shaun-43

This movie makes Minority Report seem like Metropolis.Yet another disrespectful take on virtually foolproof source material. Not one original idea in the whole shooting match. The underlying themes of racism,identity,and corporate control etc all dumped to attract the core audience-people who were weaned on commercials and mtv. A maverick cop story the writers of Kojak would've rejected.Will Smith in "subdued mode" we are told,more like "auto-pilot mode" as it turns out.Maybe the original script contained what is sadly missing on the screen,because this is yet another example of lazy summer blockbuster crud written by committee.Not once did I care a damn about anyone in the film.Did you think Will Smith was ever in mortal danger (as with Tom Cruise in Minority Report),the answer I'm afraid is no!Yeah some of the CGI is great,but for what this cost that's becoming the bottom line.Spend some money on a decent script,don,t treat the audience like idiots,and don't pillage great literature only to churn out pap like this.If this is the future then I want my money back please.

Where to begin? Okay,Philip k.Dick has been done on the big screen twice before with varying degrees of success.Verhoeven and Arnie had a shot with the big budget Total Recall in 1990,great the first time you see it in the cinema,but get it home and (unless you have a screening room in your garage)you will see it for what it is-a glorified Outer Limits episode which turns into a chase movie as soon as it runs out of ideas 30 minutes in.Blade Runner with Ridley and Harrison is possibly one of the best films in any genre of the last twenty years,however you see it.This film is a conceit from start to finish of everything K.Dick ever wrote,of narrative,and of film making in general.Speilberg and Cruise have fashioned a high tech mish-mash of half-realised ideas,and thrown them at the screen hoping that nobody shouts "wolf".The premise-catching criminals by going into the future and apprehending them before they commit their crime-has so many possibilities,none of which are addressed by this film.The only thing this movie has going for it are the futuristic flying machines which look like they are straight out of a Chris Foss portfolio.As for the child abduction subplot,I have one question-Why?Does Mr.Speilberg not know what a dystopian society is?Missed opportunity.1/5