Small Screen Reviews: Minority Report

 

minorityYou might recall a little Tom Cruise film from 2002 entitled Minority Report. The movie, based on a Philip K. Dick story, posited a world where three “precognitive” children — i.e., teenagers who lay in a bath of goo and have a limited ability to see into the future — are used to predict murders so that the police can stop them before they happened. This being a Philip K. Dick story, things of course go overboard and the police arrest and imprison people for future murders. The tale gets complicated when the protagonist is accused of future murder. Since this is a Cruise film, this involves serious chase scenes and action sequences before he’s finally caught. In the finale, we see how he was set up and it’s revealed that he’s been falsely accused. He’s released, the precogs are set free and they all live happily ever after on a secluded island without murder or chase sequences. But this being a Philip K. Dick story, the ending suggests that the finale isn’t real and that our protagonist is dreaming an all-too perfect end to his predicament while imprisoned in forced hibernation.

It was a solid movie, one of the earlier science fiction films that Cruise has made that I’ve enjoyed. But that’s another topic because, hey, Hollywood has decided to take that overly happy ending that could actually be a sucker punch and turn it into the basis for an uninspired television series of the same name. I’m being harsh: the show isn’t bad so much as uninspired. Thus, it tends to lessen the effect of the source material. As I’m fond of the source material, my judgment on the present tends to be a bit more pointed.

The series begins a several years after the events of the movie, which brings us to its first flaw. Remember that hint of ambiguity I wrote about earlier? Well, it’s gone out the window and the most surface telling of the movie is the show’s unambiguous truth. If you like safe, I guess this is alright, but then why turn to Philip K. Dick when you want safe storytelling?

Anyhow, one of the pre cogs, Das (now all grown up) has moved back to the city so that he can stop the murders he sees when he’s around all these people. Granted, this young man has next to no skills whatsoever – neither urban, survival, nor social –  so his crusade is a complete flop; in the first attempt we see, he’s late to save someone from getting thrown out the window. Since that’s not going well, he tries to clumsily recruit the help of Detective Lara Vega. His older sister, Agatha, of course, disapproves because their working relationship with the police has been rather one-sided in benefits.

But Dash is on a mission, and manages to convince Vega to help him. What we find is that his visions are limited to images; he doesn’t get useful things like names. For that, we have to go to his twin brother, who is also in the city, and who doesn’t get images, just names. This is a case of the Polar Opposite Twin trope. Where Dash is an awkward and struggling guy who wants to help, Arthur is a successful underworld criminal who’s charming, quick-witted, and comfortable in society. And here’s my problem number two: Dash is scolded for trying to work with the police, but Arthur is fine working against the law and uses the police against people.

In the end, this is just a cop-teamed-with-talented-outsider show in a science fiction setting. There is a lot of the former nowadays that you really have to stand out to make waves on the small screen. There’s plenty out there that are popular enough – like Castle or Bones – that makes it difficult to impossible to turn people away from there to follow your show with the same enthusiasm. This show doesn’t really break into that must-see category. The acting is competent. The drama is competent. Everything about this show is okay, but just hasn’t achieved the oomph it needs to push beyond. Older sister Agatha seems involved in some Xanatos Gambit but really, do we care enough to see where it’s going? She has a vision of them all being placed back into the precog program for the police and, somehow, Det. Vega is involved, but the morality of this has been explored in the movie well enough. It lacks any sort of punch. Nothing about the show stands out enough for me to care enough to pick that out of my Hulu+ queue instead of the latest episode of Shark Tank.

Sure, taking a pre-existing film or television series as your setting saves you a lot of development and world-creation effort, but choosing Philip K. Dick’s material as your source is a challenge beyond most writers. In short, I can’t recommend the show. It’s not really good to watch with your kids because of the violence but, at this point, it’s just not really good to watch at all.

For this show to improve for me, somewhere near the end of the season we’ll find the entire show taking place mostly in Tom Cruise’s head while he’s imprisoned, this being some telepathic scheme by the precogs to release him and themselves from everything. I seriously doubt the writers could pull that off.

