– for violence and some language, some sexuality and drug content.
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Max von Sydow, Neal McDonough, Lois Smith, Tim Blake Nelson
Running Time: 2 hours, 24 minutes
4K UHD Release Date: December 9, 2025 (Amazon.com)
MinorityReport
MinorityReport
Plot Summary
In 2054, John Anderton (Tom Cruise) is a chief of police for a anti-criminal program called “Pre-Crime.”
The FBI are brought in (specifically agent Danny Whitmer) to check out the Pre-Crime program,
which relies on a “perfect” system for catching their criminals before they commit their crimes.
This system involves three genetically altered humans referred to as Pre-Cogs who can see murders
before they occur. Soon after the FBI come on the scene, John sees one of the Pre-Cogs visions including
himself in a murder predicted to happen within 36 hours. Immediately John’s own teammates are targeting
him for the murder of a man he claims he doesn’t even know. What follows is a thrilling chase as Anderton
seeks out to find who the man is that he is supposed to kill and why.
Film Review
Steven Spielberg is the man who brought you E.T., Jurassic Park (and Jurassic Park: The Lost World),
the Indiana Jones films, Saving Private Ryan, and even last year’s A.I. (Artificial Intelligence).
In 2002, Spielberg has brought to life a short story called Minority Report in the form of a mature,
thrilling sci-fi adventure that is certainly not for everyone, but an engaging story nonetheless.
Minority Report approaches the future in a way not too many have. Spielberg brings the viewer incredible and realistic visuals that will please any sci-fi or action buff. The world of 2054 that the filmmakers create include, but are not limited to, animated cereal boxes, animated magazine covers, and even interactive advertisements that address you by name by scanning your identity. These are just a few of the fun futuristic gadgets and gizmos in Minority Report. But the film is hardly as light-hearted as all that might seem. What might make this movie even remotely fun to some people is the mystery that surrounds John Anderton’s accusations and the thrilling and intriguing events that unfold because of them. The unique cinematography aids in making the overall atmosphere of the film darker than usual. A moody slate gray tone is washed over the print, making the futuristic setting that much more interesting to the eye. But don’t get me wrong, this film isn’t all about visuals, in fact the visuals are merely an aid for the real story. The movie is hardly a free-for-all effects show, unlike the newer Star Wars prequels. The acting in Minority is topnotch, too, as Cruise delivers his best performance that I’ve seen yet. The screenwriters fleshed out his character well, and Cruise did a great job portraying John Anderton. Rising star Colin Farrell did an okay job as the FBI agent, Danny Whitmer, while Samantha Morton did a superb job as the creepy Precog, Agatha. The film also includes some surprise, much-needed humor to relieve the film’s tension, but didn’t go too far with it.
Unfortunately, a movie this good must have flaws. First of all, some may pick apart plot aspects, which is unnecessary, but the main faults, as usual, lie within the film’s content. Minority Report pushes
the PG-13 envelope pretty good with sexual and violent content. A lot of the murder plot is disturbing and may be unsettling to some. This is certainly, undoubtedly a film to leave the kids home for. Minority Report is not a family movie. Sexual material exists with a marital affair that is shown in part at the start of the film, that leads to one of the murders that Precrime stops. In some sort of fantasy club, the owner talks about sexual fantasies and we even see a man in a room having some kind of distorted sexual stimulation with a hologram. The sequence is brief, and clearly unnecessary to the film, but was more than likely included because Spielberg wanted to lighten things up there. (It just wasn’t needed, though.) Violence is heavy due to the murder shots, and some encounters during Anderton’s attempts to escape Precrime’s
grasp. One sequence even shows eyeballs, with optic nerves attached, removed from the body for an extended sequence. There are definitely quite a few disturbing visuals in this one. Also, child abduction – two different kinds – are a big part of the plot, and it’s largely believed that one of the children may have been murdered. Language isn’t as bad as it could be, but is still heavy due to Anderton’s shouting the “F” word and other colorful words, and some blasphemy, used throughout the film from various characters.
