An Imperfect Plan

Rating: 6/10 (4 March 2011)

We make choices every day, and these choices can lead us down any number of paths. It's a plot device that's been used so many times, in so many different ways, that I don't think I even need to describe it any further. In the new sci-fi thriller "The Adjustment Bureau", starring Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, and Anthony Mackie, though, a twist is added.
Based on a short story by sci-fi literary giant Philip K. Dick, Damon discovers one day that his choices in life are being made for him. A group of shadowy agents are working behind the scenes, literally, changing the course of humanity in subtle but profound ways. In Damon's case, they want to make him a success in life, specifically in politics; and they've been working a long time to make him a success. But Damon himself is thwarting their efforts, unknowingly at first, but soon deliberately.
It seems, to the Adjustment Bureau and its unseen Chairman, that humanity is not ready to choose its own destiny, protect its own future (or, indeed, its own survival). It's not made clear in the movie just how much influence they have over humanity, but in Damon's case, it is enormous. When he discovers their efforts, he has no idea what to make of it; but when they try to separate him from the woman he loves, played by Emily Blunt, he's determined not to let them succeed.
The movie has been described as a cross between "Inception" and the Jason Bourne series; unfortunately, it isn't much of either. Its action sequences are not that exciting, despite several chase scenes through New York City, and frankly, neither is the chemistry between Damon and Blunt. At various points, the agents of the Bureau attempt to reason with Damon, giving him hints of the great plans in store for both him and Blunt which would require they never end up together. It's a potentially compelling conundrum, trading two people's happiness and love with each other for the chance to do great, important works in the future; but Damon can't quite convincingly portray the internal conflict.
As for the underlying question of whether any of us can choose anything for ourselves, the focus on Damon and what he will choose completely ignores all the characters, on screen or otherwise, who didn't even know their choices were taken from them. Thus, any ray of hope the movie offers us is a cynical one, at best. The mysterious Chairman's "plan" for humanity, as is constantly hinted, is neither infallible nor complete, and may even be subject to change with no warning. You could leave the theater wondering why they bother to change anything at all.
It's an interesting movie, to be sure, and the premise, as I said, is a timeless one: can we choose for ourselves, whether we know the possible outcomes or not? Frankly, the movie doesn't even fully address that question. It waivers too long between trying to be a psychological thriller or an action movie that it ends up being neither.
(Originally appeared at http://fourthdayuniverse.com/reports/2011/03/an-imperfect-plan/ )