The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

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The Adjustment Bureau Movie Review

The Adjustment Bureau is a 2011 romantic science fiction film directed by George Nolfi and starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. It is a solid, interesting, but ultimately odd movie.

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“Most people live life on the path we set for them, too afraid to explore any other.

But once in a while people like you come along who knock down all the obstacles we put in your way.

People who realize freewill is a gift that you’ll never know how to use until you fight for it.

I think that’s the chairman’s real plan.

That maybe one day, we won’t write the plan, you will“

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The entire storyline here is on the verge of being ludicrous. It is admittedly very intriguing, but still too vague and unexplained to become much more than that. I liked the theme of fate and choice, but it was unfortunately never explored as I wanted it to be. The plot is fun, but it is too much dressed in blockbuster clothing. Indie sensibilities would have really helped it out in the long run.

As for its genres, it’s again problematic. The mix itself is weird and very interesting as rarely do we see romance and science fiction together. It also has some thriller elements to it, but those aren’t present that often. However, whereas the mix is intriguing, the realization of it is troublesome as this experiment isn’t particularly successful to be honest. It thoroughly succeeds as a romance because the chemistry between its stars is palpable and their relationship is really well established, but it doesn’t succeed as a sci-fi work because its themes are unexplored and it is too comedic in its tone instead of being serious.

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David is a somewhat boring protagonist, but Elise is very charming and likable. As for the others, they work solidly as a team, but aren’t memorable when taken apart. The acting is so-so. Emily Blunt is expectedly great and she really is both likable and capable in her role, but Matt Damon disappointed me as he gave a weak, problematic performance that is not one of his best, that’s for sure.

The Adjustment Bureau is well filmed and mostly well paced. The highlights were those romantic sequences as every scene between the two was so sweet and memorable. The emotion is definitely there and the ending, although too happy, is heartwarming and somewhat satisfying. There are some great lines to be had here, but still the dialogue should have been much better as the script demanded it.

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For a first, Gorge Nolfi is okay, but his direction is overall not great. The same goes for Damon’s performance. The score is forgettable and let’s talk about that tone. Wow, rarely have I seen such an odd tone that is just off throughout most of its running time. I get that the mix of its genres is pretty weird in and of itself, but that is no excuse for this kind of mess in tone. It is just too odd, too comedic at times and suddenly shifting to darker and thriller aspects and so on and so on… I just felt that the entire movie seriously suffered from its indecisive tone whereas it could have been so much better had the filmmakers decided what to use. The Adjustment Bureau is in the end a solid film. It is far from great. It had the potential to be great, but that just never came to be. I respect it, but I wanted much more from it given its many strong elements.