TV Review: ‘Minority Report’

Fox’s Minority Report is a direct continuation of Steven Spielberg’s 2002 film of the same name, set 10 years after the events in that film. The three Precogs (precognitives) have been in hiding since the abolishment of Precrime, the police division that used their predictive abilities to stop crimes before they happen.

Dash (Stark Sands) is one of the two male Precogs, and has decided to re-emerge from hiding and use his terrifying visions to try to stop bad things before they happen. Turns out this is not as easy as it sounds and Dash can’t seem to use his visions to save one single life. In a failed effort to lead the police in the direction of a killer, Dash crosses paths with police detective Lara Vega (Meagan Good) and she stumbles upon his true identity. Together they decide to work together for the greater good and finally stop Dash’s abilities from going to waste.

The pilot episode (directed by Mark Mylod) is a polished, well packaged piece of television that unfortunately doesn’t leave all that strong of an impression after all is said and done. Perhaps it’s because Fox’s last futuristic sci-fi show Almost Human failed and the two shows have more than striking visuals in common. Or possibly it could be that the episode feels like it can’t wait to jump into the “case of the week” crime-fighting that almost always happens on network TV with these types of shows, rather than tell a complex, serialized story.

That being said, there is still quite a lot to like in this first episode. The premise of Minority Report is actually quite clever and I really appreciate the fact that they are continuing the universe from the Spielberg film, rather than doing a full reboot. The tech alone in the pilot episode is gorgeously realized and extremely fun to watch in context. The episode also has a pretty good sense of humor and a few of the “future” jokes/references scattered throughout made me legitimately laugh out loud.

The episode also broaches some very interesting ideas that fans of the film have surely asked themselves. What happened to those convicted of Precrime after the disbanding of the unit? Where did the Precogs go after? How would they use their abilities in the real world as adults?

The cast itself has decent chemistry and Sands’ performance is pretty strong as Dash. Unfortunately, Dash’s relationship with Vega feels too much like a watered down version of Crane and Abbie on Fox’s other genre show Sleepy Hollow – it’s just missing a spark. Dash’s Precog twin brother Arthur (Nick Zano) is going to be the “bad boy” of the show, and has been using his unique predictive talents to build a business empire. Zano is good in the role and Arthur should be interesting follow in the episodes to come as a wild card character

Dash and Arthur’s foster sister Agatha (Laura Regan) was the Precog that escaped with Tom Cruise’s character John Anderton in the film, and has become a matriarchal figure to her brothers. It felt rather odd that she never really speaks of  Anderton, but she’s definitely hiding something from her brothers. Perhaps there’s still chance for a Cruise cameo down the road? Although Daniel London does reprise his role as Wally, the Precog caretaker, from the film in a fun, connective role.

On the other side in Vega’s life, she’s constantly butting heads her newly appointed headstrong boss Will Blake (Wilmer Valderrama). The two seem to have a possibly romantic history which causes friction, but they’re able to put aside their differences when it matters. Valdederrama was really fun and impressed me in From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series and his charisma carries an otherwise bland character here. Hopefully he’s given more to do as the season goes on.

Minority Report is brimming with talent and potential, but the pilot episode is lacking a serious punch. The visuals will wow you and the premise and execution will keep you interested through the hour of television, but unless it picks up some major momentum going forward, hopefully they’ll see the cancellation coming.