I am not a ‘film person’ - I am very much a victim of too much theatre; which makes a film night out to the cinema a rare event! I’m that person who hasn’t seen Star Wars, The Matrix, or any other classic that people rave about. However, I do LOVE Minority Report. My partner showed me it a few years back and its been one of a few films I’ve actively returned to rewatch. So to say I was intrigued when I heard it was coming to the West End was an understatement.
The production doesn’t exactly revolve around the same plot or characters; with the protagonist being one of the creators of pre-crime technology, rather than Tom Cruise’s character who was trying to physically catch the bad guys in the film. As expected, we are presented with a scenario where pre-crime predicts the play’s other lead role to be the next murderer. Julia is played by Jodie McNee.
Here is where it all starts to unravel…
I adored David Haig’s production of Pressure. The writing was tight and slick, where as the script and characters' motivations felt messy and unclear on this occasion. There were also additional twists and turns which didn’t add to the tension and felt rather repetitive, meaning the emotionally climactic moments fell flat.
My frustrations with the plot also stemmed from unexplained and convenient plot points which drive the story further into a downwards spiral. For me, this was exacerbated by the clunky character of ‘Met Pol’ - who was incredibly slow and appeared not to be capable of catching a cold, let alone a rather slow-moving criminal…despite all of the ‘pre-crime’ data and technology on their side.
I did enjoy the additional dilemma of Julia having to choose between her own fate and the fate of her company. This was a clever element to incorporate by shifting the character who is convicted of pre-crime but could have been developed more.
The script feels a little tacky and overworked in places with jokes of Apple watches being retro and threats of replacing the AI assistant, David, with an Alexa, or even worse “Siri”. This may have led to the occasional times in which the whole scenario felt a little forced, rushed and flustered.
Ahead of curtain up, the person next to me in the audience mentioned they were surprised to hear there was a movement director. As we watched I realised there was some loose choreography dotted throughout the piece in an attempt to simulate a bustling city, however with a small ensemble this felt a little lacklustre and surplus to the production.
The visuals are where the show excels. The mixed metal, industrial, yet futuristic set is utilised brilliantly and totally transports you into the future. This is reinforced by the angular costumes and futuristic technology which really brings the year of 2050 to life.
This 90-minute sci-fi thriller doesn’t necessarily thrill but more gently entertains. Unfortunately though, I found it largely forgettable.