Minority Report - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

In the year 2054, murder rates have skyrocketed across the United States. It’s become an epidemic. In response to the raising fears of a society gone mad, a law enforcement division is set up to anticipate these murders. They call it the “Precime” program. Three powerful beings with psychic abilities called the precogs (for their precognitive powers) are plugged into a machine and their visions of murder are studied by detective and professional reader of these visions, John Anderton (Tom Cruise). He has a unique ability to parse the visions for important clues as to the whereabouts of the scene of the crime to make an arrest before the murder can occur. Murder has been wiped out of the larger Washington D.C. area–murder, a thing of the past! With these kinds of results, you can forget little things like “human rights” and “due process." Success is success, and the system is perfect.

Right?

That’s what Department of Justice agent Danny Witwer (Colin Farrell) is there to find out. If there is a flaw in the system, he says, then it’s human. His involvement and his investigation into the division’s processes bring up questions about right and wrong. Anderton is unmoved because he’s seen the results firsthand. Years ago, his son was abducted and presumably murdered. Had the Precrime Division existed then, his son would still be alive. There are certain events that are destined to occur, like a ball rolling off a table. And whether or not the action was stopped doesn’t mean that it wasn’t going to occur with certainty.

John’s opinion changes instantly when he receives the images of a future murder, and he sees that he’s the perpetrator of the crime. There must be a mistake. There must be some sort of setup. Agent Witwer must be involved! Anderton doesn’t even know the guy he’s supposedly going to murder in just over a day and a half. So, he runs. “Everybody runs,” he says. “Everybody runs…” Anderton makes it his mission to get to the bottom of this misunderstanding and infiltrates the Precrime headquarters to escape with Agatha, the most powerful of the three precogs. There are occasions when the psychics disagree, and when one of them sees the event differently than the other two, it’s labeled as a “minority report” and filed away in secrecy. 

There are two Spielbergs. There’s the Steven Spielberg who makes some of the best escapist action-packed cinema that’s ever been committed to celluloid, like Raiders of the Lost Ark. And then there’s the darker Steven Spielberg who makes equally incredible cinema, dedicated to history and documenting the corruption of the human spirit, like Schindler’s List. Minority Report is a melding of those two sensibilities. It’s a breathtaking, nonstop thrillride that never lets up, but also asks some big questions. What would you sacrifice for safety? Would you be okay with innocent people being whisked away into a secret prison if it were for the Greater Good? Minority Report came out during the height of post-9/11 paranoia, in response to the government’s initiation of the Patriot Act. Regular civilians were reporting the activities of their neighbors to Homeland Security, all in the name of the Greater Good. Cruise as Anderton continues Spielberg’s trend of imperfect heroes with inner demons that sometimes get the better of them. Anderton is a drug user and possible addict, self-medicating himself, and he tries to cope with the loss of his child.

Beyond the exciting action and the philosophical debates, Minority Report is also a spectacle of pure wonder. The special effects, both grand and subtle, are flawlessly integrated. At the time Minority Report came out, people were wondering if Spielberg had lost his touch when it came to sci-fi because of the disappointment of A.I. (a disappointment I don’t share; I think it’s terrific). He rebounded financially and critically with Minority Report, a piece of pop cinema that had the best of both worlds: It thrilled audiences broadly across the spectrum, without insulting their intelligence.

Minority Report creates a spectacular world, but like all great mysteries, has an awareness of the kinds of stories that have been told before. Like the great Dark City, it’s a noirish world, but also feels like a Giallo, replete with an unseen, gloved killer. Jessica Harper and Max Von Sydow are both veterans of Dario Argento (Suspiria and Sleepless), which adds to the Giallo vibes, along with a beautiful, stylized, and intentional use of color. 

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Minority Report predicts its own 4K UHD Blu-ray in a two-disc release, housed in a standard case with a removable slipcover. Both the case and slip contain identical artwork, going back to the artwork that adorned the DVD (and original theatrical poster), ditching the god-awful artwork from the Blu-ray.

Minority Report was one of the best-looking Blu-rays around. Sharp, excellent contrast, beautiful use of color. As excited as I was to see it hit 4K, finally, I did wonder how much of a difference there could be. As I saw it, how could you really improve upon perfection? Well, they done did it. What was one of the more gorgeous Blu-ray discs is now one of the more gorgeous 4K UHD discs.

I’m not sure what restoration process was involved, whether or not this transfer was sourced from the original camera negatives, but it appears that way. Grain looks healthy and uniform across the presentation. Most of the improvements come from the implementation of Dolby Vision HDR grading. Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski loves his lightblooms, and in an SDR format, it can overwhelm the shot. In HDR, a bright bloom of light can coexist happily with darker elements on the screen. Shots that were previously washed out (something I always assumed was a stylistic choice), now have significantly more detail and color.

Minority Report is a very blue-hued movie, embracing a Y2K Futurism aesthetic, that also ties into a larger motif around water: The temple that the precogs live in has them wading in water, Anderton’s son is kidnapped at a pool, and there’s a murder at a lake.

If ever there was a movie begging for a newfangled Dolby Atmos remix, it’s Minority Report. Alas, that was not meant to be, and viewers will just have to be satisfied with the excellent 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix from its previous Blu-ray release. Minority Report makes full use of the soundstage, from front to rear, as John Williams’ score encompasses the listener from both angles, and effects circle the viewer across every channel. LFEs are also frequent, thumping and thudding as gunshots crack, and an echo will carry across the satellite speakers. This mix is no slouch and follows the age-old adage that if something ain’t broken, don’t fix it.

Special features are ported over from the previous Blu-ray release. As with that previous Blu-ray release, all the supplements are housed on the second disc. No new features have been created, but the good news is that the Blu-ray and the DVD before it were rich in supplements, and all legacy features have carried over here.

• The Future According to Steven Spielberg (HD 34:03)
• Inside the World of Precrime (HD 10:11)
• Phillip K. Dick, Steven Spielberg, and Minority Report (HD 14:18)
• Minority Report: Future Realized (HD 6:22) 
• Minority Report: Props of the Future (HD 9:43)
• Highlights from Minority Report: From the Set (HD 9:03)
• Minority Report: Commercials of the Future (HD 3:55)
• Previz Sequences (HD 3:53)
• From Story to Screen (SD 19:03)
• Deconstructing Minority Report (SD 33:06)
• The Stunts of Minority Report (SD 8:46)
• ILM and Minority Report (SD 19:03)
• Final Report (SD 3:58)
• Production Concepts
• Storyboard Sequences
• Trailers

Minority Report is an exhilarating picture, rich in excitement, invention, and debate over what people will accept to keep themselves safe. I found it tough to improve on the video quality of its Blu-ray predecessor, but Minority Report ups the ante for visual presentations in 4K/Dolby Vision–it’s truly great stuff that keeps setting a standard for every new format it finds itself on. While I may bemoan a lack of new features (or a new sound mix), the good news is that both were top-notch, and they’ve carried over. So, when you’re buying or upgrading Minority Report to 4K, just know it’s for video presentation alone, and it’s worth every penny. Minority Report on 4K UHD Blu-ray is Highly Recommended.