The Adjustment Bureau

If there is one thing I've made clear on this blog, its this... I love Sci Fi movies! No genre has allowed filmmakers to develop more creative stories, worlds, and filmmaking techniques. It's a great genre! That being said, there is one thing about it that has constantly gotten on my nerves. Whenever a Sci-Fi movie (sometimes Fantasy) becomes a big hit, what usually follows is a stream of inferior copies and wannabes. For instance, in 2009, District 9 became an immensely successful indie Sci-Fi movie, praised for its impressive visuals, well-written script, and insightful political themes. The downside is that the movie was followed by a string of mediocre indie knockoffs including Skyline or Monsters. They were clearly coasting on the popularity of District 9, with the hopes of achieving similar success. 2011's Adjustment Bureau follows in a similar suit, only this time, the movie is trying to mooch off the popularity of Christopher Nolan's Inception. Is the movie nothing more than an inferior ripoff or is there more to this movie than meets the eye?

The movie is about Congressman David Norris (Matt Damon) starting off the movie as a political candidate for New York state Senator. Despite his popularity with the public, his involvement in a rather embarrassing scandal is revealed to the masses and costs him the election. On the night of his defeat, he meets a charming woman named Elise (Emily Blunt) who helps raise his spirits enough to help him make a sincere speech about how he will come back in the next election. Months later, he reconnects with Elise and begins to pursue a relationship with her... until a squad of bizarre individuals begin to interfere with their meetings.

He is eventually confronted by the the mysterious group when they reveal themselves to be a secret society known as The Adjustment Bureau... a secret league of semi-omnipotent and seemingly supernatural beings who exist to keep the world on a specific timeline. Bent on following his own plan, David fights for his free will while the Bureau vigorously attempts to keep him on track and follow the plan.

The concept is actually kind of cool. After all, its based on a short story by the legendary Phillip K. Dick, the writer whose works inspired Sci-Fi classics such as Blade Runner and Total Recall. It at least has the potential to present an intriguing mystery and creative unveiling of a world behind our world. And you know what... it actually isn't bad. The setup is quite good and between the solid setup and exposition, I actually found myself genuinely curious about how the story would unfold. By the time the second act roles around though, its just kind of average. The reveal is interesting enough, but is held back by flat characters along with dozens of plot holes that continue to add up.

What we learn about The Adjustment Bureau is pretty interesting, but a lot of their story is left ambiguous. Sometimes ambiguity can work to one's advantage, but in this case it feels like kind of a cheat. You find out what they do, but a lot of the details regarding their back-story, abilities, and the extent of their powers go largely unexplained. That wouldn't be so bad if they hadn't built up so much about them. The writers try to add in some religious symbolism in attempts to add a little more depth, but in the end, it felt more half-assed than anything. I'm dangerously close to spoiling the plot right now, so I won't say much more. I'll finalize my thoughts with this, the script is one of those that has good ideas but ultimately falls short of greatness partly due to an over-ambitious reach and also some flat out lazy writing. In short: A promising concept with a weak execution.

As far as the performances go, a lot of the actors actually do quite well. Matt Damon has really been on a roll the last few years and he scores again here. Having to critique Matt Damon feels kind of pointless in any of his movies I've reviewed... he's just good. Solid intensity, a good range of emotions, great chemistry with Emily Blunt, and perfect execution of the action scenes, that's Matt Damon for you. As for Emily Blunt... well I guess everything I said about Damon could apply to her as well. Their characters didn't exactly have that much depth to them, but they were able to engage them in a profound and entertaining way. The rest of the cast is just kind of there. None of the other actors were particularly convincing, ranging from decent to meh. But most did little more than play second fiddle to the two leads, so it wasn't that bad.

If there is one other compliment I can give about this film, its this... this movie looks great. The director of photography, John Troll, has a great eye for composition. Every shot is framed with a keen artistic perception alongside the solid production design. The action scenes are shot well too, making good use of Steadicam so the audience can actually see what is happening on screen. The subtle use of special effects including some impressive shots with doors leading to other worlds (it will make sense when you see the movie). Its clearly trying to capture on the success of Inception, but you can't argue with what works. I have to give director George Nolfi credit here. For his directorial debut, he does a pretty good job. The script is far from greatness, but based on the tenacity of its visual style, there is much promise in Nolfi.

Overall, The Adjustment Bureau wasn't half bad. Good performances, interesting visuals, and despite the underwhelming treatment of a promising script, I was never bored by this movie. I'd say its worth a watch, though probably at a cheaper price if you can help it.

My Score: 3 out of 5!