Published in Culture, Entertainment
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  1. Matt Edwards Inactive
    Matt Edwards
    @MattEdwards

    Thanks for watching and reporting. I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be a winner. The movie I enjoy a ton, until the giant plot hole opens up. You know, with the eye ball and the retina scan mess, but everything else is great fun and more importantly, highlights a discussion we are bound to have when dealing with the intentions of the mentally ill and their rights before any harm is done.

    • #1
  2. MLH Inactive
    MLH
    @MLH

    I liked the movie. A lot. I watched the first episode of the program. Meh.

    • #2
  3. Randy Weivoda Moderator
    Randy Weivoda
    @RandyWeivoda

    The TV show is OK, but I won’t be sad if it gets cancelled.

    I expected there was going to be some commentary on the political leanings of the show, such as future currency having Obama’s picture on it, or the island sinking because of global warming.  Or showing purveyors of tobacco setting out to murder an entire family because they didn’t want to grow tobacco.

    • #3
  4. Fake John Galt Coolidge
    Fake John Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    The one problem with minority report premise, in both TV and movie is that the precogs are a unique one of a kind resource with a limited range. Sure they can be useful in a single city (in this case DC), but what about the rest of the world? Then there is the political question. If short range ESP was real, do you think the politicos would allow them to be anywhere close to them? Would not some NSA or other government agency squirrel the precogs away and exploit them for their own purposes? I have a hard time believing that such a resource would be wasted on mere citizens.

    • #4
  5. Randy Weivoda Moderator
    Randy Weivoda
    @RandyWeivoda

    Fake John Galt:The one problem with minority report premise, in both TV and movie is that the precogs are a unique one of a kind resource with a limited range.Sure they can be useful in a single city (in this case DC), but what about the rest of the world?Then there is the political question.If short range ESP was real, do you think the politicos would allow them to be anywhere close to them?Would not some NSA or other government agency squirrel the precogsaway and exploit them for their own purposes?I have a hard time believing that such a resource would be wasted on mere citizens.

    I don’t remember the movie well enough, but in the TV show, the pre-cogs only get the signal from murder.  It’s not general ESP and it can’t be directed.

    • #5
  6. C. U. Douglas Coolidge
    C. U. Douglas
    @CUDouglas

    Randy Weivoda:The TV show is OK, but I won’t be sad if it gets cancelled.

    I expected there was going to be some commentary on the political leanings of the show, such as future currency having Obama’s picture on it, or the island sinking because of global warming. Or showing purveyors of tobacco setting out to murder an entire family because they didn’t want to grow tobacco.

    Details like that are annoying. The former I tend to expect. We get it Hollywood. You still think Obama is the greatest. You’re still in a fantasy world.

    • #6
  7. C. U. Douglas Coolidge
    C. U. Douglas
    @CUDouglas

    Matt Edwards:Thanks for watching and reporting. I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be a winner. The movie I enjoy a ton, until the giant plot hole opens up. You know, with the eye ball and the retina scan mess, but everything else is great fun and more importantly, highlights a discussion we are bound to have when dealing with the intentions of the mentally ill and their rights before any harm is done.

    I love the movie. It’s on my list of “Underrated Tom Cruise Science Fiction Films” which includes almost all of his science fiction films.

    I also enjoy Philip K. Dick because he posits situations and creates stories that ask difficult or uncomfortable questions. This show seems to want to shy away from that.

    • #7
  8. Joseph Eagar Member
    Joseph Eagar
    @JosephEagar

    Randy Weivoda:The TV show is OK, but I won’t be sad if it gets cancelled.

    I expected there was going to be some commentary on the political leanings of the show, such as future currency having Obama’s picture on it, or the island sinking because of global warming. Or showing purveyors of tobacco setting out to murder an entire family because they didn’t want to grow tobacco.

    That’s a bit creepy.

    • #8
  9. Fake John Galt Coolidge
    Fake John Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    Randy Weivoda:

    Fake John Galt:The one problem with minority report premise, in both TV and movie is that the precogs are a unique one of a kind resource with a limited range.Sure they can be useful in a single city (in this case DC), but what about the rest of the world?Then there is the political question.If short range ESP was real, do you think the politicos would allow them to be anywhere close to them?Would not some NSA or other government agency squirrel the precogsaway and exploit them for their own purposes?I have a hard time believing that such a resource would be wasted on mere citizens.

