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A service to our youth through you, their parents and grandparents, in His name by His Word MAR22065 Minority Report (2002), PG-13 Analysis Date: June 21, 2002 CAP Score: 33 CAP Influence Density: 1.33 MinMax: -60 |
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MINORITY REPORT (PG-13) -- ...programming of offensive and even seductive nature as well as challenging of ethical and moral standards. Company(ies): 20th Century Fox/DreamWorks Distribution LLC Director(s): Steven Spielberg Producer(s): Jan de Bont, Bonnie Curtis, Michael Doven, Gary Goldman, Sergio Mimica-Gezzan, Gerald R. Molen, Walter F. Parkes, Ronald Shusett Written by/Screenplay: Story - Philip K. Dick. Screenplay - Scott Frank and Jon Cohen Cinematography/Camera: Janusz Kaminski Music: John Williams Film Editing: Michael Kahn Casting: Denise Chamian Production Design: Alex McDowell Art Direction: Ramsey Avery, Leslie McDonald, Seth Reed Special Effects: 3 Ring Circus Films, Asylum VFX, Black Box Digital, Digital Firepower, Imaginary Forces, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Kurtzman Nicotero & Berger EFX Group Inc., Pacific Data Images (PDI), Pixel Liberation Front, Reel Efx Inc.  Minority Report is definitely not a movie for which you can check your brain at the door. Though filled with programming of offensive and even seductive nature as well as challenging of ethical and moral standards, this is one of the finest efforts put to celluloid I have ever seen. But I am a sci-fi fan anyway. This is also not a story of a few subplots that can be digested in the time the show is played. There are a veritable smorgasbord of subplots to be had, each with the full-belly presence for hours after the meal. Aided by a minty dazzling seamless display of precedent-setting computer graphics, it possesses the potential to reach into our possibly unhealthy desire for escapism and pull you into the action, the plot and the characters: to reach deeper than the superficial opinion layer of personal persuasion into the values level and possibly into the deepest and most heavily insulated beliefs level. Inch by inch. Frame by frame. And that could be dangerous. Dangerous to previously held thresholds OR absence of thresholds of acceptability of behavior, thought and moral/ethical standards. Especially by the impressionable. Minority Report makes "Big Brother" surveillance by the government look good. Everyone is cataloged (or "marked") by retinal scan. Whom (or what) else are we believers knowledgeable about which requires "cataloging" or "marking" of everyone? All who are alive at the time of the Rapture who have not accepted Jesus as Lord and resurrected Savior will remain on the Earth after all believers (alive and dead) are gathered up and taken with Jesus to Heaven. Each who remans will be required to take the mark of the beast else not be able to buy or sell and ultimately, for those who will not take the mark, be killed. [From John, speaking after he had been shown the visions of Revelation] Satan "...also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666." Could not such a manipulation as requiring a retinal scan be akin to and conditioning for, whether intentional, accepting the mark of the beast? Could not a national ID card also be conditioning? The SmartCard? The biochip? In the year 2054 Captain John Anderton (Tom Cruise), acting as chief of the Precrime Division of the Washington D. C. police Department, is serving as commander for the new practice of using soothsayers, or "Precogs", to foretell murder so the Precrime cops can arrest the perpetrator before the perpetrator is a perpetrator ... before the murder happens. The Washington D. C. area had the highest murder rate per capita in the nation but since implementation of the six year old Precrime project there has not been one murder. The Precrime project is the brainchild of Dr. Iris Hineman (Lois Smith) and directed by Lamar Burgess (Max von Sydow). Doctor Hineman discovered that some offspring of drug addicts possessed the infallible ability to foretell murder through precognition, thus their nickname "Precogs." Three of them; slightly clothed Agatha (Samantha Morton), Arthur (Michael Dickman) and Dashiell (Matthew Dickman, maybe a namesake of whodunit writer Dashiel Hammitt?) were serving the project by floating in a vat of slime and slosh, perpetually drugged into a semi-conscious state tended by Wally (Daniel London) with their brains connected to a super-computer so the Precrime cops could actually see via computer interface and display what the Precogs were seeing in their minds. Case number 1108. An adulterous wife and her paramour are about to be murdered by the husband. The Precogs see it and as they see it the Precrime cops see it, and so do we ... in graphic detail ... over and over again as Anderton and the other Precrime cops inspect and reinspect and reinspect again the computer images of the murder that has not happened yet. Actually, some fine police work is portrayed. From the soon-to-be crime scene neighborhood, in front of a row of houses built from the same design plans and materials, Anderton notices the front door to one of the dozen or so look-alike houses is left ajar. Frantically calling back to Precrime HQ, Anderton asks whether the embittered husband who had hid to watch his wife's adulterous paramour enter his home closed the door when he reentered his home to do the dastardly deed. Rapidly reviewing the recording of the computer images foretold by the Precogs, the "desk sergeant" finds the the door was - er - is - er - will be left open. Immediately, Anderton and company spring into action and save the woman and her paramour from certain death so they can go scott-free and continue their immoral lifestyle while the husband cools in hyber-prison for something he didn't do but was going to do. "...for something he didn't do but was going to do." That did not set well with Federal cop Ed Witwer (Colin Farrell) on assignment of the US Attorney General to investigate the Precrime project for flaws. Flaws not in the system but in the system operators. The sincerity of Witwer was ambiguous. Was he truly looking for flaws or was he jealous of Anderton as the commander of the apparently finest flawless crime fighting system in the world? He did look rather happy and at home in Anderton's chair. Case number 1108. The Precogs reveal the mental plans of another to commit murder. And, of course, we see the murder in graphic detail, but not the murderer this time. Not at first, anyway. But eventually it is revealed that Captain Anderton is about to murder someone. No, not the gung-ho federal cop but a nameless, faceless somebody. Anderton and his wife, Lara (Kathryn Morris) are separated since she could not stop seeing in Anderton their kidnapped son, Sean (Spencer Treat Clark at nine years old, Tyler Patrick Jones at six, Dominic Scott Kay at four, Brennen Means at