Character Analysis
(Avoiding Spoilers)
Grew Up… in Washington D.C., a city that was gripped and divided by crime until five years ago, when the invention of “PreCrime” changed the face of American society.
Living… in a safer world. Anderton, living in the year 2054, believes that his efforts as a crime fighter in D.C.’s controversial “PreCrime” unit has made the world a better place.
Profession… Chief of the Department of PreCrime. Chief Anderton leads a team of special policemen who use the psychic abilities of three mutated humans, colloquially called “precogs,” in order to see into the future and prevent murders before they take place. Under their vigilant stewardship, the US hasn’t seen a murder in six years.
Interests… nursing his secret drug addiction. Anderton, unbeknownst to his colleagues, is addicted to Clarity, an intense psychoactive drug. John takes the drug in order to distract himself from the painful memory of his young son, Sean, who was murdered before the PreCrime system was put in place.
Relationship Status… divorced. After the disappearance of their son, John’s marriage to Lara Anderton fell apart. Now, between arresting criminals and doing hard drugs, he doesn’t really have the time – or the inclination – to date.
Challenge… proving his innocence for a murder he has not yet committed. When the infallible precogs say that Anderton is poised to commit a murder within a week, John suddenly finds himself evading the department he helped build. Convinced that he’s innocent of the pending murder, Anderton will have to find out who set him up, prove his innocence, and try to change a future that seems inevitable.
Personality… sad, driven, and blessed with the skeptical mind that comes from a lifetime of police work. John Anderton has nothing to lose as he tries to solve the mystery of a crime he is going to commit. Ever since the loss of Sean, John has only been living for his dedication to PreCrime, which he believes is a perfect system. Now that it’s implicated him in a crime, he’s questioning his commitment to the one force of good in his life.
Get to Know him in...
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John Anderton is a top "Precrime" cop in the late-21st century, when technology can predict crimes before they're committed. But Anderton becomes the quarry when another investigator targets him for a murder charge. Can Anderton find a glitch in the system and prove his innocence before it's too late?
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A collection of eighteen science fiction short stories features "The Minority Report," in which Commissioner John Anderton's clever use of "precogs," people who can identify criminals before they can do any harm, turns against him when they identify him as the next criminal.
