Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is the film's counter to a system that treats the future as fixed: the world assumes that running proves guilt, and Anderton says running is just what people do when they are hunted. Four words, no hero's speech. Fans use it as the dry answer to anyone who says you can't escape something, and as a line about nerves under pressure.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Minority ReportShow the scene
Minority Report (2002). John Anderton, chief of Washington's Precrime unit, has just been named by the precogs as the future killer of a man he has never met, and the police close in. He phones his mentor Lamar Burgess, director of Precrime, who urges him to come to his house and tells him he can't run. Anderton answers with this line and goes on the run. The film is Steven Spielberg's adaptation of a 1956 Philip K. Dick novella.
Sources (3)
- Minority Report (film), Wikipedia: lead and plotLead; PlotReference checked
- Minority Report (film), WikiquoteBurgess and Anderton exchangeReference checked
- Minority Report (2002) script transcript, Springfield! Springfield!The phone call with Lamar after the lockdownReference checked
Context reviewed