding the more modern, high-tech centers).
Emotions
John Anderton is a broken man. He's a secretly drug addict, highly motivated cop, driven by deep pain.
There're a lot of holographic screens, objects and projections in the film. Mostly seen with John, getting lost in his (restored) memories, involving his beloved son and wife. On the other hand, interactive, intelligent advertising media is always surrounding the future citizens of D.C. and John too, of course. They seem to "catch" their costumers on the streets and even in the darkest corners. Shiny, bright, transcendent, using the people's emotions, like they always did. But now in a (not so) far more sophisticated way.
Agatha, Arthur and Dash (the Precogs) are literally filled with the emotions of all the others and their own, uncontrolled minds as well. The three of them are haunted by visions of murders and everyday life memories of other people. The movie opens with one of these cruel visions, showing a husband, murdering his wife right after he discovered her with her lover. One very essential "murder scene" takes place in the woods, near a lake. The simple and natural environment of that vision also contributes to the gripping, subtle atmosphere of the movie. It is set quiet far away from the hyper futuristic buildings that represent John's "safe" and urban workplace. Another example for this old/new contrasts.
There're a lot of holographic screens, objects and projections in the film. Mostly seen with John, getting lost in his (restored) memories, involving his beloved son and wife. On the other hand, interactive, intelligent advertising media is always surrounding the future citizens of D.C. and John too, of course. They seem to "catch" their costumers on the streets and even in the darkest corners. Shiny, bright, transcendent, using the people's emotions, like they always did. But now in a (not so) far more sophisticated way.
Agatha, Arthur and Dash (the Precogs) are literally filled with the emotions of all the others and their own, uncontrolled minds as well. The three of them are haunted by visions of murders and everyday life memories of other people. The movie opens with one of these cruel visions, showing a husband, murdering his wife right after he discovered her with her lover. One very essential "murder scene" takes place in the woods, near a lake. The simple and natural environment of that vision also contributes to the gripping, subtle atmosphere of the movie. It is set quiet far away from the hyper futuristic buildings that represent John's "safe" and urban workplace. Another example for this old/new contrasts.
The horror and the darkness
Minority Report combines quiet a lot of different genre influences, and it does not only consist of the pure, high-tech sci-fi look.
It's not a real horror movie either, but there are some notions and scenes that evoke feelings of insecurity and unconscious horror deep inside me. The future that Spielberg and his team present us is shiny, transparent and actually quiet bright. But also with dark sides, which make us fearful and, as I said, uncertain about this "progressive" future.
The one-eyed man John is buying his drugs from, the monstrous apparatus which the surgeon uses to replace John's eyes, the living garden that literally catches its visitors, or the ambience in the precog visions in general, all these things seem quiet sinister. Although Spielberg's movies always contain a special kind of fearful atmosphere or tension, some of them more than others, Minority Report (and its predecessor A.I. - Artificial Intelligence as well) evoke that sort of primal fear and insecurity in a very sophisticated and stylish way.
To be continued ... ;-)