All in all, Minority Report is an amazing film that literally had me and my colleagues on the edge of our seats for a great deal of the film’s length. Due to content, I want to lower my rating of
this film, but due to its clever and intriguing story, I still feel it necessary to give it high marks. Minority Report is a great sci-fi crime film.
– John DiBiase, (reviewed: 6/22/02)
4K UHD Review
It’s been over 23 years since Minority Report hit theaters. Off the top of my head, it may also be the last great movie from Spielberg, too. Sure, he’s had some decent ones here and there (I always forget about 2011’s War Horse), but as far as thrilling sci-fi and action, Spielberg was pretty much at the top of his game with 2002’s Minority Report. It’s intense. It’s thrilling. It’s unique. And it’s aged pretty well so far.
Sadly, this is one of those movies that never really got the proper high-def treatment through the years since its release. Its DVD picture was pretty poor, and the HD streaming picture was better, but still left room for improvement. So, naturally, the idea of a 4K UHD disc release is super intriguing. I’m happy to say that the movie has literally never looked better. In watching it in 4K, I felt like I was seeing some details for the very first time. The biggest problem Minority Report has always had – and still has to some degree – is its soft, glowing bluish picture tone. It’s cool (no pun intended), sure, and it adds to the otherworldly, futuristic look, but it softens the image quite a bit. This release is officially the sharpest we’ve ever seen the movie, but, to a degree, it still looks a little soft at times. The moments where the clarity really shines is when it’s just the actors in the frame and the lighting is good. The clarity does reveal some of the dated CG effects (like the drug dealer’s empty eye sockets, for example), but the movie’s effects otherwise still look quite good for having been 2002.
Side note: I updated my 2002 review to mention it – I’m surprised I hadn’t mentioned it before – but a huge part of the plot involves child abduction, specifically John’s (Tom Cruise’s character) boy being abducted several years before the start of the film, which inspired him to become part of the Precrime initiative. He’s tormented by the loss of his son – which also has led him to drug use – and at one point, he’s led to believe that he’s found his son’s kidnapper who has a history of taking and abusing children. We also learn of a murder of a mother (by drowning) which had allowed her children to be taken. Thematically, it’s a pretty heavy movie for a PG-13 sci-fi action film.
I did peek at the 4K digital stream, but I immediately defaulted to the disc because 4K discs still appear the sharpest way to go (just ask director Christopher Nolan). If you’re a cinephile who chases good picture quality, I recommend this release of Minority Report. It’s not the best 4K you’ll see, but it’s a big step up for this particular movie, and now the most ideal way to watch it.
– John DiBiase (reviewed: 12/19/25)
Parental Guide: Content Summary
Sex/Nudity: The opening sequence involves a couple having an affair. Although nothing explicit is seen, we see close-up glimpses of their mouths kissing and views of the couple preparing to have sex (he removes his shirt, revealing an under shirt and see him in his boxers), and they make a couple comments about where to do it. We then see the couple on top of her bed kissing, etc, but are interrupted before they go further; There is some sexually related dialog during the film; A woman playfully grabs John’s butt after he has been sedated by a doctor. In a scene where the Precrime police release spider robots through an apartment complex, we briefly see (a topview) and hear a couple having sex (from the shoulders up) with a man moving on top of a woman (she stops and covers herself up quickly), who are interrupted by the spiders who check the inhabitants for their identity (while looking for John); In another sequence, John goes to see a friend who is big into multimedia technology and holographic material. As the man shows a customer around his “club,” he mentions that people can have sex with whoever they’d desire to. To this, we see a door open and reveal a man laying on some kind of table with distorted holographic images surrounding him. It looks a lot (and he makes related sounds) like he’s having sex with a woman in bikini panties with an unhooked bra top, but it’s hard to tell (it’s brief). When he sees John has Agatha, he makes a few lewd comments and even briefly makes suggestive movements with his tongue (John isn’t interested); When John goes to a hotel, we see that the man behind the counter has a girl suggestively dancing on his screen dressed in a school outfit; We see the shape of the nipples of the female precog in her tight outfit when she’s in the precog pool; Agatha imagines a future John’s son may have had (but didn’t) that involves him “making love to a girl” when he’s 23 in college.