two). Lara even kept smelling Sean in Anderton and couldn't take it anymore. Though a little lame in justification, John and Lara are no more. Anderton lives alone as a fulltime cop and "part time" drug addict. An addiction blamed, of course, on the loss of his family. Few in the movies seem to accept personal accountability these days. Some of you will remember our finding regarding the most invasive properties of much of modern entertainment being the implantation of aberrant behavioral templates by promotion and glorification of freedom from authority, freedom from consequences and freedom from accountability. Minority Report presents some. Since Anderton is the only "suspect" for the murder that is not yet a murder, Anderton runs. He has his eyes replaced so the retinal scanners everywhere would not identify him -- he "becomes" Mr. Yakimoto to the scanners. The information in the government database is made available to or is likewise obtained by commercial interests as well so that when someone enters a store the store operators know who you are and whether you have bought anything there. The virtual greeting on the wall could say "Welcome back, Mr./Ms. so-n-so" or "Welcome to..., Mr./Ms. so-n-so." No privacy at all. Sound familiar? All in the name of security and safety. For the good of all. Anderton also has his face deformed so no one will recognize him. Anderton seeks to find the one whom he is supposed to kill so he can prevent himself from killing the nameless, faceless somebody. By the way, at this point Anderton has Agatha with him. With Agatha's help, Anderton finds the nameless, faceless somebody and finds also that he is the one who kidnapped his son. Or is he? With mounting evidence of finding the captor of his son, Anderton discovers he just may be able to make the predictions of the Precogs come true. That is all I will reveal about the story. Now I will reveal the "programming of offensive and even seductive nature as well as challenging of ethical and moral standards." Precognition itself is a matter of concern. God tells us that no man, without holy power, can predict the future. Thus, if someone successfully predicts the future, s/he is either a lucky guesser, a fantastic analyst of past and current events and the trends which suggest a future, or is in possession of unholy power [Eccl. 7:14. Eccl. 8:7]. The number of murders seen and the flashback replays of the murders is nearly uncountable. Some are gruesome [1John 3:12, Exod. 20:13, Prov. 3:31-32]. There is also a considerable amount of sexual programming: intercourse (though genitals are not seen); request for and offer of sex; sex talk; inappropriate touch; adultery; and sex games/fantasies in a virtual porn shop [Jude 4, 1Cor. 6:18]. There is plentiful use of the three/four letter word vocabulary, including the most foul of the foul words [Col. 3:8]. God's name is used in vain 13 times but not with the four letter expletive [Deut. 5:11]. Rather than belaboring this already too long Summary/Commentary, please refer to the rather lengthy listing of findings in the Findings/Scoring section of this report. And please do so before you decide whether Minority Report is or is not fit for your children or yourselves. SCRIPTURAL APPLICATION(S) If needed to focus or fortify, applicable text is underlined or bracketed [ ]. If you wish to have full context available, the Blue Letter Bible is a convenient source. If you use the Blue Letter Bible, a new window will open. Close it to return here or use "Window" in your browser's menu bar to alternate between the CAP page and the Blue Letter Bible page. Rev. 13:9-18 He who has an ear, let him hear. -10 If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go [those reject Jesus and be left behind after the Rapture]. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed [those who are left behind who still reject Jesus]. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints [the Christians]. -11 Then I [John] saw another beast [Satan], coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. -12 He exercised all the authority of the first beast [the antiChrist] on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. -13 And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. -14 Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. -15 He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image [those who refuse the mark] to be killed. -16 He also forced everyone [who still reject Jesus], small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, -17 so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. -18 This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666. *******Food for Daily Thought******* As always, it is best to refer to the Findings/Scoring section -- the heart of the CAP analysis model -- for the most complete assessment possible of this movie. |
 Wanton Violence/Crime (W): Impudence/Hate (I)(1): Sex/Homosexuality (S): Drugs/Alcohol (D): Offense to God (O)(2): Murder/Suicide (M)(3): |
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| NOTE: The CAP Analysis Model makes no scoring allowances for trumped-up "messages" to excuse or for manufacturing of justification for aberrant behavior or imagery, or for camouflaging such ignominy with "redeeming" programming. Disguising sinful behavior in a theme plot does not excuse the sinful behavior of either the one who is drawing pleasure or example from the sinful display or the practitioners demonstrating the sinful behavior. This is NOT a movie review service. It is a movie analysis service to parents and grandparents to tell them the truth about movies using the Truth. |
| "There are some in the entertainment industry who maintain that 1) violent programming is harmless because no studies exist that prove a connection between violent entertainment and aggressive behavior in children, and 2) young people know that television, movies, and video games are simply fantasy. Unfortunately, they are wrong on both accounts." And "Viewing violence may lead to real life violence." I applaud these associations for fortifying 1 Cor. 15:33. Read the rest of the story. From our nearly seven years of study, I contend that other aberrant behaviors, attitudes, and expressions can be inserted in place of "violence" in that statement. Our Director - Child Psychology Support, a licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist concurs. For example, "Viewing arrogance against fair authority may lead to your kids defying you in real life." Or "Viewing sex may lead to sex in real life." Likewise and especially with impudence, hate and foul language. I further contend that any positive behavior can be inserted in place of "violence" with the same chance or likelihood of being a behavior template for the observer; of being incorporated into the behavior mechanics and/or coping skills of the observer. In choosing your entertainment, please consider carefully the "rest of the story" and our findings. |
