Minority Report

Continuity mistake: In the beginning, when Anderton arrests the jealous husband, he notes that he is being arrested on April 22 - that day - for the future murder of his wife and her lover. Later, while Anderton is jogging, we see billboards advocating a "Yes" vote on pre-crime on April 22. The next day, Anderton's boss Lamar notes that the vote is in a week, which would make it April 15, making the day that the jealous husband was arrested April 14, not April 22. (00:13:05 - 00:15:15)

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.

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.

Continuity mistake: In the part when Anderton is in the green house with the old lady, her hairstyle changes under her hat in every scene when she turns around, looks up or down or when they are talking. (00:54:40)

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)

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Suggested correction: There's a difference between the heat directly at the focal point of a flame and the heat next to the flame. You could try it with a match but I don't recommend it). If you put your finger next to the flame, then compare that to putting it directly above it almost touching the flame. You'd feel the difference.

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Continuity mistake: Anderton's wristwatch is an Omega Speedmaster X-33, but it shows a Bvlgari display when he looks at it for the countdown to the murder he is to commit. When he's not looking at it, the watch can be seen with its original Omega face. One example of this is in the tub scene where one of the spyders is peeling off Anderton's eye bandage. The watch shows its Omega display (white hands on an LCD digital background). Omega's developer of the X-33 told me that this was a major legal battle for them. (01:18:30 - 01:34:50)

Video

Continuity mistake: When Anderton first starts getting chased, he kicks the glass out of the back side of the automated car. He then proceeds to climb on the top of it at which point the car then goes over a cliff leaving Anderton hanging from it. He then climbs onto the back side of the car (as this is not the top) and the glass is present again.

Visible crew/equipment: When Anderton visits his wife after the auto plant scene, the camera pans around the car and the camera operator is clearly seen in the reflection on the bumper. (01:57:05)

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Visible crew/equipment: When Lamar shoots Witwer it shows the the bullet's point of entry. Looking closely at his shirt, you can see the outline of the square/rectangular blood pack. (01:48:50)

Other mistake: Leo Crow grabs Anderton's gun and they each fight for control of it. Crow succeeds in forcing Anderton's hand to pull the trigger, killing Crow. The problem is, right after the gun is fired, we see a shot of Anderton with his arm fully extended and with his entire hand holding the entire gun, as if he had aimed and fired the gun himself. Such a sequence of events is at least totally illogical if not physically impossible. (01:44:10)

Matty Blast

Plot hole: When Witwer invites Burgess over to discuss the problem of Anne Lively's murder, he gives Burgess Anderton's gun saying "We recovered that from Leo Crowe's hotel room", yet making no mention of why he is showing the gun. It makes no sense why he would bring the gun or give the gun to Burgess seeing as he would have to remove it from the evidence of the murder. There was no important evidence regarding the gun he would need to show Burgess and only seems to serve the plot (as Burgess uses the gun to kill Witwer at the end and the blame goes on Anderton). What complicates the matter further is that Witwer knows someone in the Pre-crime division was behind Anne Lively's murder, so to give a person who could very likely be involved in the murder a loaded gun seems a little risky and unnecessary. (01:45:50)

Lummie

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Continuity mistake: When Anderton visits his friend to get help to download data from Agatha, he is wearing tan-colored pants. Later on, when they are running again, he is suddenly wearing blue pants. (01:33:15)

Plot hole: It's good to know that in the future we will be able to simply walk inside a car factory (without anybody working, neither employees, security people, or an automated protection system), get inside a brand new car and just drive away...

Continuity mistake: In the final scene of the movie, as the camera pulls back from the cabin where the three pre-cogs were taken after leaving the Temple, there is a tractor to the left of the cabin. Between the tractor and the cabin is a small bush that is moving like it is being blown by a strong wind. However, the smoke coming from the cabin is more or less rising straight up into the air. In fact, it is drifting a little to the right while the bush is being blown to the left by the helicopter which has the camera. (02:18:25)

Continuity mistake: In the alley scene where the rest of John's team comes, he keeps repeating "everybody runs" and they surround him. After a dog barks at them he climbs up a fire escape. In one shot you can see the back of his jacket is cut and wires are sticking out. It's a very quick shot but it's there. (00:47:10)

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Continuity mistake: Anderton is driving Agatha aka the Pre Cog in his car after kidnapping her from the Temple. She is complaining that she is cold so he takes off his jacket and puts it on her shoulder and body. The next shot is from outside the window looking at her and the jacket is down on her arm. The next shot is back to Anderton and the jacket is on her shoulder again. In the final shot of the Precog, the jacket is on her shoulder. (01:24:20)

Continuity mistake: During the jet pack escape scene, we see Anderton scaling the side of a building followed by a group of precrime officers who fly up to catch him. When Anderton jumps and catches the officer directly below him, we cut a shot of the pair falling directly towards the camera. If you look to either side of them, you'll notice that all the other officers - including the one hanging from the rail without a jet-pack - have disappeared.

Continuity mistake: When Agatha is in Lara's bedroom, she talks about John and Lara's son Shawn. When John is sitting on the floor in the bedroom you can see his eyes have changed colors. First they are brown from the eye transplant, but the next shot of his head you can see his eye color is his real color. (02:00:00)

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Other mistake: The name on the red ball at the beginning has the name 'Donald Dubin' on it. But in the end credits, it is spelled 'Donald Doobin'. (00:02:10 - 02:17:40)

Iris Hineman: If the unintended consequences of a series of genetic mistakes and science gone haywire can be called 'invention', then yes, I invented Precrime. (00:57:50)

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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.

Answer: Because subverting the expectations of the viewer makes it more interesting. The audience (and potentially John) are set-up to expect bad things, which don't happen. Once the "bad thing" happened, the suspense would be gone and everyone could relax. Expecting something bad but knowing when it might happen maintains the tension.

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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