    I don’t remember the movie well enough, but in the TV show, the pre-cogs only get the signal from murder. It’s not general ESP and it can’t be directed.

    Or can it?  They were developing and exploring their skills.  If you had the power would you want somebody in your head that read you intentions?

    • #9
  10. Matt Upton Inactive
    Matt Upton
    @MattUpton

    I found the siblings to be the only interesting part of the show. Casting for the police force was terrible–all twenty-somethings with attitude, like Big Brother: Detective Unit. (I want my cops middle-aged and cynical, darnit).  The first crime scene investigation was just boring CGI with invisible UI choreography.

    I’m the target demo, and I couldn’t watch past the pilot.

    • #10
  11. Capt. Spaulding Member
    Capt. Spaulding
    @CaptSpaulding

    Hoping that all you Philip Dick fans start a stimulating exchange about the Amazon Video series “The Man in the High Castle.” Hey, with Ridley Scott as an exec producer, my expectations are elevated. As for Cruise’s “Minority Report,” I was let down. In the general category of movies based on a sentence by Philip Dick, I prefer “Total Recall.”

    • #11
  12. Mike LaRoche Inactive
    Mike LaRoche
    @MikeLaRoche

    Another example of the show’s leftist bias is the renaming of the Washington Redskins to the Washington Red Clouds.

    • #12
  13. wmartin Member
    wmartin
    @

    C. U. Douglas:

    I love the movie. It’s on my list of “Underrated Tom Cruise Science Fiction Films” which includes almost all of his science fiction films.

    Isn’t Minority Report a film where the director’s name probably has more to do with the high quality than the star’s?

    • #13
  14. captainpower Inactive
    captainpower
    @captainpower

    How does it compare to the show Almost Human that was not renewed?

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2654580/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

    • #14
  15. Bishop Wash Member
    Bishop Wash
    @BishopWash

    Capt. Spaulding:Hoping that all you Philip Dick fans start a stimulating exchange about the Amazon Video series “The Man in the High Castle.” Hey, with Ridley Scott as an exec producer, my expectations are elevated. As for Cruise’s “Minority Report,” I was let down. In the general category of movies based on a sentence by Philip Dick, I prefer “Total Recall.”

    It’s on my Amazon watchlist, but I haven’t watch any of the episodes yet. Hopefully I’ll have time this weekend to see one or two. Did watch the short promos and am intrigued. I’m not familiar with the source material though.

    • #15
  16. Randy Weivoda Moderator
    Randy Weivoda
    @RandyWeivoda

    captainpower:How does it compare to the show Almost Human that was not renewed?

    I liked Almost Human better, but I can’t specify why. Maybe the acting was a little bit better, or the characters had more personality.  Maybe it’s just because androids are cooler than psychics.

    • #16
  17. C. U. Douglas Coolidge
    C. U. Douglas
    @CUDouglas

    captainpower:How does it compare to the show Almost Human that was not renewed?

    I personally enjoyed Almost Human. IT was a great concept, and I enjoy Karl Urban. Unfortunately the Fox Network is where good shows go to get murdered. I’d have much rather seen Fox stick with this one through its shortcomings as it had a lot of promise.

    The trans-humanist Robot Pinocchio premise isn’t new, but the overall story arc and the talent were fresh enough I enjoyed it a lot. I seriously doubt it will return anywhere. Fox holds onto the show rights even when they have zero plans to continue it, and Karl Urban has expressed his dislike of working television. That show is dead and we’re left with Minority Report.

    Is it any wonder I get grouchy?

    • #17
  18. Ray Kujawa Coolidge
    Ray Kujawa
    @RayKujawa

    C.U., you would be a genius as a writer, but you’re really doing a public service by explaining to me why I find it so difficult to stay interested in this show, with or without Tom Cruise in the cast. Sincere thanks.

    • #18
  19. Ray Kujawa Coolidge
    Ray Kujawa
    @RayKujawa

    Why does this show remind me so much of Sleepy Hollow? Oh yeah, the (black) woman police detective who somehow can easily manhandle thugs twice her size. I think I’ll go back to Sleepy Hollow.

    • #19
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