Review by Nick Wheatley
Stars Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie, John Slattery, Terence Stamp, Michael Kelly, Gregory Lay, Lauren Hodges,
Julie Hays, Anthony Ruivivar, Jon Stewart
Written by George Nolfi
Certification UK 12A | US PG-13
Runtime 124 minutes
Directed by George Nolfi
Classic science fiction movies need to tick three boxes. An exciting, thought provoking concept, check. Natural characters that are relatable forced into an otherworldly or unusual setting, check. Throw in some impressive spectacle too, check. Then you've got a great sci-fi on your hands. The underlying importance is the characters, where would we be without Star Wars's Luke Skywalker to guide us through George Lucas' universe? (probably something like the prequels) Or Alien's Ripley to root for and face the evil xenomorphs? And recently we've also seen District 9's Wikus take an audience with him on a tour through the alien slums of Johannesburg. These films have gained success thanks to having genuine, relatable individuals to follow. The Adjustment Bureau manages to tick two out of these three boxes.
Based on a Philip K Dick short story, The Adjustment Bureau revolves around David Norris (Damon) a young US congressman and his chance encounter with Elise Sallas (Blunt). After this encounter Norris feels a connection with this girl and is determined to pursue it. However he is being watched by a shadowy, supernatural organisation known only as the adjustment bureau who will stop at nothing to guarantee that the two characters don't meet again. We learn that this group oversee everything and everyone, ensuring that each individual follows their path or fate and do not deviate from "the plan". When these two characters met, David's route veered off course and the bureau need to "adjust" his path back to how they see fit. Of course our hero won't stand for that and fights for the right of his own free will.
The great strength of the film is the chemistry between Damon and Blunt's characters which felt natural throughout. They were amusing together thanks to quality acting and some sharp dialogue to play with. This strength keeps the audience engaged in our protagonists and rooting for the two of them as events begin to transpire against them. There is also a few other stellar actors involved including Slattery whose character appears to have conveniently walked off the set of Mad Men. Slattery manages to be menacing and amusing at the same time, great fun to watch but was unfortunately sidelined as the film progressed. Terence Stamp also joined the party and managed to step in during the final act and bring some menace and bite to the bureau who were just beginning to lose their edge.
The concept of the Adjustment Bureau was very intriguing initially, and felt very similar to the popular Observers from the TV show Fringe. The notion of controlling humanities fate and the bureau struggling with the job was a compelling one. However it is clear that the core plot was compiled from the short story itself and as you delve deeper into the feature films script cracks begin to show. Nolfi was unable to work around the short story and expand it onto a larger scale. Some examples of inconsistencies are that the bureau have seemingly endless abilities and powers but are unable to stop a taxi. They were very conscious of causing ripple effects and disrupting other peoples paths but surely caused many in the pursuit of Norris. These flaws were a little too large for my liking.
A further issue involved how the secrets of the bureau were revealed. The truth as to what they really were and the methods and reasons behind the establishment completely sucked all the excitement and intrigue out of the bureau. I would have preferred to have upheld the questions and mystery of this organisation for much longer and maybe if the weak truth must be revealed wait until later on, the film played all its cards too early in that respect. And once that move had been made my intrigue in the bureau suddenly dissapated.
So a mixed bag with this movie, good performances, strong dialogue but a concept that starts well and tails off. Even with some exciting action scenes and likeable characters, are we looking at the new Inception? No, a fairly mediocre sci-fi but a rather good romance thriller.