The Adjustment Bureau is a thriller that gets you thinking

Rating: 8/10 (6 March 2011)

What if free will is just a myth; an idea that keeps us happy? What if everything in our lives was planned out for us, from the people we meet to whether we achieve greatness or not? These question race through your mind as you view The Adjustment Bureau. Based upon the short story "Adjustment Team" by Philip K. Dick, George Nolfi has written and directed one of the most thought provoking, imaginative and thrilling films of all time. The story follows politician David Norris (Matt Damon) whose life plan isn't adjusted at a small moment in time, leading to him discovering the truth behind everyone's "fate" and giving him a glimpse of his own future, a future he doesn't want. Pursued by the hatted agents of the Bureau, David must do everything he can to outrun and outsmart them to alter his plan and be with Elise (Emily Blunt), the woman he loves; the woman the Bureau is conspiring to keep him from being with. With a great cast that includes the likes of charismatic Matt Damon and delightful Emily Blunt leading the way, as well as Michael Kelly, Anthony Mackie, John Slattery and Terence Stamp, you have an assortment of believable characters. The chemistry between Damon and Blunt worked very well and you truly believed that these characters were meant to be in love with one another. I think that Nolfi definitely has delivered one of the more unique pieces of cinema in recent memory, but at times the pacing was a bit too slow and a lot of it built up to a climax that wasn't so well, climatic. Overall, though, it was a good film that takes you on a thrilling ride and leaves you thinking.