The story looks at the paradoxes and alternate realities that are created by their precognition when the chief of police intercepts a prediction that he is about to murder a man he has never heard of. It also touches on the danger of a powerful post-war military during peacetime, the main theme not revisited by the movie (see below).
Like many stories dealing with knowledge of future events, "Minority Report" raises the question of the existence of free will.
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A movie, ''Minority Report'' (2002), starring Tom Cruise and directed by Steven Spielberg, was very loosely adapted from the initial storyline of this short story. Although considering the sparse nature of short stories, the expansion of the story is unavoidable, the film remains faithful to several themes of the short story, and was one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2002. Critic Roger Ebert hailed it as "a masterpiece", and the best film of the year. Many other leading critics included it on their lists of 2002's best films. Spielberg assembled a "think tank" of science and technology experts to create as realistic as possible a look at the future, and emulated the tone of the classic John Huston film noir thrillers of the 50s and 60s, down to the rogues gallery of morally ambiguous supporting characters, portrayed by the likes of Colin Farrell, Max Von Sydow, and others. "Minority Report" is frequently identified as Spielberg's most dark and adult "popcorn" film.A video game, ''Minority Report: Everybody Runs'', published in 2002 by Activision, was based on the movie.
