“You know what freedom is Bob? No fear. Like Tom ****ing Cruise!”
When this is said by the character Sergio (Benecio Del Toro) in the recent One Battle After Another, you get a sense of content agreement. Growing up, I always saw Cruise as the guy who was able to sleep with the girl in some way shape or form, whether he was risking his life or not. That was not the case when I saw him in Minority Report.
The film based off of a Phillip K. Dick story had its roots in film noir as well as sci-fi, as John Anderton (Cruise), the head of the Pre Crime Unit that can stop crimes before they happen, is forced to go on the run when he is found to be the culprit of a future murder. While he still has his estranged wife Lara (Kathryn Morris) who left him after the loss of their son, the film has two moments (which I remember my dad pointed out to me when I saw it as a teenager) that plays against the whole “Tom Cruise sleeps with someone in the movie” cliche.
The first is when he encounters one of the creators of the program, Iris Hineman (Lois Smith). While figuring out what his next plan is, she lays a kiss on his lips. The other time, right before his eye surgery, he gets a butt grab by Evanna, the assistant of Dr. Eddie (Peter Stormare).
Those observations are just very minor nuggets in this true gold mine of a film that is still my favorite Spielberg film of the century to date. I remember being nervous seeing the film the first time, since his more previous film, A.I. (which I have needed to rewatch for far too long now) was one that I had felt (at the time) should have ended twenty or so minutes earlier than it did. When this film kept going, I realized there was more to the story that needed to truly be revealed.
While Cruise is indeed a marvel, this was also my introduction to actress Samantha Morton as Agatha (not to mention Colin Farrell). To this day, I would argue she was overlooked for Oscar consideration for Best Supporting Actress. Her performance chills the spine.
The film also has a personal place in my heart as it was the first time I agree with Roger Ebert on the best film of the year. It could also be argued that this was the first film that truly started the idea of having Tom Cruise do what he does better than anyone else in cinema: run.
Afterall, everybody runs.
When I come across potential young cinephiles from Gen Z looking for a great recommendation, this is one of the first that comes to mind.
(As of this writing, Minority Report is available on Paramount Plus and available to rent on VOD).
Nothing else to say 