IR: The Adjustment Bureau

David Norris is a young, handsome up-and-coming politician who apparently cannot lose...except that he does. Before he makes his post-defeat address to his supporters, he meets the enigmatic Elise and falls for her. Then, luckily, he meets her again. This seemingly innocuous event attracts the attention of some mystertious men who are very intent of keeping them apart and will perform the 'adjustments' necessary to see this happens...

The Adjustment Bureau was a pretty good film, with an interesting concept that they didn't milk enough for its pulling power. They could have had Matt Damon dangling from puppet strings for a lot longer for my liking.

Save the scene where he finds out about them, the Adjustment Bureau men weren't very scary or powerful-seeming, and even their threat to wipe his brain never seemed in real danger of being carried out. The conclusion is wimpy and an anticlimax.

I won't tell you how M.D. wins in the end but it's something to do with putting sprinkles and hundreds and thousands and cherries on top of something very pretty.

Rhymes with 'knees'
[SOURCE]

In conclusion, good enough film, could have been so much better.

2 stars.

Ever since I saw the trailer a month ago, I have been worried that 'The Adjustment Bureau' would be the spiritual sequel to Richard Kelly's 2009 film 'The Box'. And I was pretty much on track, although The Adjustment Bureau does have a slightly more upbeat feel and I think I liked it better.
I was very disappointed by The Box, mostly because I loved Richard Kelly's previous films (even Southland Tales which everybody else seems to hate with a passion) and I am a sucker for weird paranoid sci-fi.

The set up of the film is a sort of Tales of the Unexpected Twilight Zone affair where people with seemingly godlike powers meddle in the affairs of mere mortals...like 'The Box'. The baddies are dressed in official looking suits and hats and are 'just doing a job'...like in 'The Box'.

Seriously, guys. Seriously.

It is about destiny, choice, love and free will...like 'The Box'. And it is based on a short story by a respected Sci Fi author who has previously had his work adapted into films...like 'The Box'. And due to this last one, it is baggy and clearly padded out in the middle...etcetra.

Although this may seem a little out there for casual cinema goers, its been seen quite a few times in many variants. Even at its most esoteric, it is borrowing from other, better films and even tv shows. I have mentioned Tales and Twilight Zone before, but what about Dark City (my 2nd favourite film of all time) Sapphire and Steel (TV) or the Matrix? In fact as the film drew into its final chapter I realised that I myself had written and filmed something.

It was called 'Gods Dicebox' and also focussed on two not-quite-human troubleshooters who ventured into our realm to make sure things went according to plan AND was also filled with widgety odd-tech not too dissimilar from the 'Marauders Map' style destiny books you will have seen in the trailers.

The concept is smart but ill handled and despite a strong start it shows its hand way too quickly, reducing bad guys who could have been utterly terrifying with better direction to vaguely clown-like sub-Goodfellas workaday schlubs in the space of ten minutes.
The central romance is well played and its impossible not to like Matt Damon and Emily Blunt as the star-crossed leads. There are also some interesting political bits akin to the adaptation of State of Play that popped up last year (with Ben Affleck as a young, dynamic politician...coincidence?!)

Awww, come on!

The film is fun and frolicksome, but I can't help thinking there was a better film struggling to get out. The ending has a weird, incongruous 'Oh, its all okay really!' ending that seems to have been tagged on, with some softly-softly Christian overtones. Granted, that is better than the 'Women are all evil and for that your son will SUFFER!' rubbish at the end of The Box, but I would have preferred something with a little more teeth.

3/5