Vulgarity/Language: 1 “f” word, 9 “s” words, 2 “J-sus Chr-st,” 1 “J-sus,” 1 “laid,” 7 “h*ll,” 5 “d*mn,” 1 “a” word, 1 “For Christ’s sake,” 8 “G-d,” 1 “Oh my G-d”
Alcohol/Drugs: John buys and is addicted to an illegal drug that he inhales and uses to help him sleep at night. He uses it to also to help him deal with the death of his son (which happens before the events in the movie). Some people have drinks during the film.
Blood/Gore: In the opening sequence showing disturbing images of a murder taking place, we see a clips of what looks like a man drowning another man in a tub – with what looks like blood and water spilling over the side of the tub – and the same man stabbing a woman to death with a pair of scissors. We don’t see anything really graphic, but we do briefly see some blood on her chest and clothes (in black and white footage). We also see his fist with the scissors land flush against her chest (his hand blocks the wound); We see a drug dealer (living) whose eyes are missing from his head, to which we just see creepy empty eye sockets; Danny has some blood under his nose after a fight; John has a small bloody cut on his neck from a plant and
some bruises and small cuts from a fight; John hits a person in the throat with a shock “sick stick” and, as a result, a great deal of vomit projects from their mouth; Iris grabs a plant and as it struggles to break free of her grip, cuts the palm of her hand, leaving a slightly bloody cut; We see a great deal of snot run from a man’s nose; Although not graphic or gory, we see a large device placed on a man’s head and we see as
it pulls open the man’s eyelids to expose his eyeballs (kind of disturbing); In a couple scenes, we see a pair of human eyeballs in a plastic bag with some blood. In one scene, John takes them out of the bag and drops them, and we see them roll across the floor. One falls through a grate and he catches the other by the optic nerve before it falls; While blindfolded in a place he’s unfamiliar with, he goes into a fridge to eat some food left there for him, but he grabs the wrong items and instead grabs excessively moldy and vile food, which he bites and then spits out; We see a brief black and white image of a man being shot. In one instance we see some blood flow from the wound; In another sequence, we see a man shot in the chest. We don’t see the impact, but we do see the bullet hole in his clothed chest and blood slowly soak that area of his chest before he is shot again (which is hidden by a person standing in the foreground); We see a bag with a bloody eyeball in it plopped down onto a piano; John has varying amounts of cuts and bruises on his arms and face throughout the film.
Violence: VERY violent. We often see rapid brief shots from murders that are being predicted by the Precogs. We see numerous shots of a woman being drowned; We see shots of a man stabbing a woman to death with scissors and a man being drowned in a bathtub; There are some brutal fights, including one where John severely beats a man out of anger (but isn’t bloody or graphic); When John is chased, he fights off some Precrime officers who try to attack him with a “sick stick” and he uses the weapons against them, causing them to vomit; We see footage repeatedly of a man shooting another man and him falling out a window; We then see the actual scene and the man grabs the gun of his attacker, causing him to be shot on purpose and he falls out a window (while someone dramatically screams); A man is captured and subdued and imprisoned; A man is suddenly and unexpectedly shot from off screen and we see them react as blood spreads on their shirt from the unseen wound. They slide down and then his attacker stands over him and shoots him off screen, killing him; A man has a procedure done that removes his eyes (not seen), and we see the eyes in a bag afterwards. His face is wrapped up and little robots come to scan his eyes and we see the bruised eyes as he struggles in pain to lift the bandages for the eye scan; Several characters are shot, resulting in death. Etc… It’s pretty violent.
Disclaimer: All reviews are based solely on the opinions of the reviewer. Most reviews are rated on how the reviewer enjoyed the film overall, not exclusively on content. However, if the content really affects the reviewer’s opinion and experience of the film, it will definitely affect the reviewer’s overall rating.
To find out why we don’t typically review R-rated movies, click here
