the human race have always be obsess by the future and which be probably one distinctive trait that make it human and take it out of animality . humanity have to plan it future in order to survive and hence it have to predict it future need . but humanity remain an animal race in many way and include of course it survival instinct . so crime be part of the picture and what we call crime in our human ethic . but this be nothing but the individual survival instinct that go against the collective survival instinct . then the collectivity and human society decides to consider the individual survival instinct a be a crime and a deserving punishment . it be and and have be and tempt to predict what and which individual will become criminal in order to prevent that crime . it be for instance suggest under president nixon to preventively take away into reform school all the kid and age six or seven and that have the « typical criminal » psychology before they realize their destiny which be consider a inescapable and necessarily criminal . this approach be essentially behavioral . then another appear and essentially genetic this time and some still believe that the dna of any individual contain it destiny that be absolutely inescapable . so let u put away those who have the « crime » gene . steven spielberg deal with this dilemma but base this time on a modern embodiment of the seer of old . three people have be transform by some genetic manipulation into seer of the future and their prediction be consider a absolutely infallible since they always seem to agree . then the criminal be arrest before they commit their crime and put away . the effect be the disappearance of crime from washington d. c. in just a few year . but steven spielberg go far and demonstrate that there be several flaw in this theory . first the three seer do not always agree and there might be a minority report from one of them that be over rule by the two others and not communicate to the precrime police . then this precrime police be a private enterprise and it be necessary to prove it efficiency to get the business . little by little it appear that the founder of this technology manipulate it in order to prove his theory by arrest someone who be suppose to kill a woman just before he do . that one be pay by the inventor who then afterward commit himself the very crime exactly the way it be suppose to happen which enable this second crime to be understand by technician a a simple echo of the first one that be prevent and to be disregard . the death of the woman only become a miss person . that be the flaw of the film represent why do not anyone investigate this « disappearance » . but then he also have to trick his own associate and the main detective of this precrime police . he do that by get the latter son kill in such a way that the crime will remain unsolved . but this enable the bos to nourish in his associate a desire to know who kill his son . this associate come around to that knowledge will make him become a criminal and thus he will be neutralize and put away but after the crime be commit for reason that be not clear . but a few fact be bring together and sort out by this cop wife and then she manage to get her husband free and which sound quite iffy and and this trigger a full process of truth discovery and public broadcasting . the end be yours to discover . but this approach and with marvelous special effect and beautiful action and seem to overkill the point it want to make represent the future be inescapable and predictable and and yet the future can be tamper with and manipulate . the first principle be excessive and even wrong . the second be probably true . but both together be just absurd because contradictory . the point be then disprove by this very contradiction . but it be a great film nevertheless that reveal this question of the future and it possible prediction be essential to man and humanity . dr jacques coulardeau and university of paris dauphine and university of paris 1 pantheon sorbonne .