Minority Report

A 21st-century cop (Tom Cruise) uses technology and clairvoyants to catch murderers before they can strike—then one day his own name shows up in the “perpetrator” slot, saying he’s going to kill a man he doesn’t even know. Steven Spielberg’s latest—a jaw-dropping blend of science fiction, film noir murder mystery, action thriller and social satire—is nothing short of a masterpiece, breathlessly suspenseful, dazzlingly exciting, subversively profound and punctuated with just the right flashes of light and dark humor. The script (by Scott Frank and Jon Cohen, from Philip K. Dick’s story) is near-brilliant, faltering only in the last act, when a hasty climax and a slightly off-kilter wrap-up hit a few wrong notes. But that’s just a quibble; by that time Spielberg has us thoroughly hooked.