Minority Report

Factual error: The time period of the movie is 2054. There is an election day (April 22nd) that is on a billboard and then announced as a Tuesday. However, April 22nd, 2054 is actually on a Wednesday.

Factual error: When Anderton jumps on the back of the jet packed cop, the thrust can sizzle burgers a foot away, but nothing happens to Anderton's jacket or shoes or anything. Even if he is hanging onto him on the side, he's still close enough. And how come the cops themselves don't get scorched by their own pack? I can believe them using asbestos pants in the uniform, but not Anderton's civvies. (00:47:55)

Factual error: In the scene when Anderton escapes out of the Maglev Car, there's barely any wind blowing his hair or jacket, even though the car is moving at intense speeds and he can barely keep his balance. He jumps from car to car on a vertical track, jacket is not moving. Then he jumps on to the roof of another car and you him from the inside of the car, there's no wind movement on him at all. (00:43:55 - 00:44:55)

Factual error: When they are given the Federal Agent a tour of Pre Crime in the beginning, they say that the victim ball appears on the left and the perpetrator on the right. Yet later in the movie, when Leo Crowe's murder is revealed, Anderton picks up his own ball (the perpetrator's ball) from the slot on the left. If he had wanted to pick up the correct ball, he would have grabbed the one on the right.

Plot hole: Anderton's wife gains entry into the jailhouse using her husband's eyeball - but he's already locked up inside, so his eye would not still have access to enter as it pleased. Any place anywhere that would have any sort of security system requiring anything from a simple passcode to a card key to a retinal scan, would immediately delete the user in such instances from all rights. And would also certainly report on any attempted use of such (retinal scan, pass code, whatever). (02:00:45)

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Suggested correction: I thought that this was a mistake as soon as I saw it on screen, but reconsidered. It's perfectly possible that there was some, probably human caused, delay in updating the security system. After all, there wasn't a rush to do it since they already had the chief on ice. Maybe the sleep jail was still on a legacy system without automatic updating. Just assuming that in the near future that all systems are all perfectly integrated and instantaneous does not validate this as a mistake.

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Dr. Iris Hineman: Sometimes, in order to see the light, you have to risk the dark.

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Minority Report trivia picture

Trivia: On the "subway" train, the man holding the USA Today paper is Cameron Crowe, and the woman in the seat behind him on his left is Cameron Diaz. Because "Vanilla Sky" and "Minority Report" were so close in shooting, the two directors (Crowe and Spielberg) agreed to put themselves as cameos in each other's films. (00:46:10)

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Question: Why all the build up of John having sent the Russian eye-surgeon guy to jail, suggesting that he will hurt John; only to have him successfully complete the operation, and take care of John afterwards?

Nick N.

Chosen answer: It's what's known as a McGuffin; a plot element that seems to be important when introduced, but serves no purpose other than to intrigue/distract the audience. The term was popularised by Alfred Hitchcock.

J I Cohen

That's not *quite* what a MacGuffin is. A MacGuffin not only seems important, it *is* important; in fact, one of its two diagnostic characteristics is that a MacGuffin is something around which the entire plot revolves. The other property fundamental to what makes something a MacGuffin is the fact that the origin, purpose, function, and, in some cases, even identity of the object is left either vague or completely undefined. The briefcase in Pulp Fiction is a classic example (although there *is* a compelling argument that the object in the briefcase is in fact a specific artifact).

Well, according to the doctor when the operation is beginning, the doctor reveals that in prison, he spent all of his time in the library, including books on medicine and technology. As a result, he found his "true calling", and is thankful to John for helping him see that.

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