The Adjustment Bureau

The writings of Philip K Dick have long been a source of intelligent (and less intelligent (yes, I do mean Total Recall)) sci-fi movies of the likes of Blade Runner and Minority Report, even if they often don't stick that closely to the souce material. The Adjustment Bureau (adapted from Dick's short-story Adjustment Team) follows in this tradition, essentially turning Dick's story into a metaphysical romance.

Matt Damon as would-be senator David Norris who is inspired by a chance encounter with a girl Elise (Emily Blunt) to give the speech of his career. What he doesn't realise is that the encounter has been engineered by the titular bureau - be-hatted men who engineer events to run according to their plan. This plan also states that David and Elise should never meet again. When David discovers this, he is rather reluctant to comply with the plan (opening up a whole free will vs fate idea).

Writer George Nolfi (The Bourne Ultimatum) makes a good debut as director, especially in the early stages of establishing the world and the concepts. The aesthetics of the Bureau itself (borrowing from Wings of Desire) are beautifully realised and devices like the shifting diagrams in books showing the plan and the interconnecting doorways (accessed by the hats) across the city that the bureau use work well, enabling Nolfy to create the his world without too much clunky exposition.

He's aided by a script that is intelligent without being too talky and a strong cast. Damon is as dependable as ever and Blunt seems to get better with every role. The two conjure up a strong chemistry between them. They are aided by The Hurt Locker's Anthony Mackie, Mad Men's John Slattery and Terence Stamp as the adjustors. There are a few hiccups along the way - some of the attempts to avoid using religious language - "the Chairman", etc... - feel rather clunky. But in general, this is an engaging and entertaining movie with a bit of intelligence which sets itself up nicely for the final act. The final act doesn't exactly disappoint, but is more flawed. Firstly, having set up the chase so well, you can't help feeling that its all over rather too quickly without fully utilising the potential of its ideas. Secondly, I'm not sure I totally buy Elise's motivation to run off with Norris on her wedding day under the circumstances. And finally, the conclusion is actually one of the most cliched of all rom-com cliches - the run for love. They just about get away with the final point because the whole is so entertaining and engaging.

Overall - 7/10 A beautifully realised and engaging film slightly let down by a rushed and weaker final act.