Fight for your fate.

Rating: 5/10 (1 March 2011)

On the brink of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate, ambitious politician David Norris meets beautiful contemporary ballet dancer Elise Sellas, a woman like none he's ever known. But just as he realizes he's falling for her, mysterious men conspire to keep the two apart. David learns he is up against the agents of Fate itself--the men of The Adjustment Bureau--who will do everything in their considerable power to prevent David and Elise from being together. In the face of overwhelming odds, he must either let her go and accept a predetermined path...or risk everything to defy Fate and be with her.
TAB is a great example of a film with an intriguing storyline (aren't most of Philip K. Dick's material usually are?) which is executed in a mediocre way, and I stress that word to the fullest extent. While watching TAB, I felt very indifferent throughout. There were some random, decent chase scenes here and there and the film has a lot of surprisingly funny scenes, but I never really cared for the characters. I was never really involved with their situation. I just didn't care, and that made my viewing experience a bit exhausting to get through.
First and foremost, the weakest thing about the film is the plot. It's so flimsy, thin, and predictable that you really don't need a feature length film to tell it. After an hour in, the film begins to spin its wheels. It goes on and on and on and the chase scenes (which seem to be added just for the hell of it) get really repetitive. From the third act on, it's just a huge mess. On top of that, the ending is lame as hell. It is probably the definition of deus ex machina. It felt really tacked on which is ironic since it seemed that the reason the film was pushed back from 2010 to a 2011 release was because they had to reshoot the ending. So much for that.
The characters weren't really developed either, even though the talented Matt Damon and Emily Blunt tried their best to elevate the mediocre script. If anything, they saved the film from being a totally forgettable film than it already is. I thought John Slattery added some well needed humor throughout the film, which I didn't expect at all. I really liked his character. On a technical standpoint, it's a mixed bag. The good was the awesome scenery of New York. The bad was the camera focus itself. It felt like the cinematographer had no idea what he was doing. Doubt me? Watch the film and you can see MANY blurry scenes throughout. Talk about a rushed production.
Overall, TAB had huge potential. The story was very interesting to me, although it did remind me a lot of DARK CITY (a much better and effective film, in my opinion). The actors seriously try their best but even they couldn't save the film. As a huge sci-fi fan, I was severely disappointed by it. If you're intrigued, just wait for it on DVD and rent it instead or watch DARK CITY...or even read Philip K. Dick's original short story itself.