Emily Blunt & Matt Damon fall in love and question their destiny in "The Adjustment Bureau"

Rating: 7/10 (7 March 2011)

David Morris (Matt Damon) is running for office in New York. After a shocking photo is revealed to the press, David realizes that his dream of taking office as New York's next Governor isn't going to happen. While prepping for his last big speech to congratulate the winner of the election, he runs into a woman named Elise (Emily Blunt) who changes everything. Elise makes David feel something that he has never felt before and changes his whole outlook on life. This is when the Adjustment Bureau steps in to make sure that Elise and David never cross paths again. An interesting film about destiny ensues...
I have been seeing advertisements for "The Adjustment Bureau" for what seems like over a year now. The film was originally slated to be released in 2010 but the film went through some re-edits including some alterations with the ending. Needless to say, I was really worried when it was pushed back for so long. Normally in Hollywood, when a movie gets its release date moved so much, its a bad sign. I am happy to report, however, that the film is actually pretty solid and lives up to it's solid marketing campaign.
Emily Blunt and Matt Damon are the stars of the film and the two of them work great together. They have solid on-screen chemistry and seem like they really enjoyed working with one another. Damon's character David seemed like President Obama when he was running for office. Damon is skilled at playing characters like the one he played here. He plays the smart yet action packed role perfectly and has done so in several other films. Emily Blunt is great in the film as well. I enjoyed her humor and she has solid on screen presence. Her character is fun yet intelligent, which really made Elise such a likable character. She just felt real, like someone who you would meet in real life.
The other supporting actors were terrific as well. There are so many smaller roles in this film that I probably won't name them all but will focus on a few of the main ones. Anthony Mackie who played agent Mitchel, played a really solid character. It was interesting seeing him go through the emotions and fighting the idea of whether or not he should help David. John Slattery and Terence Stamp who also played agents in the film did a good job trying to warn David about adjusting his future. These supporting stars all helped to build the suspense in the film.
The best thing about "The Adjustment Bureau" is probably the story, which oddly enough is also it's biggest flaw. The idea of an organization that controls our faith and destiny is an interesting one. The film makes its audience wonder about the events that occur on a regular basis in ones life and asks the question was it part of a bigger plan or was it destiny? That idea alone is what makes this film interesting from start to finish. The audience is always trying to unravel the mystery behind what's going to happen next. We want to know how and why this organization is controlling the faith of David and Elise.
With that being said, the movie's idea is great but the script leaves the audience wanting more. Its one of those movies where the idea is intriguing but requires its audience to shut off their thinking caps. I will begin explaining this with the simple fact that David is running for major office, yet he is never surrounded by body guards or security. That seems odd from the get go. Then this organization gets introduced and why they pick him isn't really flesh out. Then the idea of going through doors isn't really discussed with enough detail either. The ending, while I did enough it, left me wanting more. I just felt that the story's premise was a great one especially for a film but it just wasn't intelligently executed. The story was more for the non-thinkers and I guess for a Hollywood type film, I shouldn't knock it because at least it was a creative story.
In closing, I ready did enjoy "The Adjustment Bureau" and thought it was a solid flick. The story will really grab the audience's attention and the performances by Blunt and Damon will have you at the edge of your seat and rooting for them at the same time. Some may argue that the end result was one that was too clichéd but I think in terms of the story here, it really made sense. I think even in life as much as we don't want to admit it, all we really want is companionship and the film really goes the distance to rely that message. Sure, it should have spent a little less time with that message and more about the bureau itself and I will not try to deny that. This film could have been a masterpiece if the storyline was better explained. I realize most people don't like thinking when they see a movie but I think nowadays with film's like "Inception" making big bucks, I think a few movies a year that challenge its audience really would be great. "The Adjustment Bureau" had the potential of being that type of film but instead it took the turn off your brain route instead. At the end of the day, it was a good flick with some flaws but I really did enjoy it from start to finish even though I had to turn off my brain to do so!
MovieManMenzel's final rating for "The Adjustment Bureau" was a 7 out of 10.