THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU Review

I absolutely love a good sci-fi story, an interesting concept, especially when such a genre and all its odd amenities are contratsed by such normalities. This was no doubt the most intriguing aspect of "The Adjustment Bureau" for me, I was drawn into this intriguing relationship, this seemingly unconventional political man who meets a woman who brightens his eyes when he should be at his lowest of emotions. The film teases us with a chemistry between its leads that makes us as an audience member smile and immediately want to see them together. In doing that, it gives the audience the same instincts as Damon's David Norris and when the story tries to keep them apart we want more than anything to get them back together and so we will follow Norris anywhere and what an interesting story he takes us on.

The film is so good at intriguing us we don't even look at it as a genre picture. Instead, we witness a story that actually is more interested in discussing different philosophies, it hints at religious subtexts, and it is ultimately about love and how special true love is that you will fight to overcome any obstacle when you know you have truly found it. It is actually striking how well the ever reliable Damon and the always charming Emily Blunt work together as a screen couple. I had my doubts going in, they just didn't seem to fit, but they play off of each other so well and with such conviction in this relationship director George Nolfi is able to bring us into a world that without this grounded relationship we might view as being a little silly. I mean, c'mon, when you have stipulations such as having to wear a certain hat to go through secret doors or if you are surrounded by water the adjustment fellas can't hear you, things can get pretty overdone and corny, but instead we accept it and we root for the romance to work, for it to last, no matter how well Terrence Stamp is able to convice us it just isn't in the cards for these two.

And while this is clearly Damon's show, I am happy to see Blunt continuing to up her wattage with bigger roles without losing her wisecracking attitude that sets her apart as an original in the field of women in Hollywood. She is quirky yet beautiful and though one of the only problems I had early on in the viewing of the movie was that the relationship seemed to get too serious too fast, but Blunt is able to convey a genuine set of reasons as to why Damon fell so quickly for this woman and why he couln't stop thinking about her for the many years that actually go by in the time frame of the film. And beyond some of the initial disbelief that these two people couldn't be so in love after only one meeting, but that quickly slides away as we see the chemistry begin to build between our two leads. The film is paced great though and we never feel a moment that passes where we are wondering where this is going to go, instead we stay in that moment and are fascinated by that until we move onto the next scene.

Many times throughout the film I found myself thinking, "how frustrating" referring to the situations these characters were put in, and I feared I might begin to feel that way toward the film itsef, but instead I my wonder for the film just continued to grow. I admired how different this film dared to be, how unafraid it was to be a love story while fearlessly including such elements of the sci-fi and thriller genres. It isn;t a movie you can really put your finger on, but it is entertaining. More importantly, it is engaging and will no doubt leave you wanting to discuss it with others after you view it. This is a smart film, one that might sadly have a bad stigma to it because of the marketing campaign, but believe me when I say this isn't as much a sci-fi or thriller as you may believe, but it is a love story in the most interesting of circumstances. Enjoy it on the big screen, its one of the most original films so far this year.


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