Minority Report (Steven Spielberg) - 2002

This movie is based on a 32-page, syfy short story by Philip K. Dick (1928-1982).  Author Dick describes the lead character as "bald, fat and old" so director Spielberg chose Tom Cruise for the part.  Cruise is the chief of the "Precrime" division of the Washington, D.C. police force in the very futuristic year of 2054.  For six years, his team has been eliminating violent crime in the city by arresting suspects before they commit their crimes.  Evidence of guilt is provided by the premonitions of three "pre-cogs," two men and one woman who live in a wading pool and just dream about things that might happen.  All is well until the pre-cogs report that Chief Cruise will be the next person to kill someone he has never met.  Cruise then flees from the precrime squad in an attempt to prove his innocence.  For his vision of this future, Spielberg changed the characters, location, plot and ending of the Dick story.  What remains is a puzzling storyline that makes little sense.  The special effects are very good.  [JAM 11/7/2010]