Review of The Adjustment Bureau (2011) by Lola M — 11 May 2013

(6/10).

The Adjustment Bureau is a sci-fi romance type movie that stars Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. I was really looking forward to this movie and I thought it looked terrific. After viewing this film I felt disappointed, even though it isn't a bad film. The film itself is decent enough to recommend, but not much more than that. The reason this movie works is because of Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, their performances are great and they have some of the best on-screen chemistry in any movie that I have seen all year. If they didn't have that stellar chemistry, the movie would completely fall apart.

The movie is no where near as smart as it think it is and once the sci-fi element is explained, it just isn't exciting anymore, even though it is a terrific premise. The plot is also kinda convoluted and the characters do things without much motivation (especially Anthony Mackie's character). Once the whole mechanism to the sci-fi element is revealed, it comes off as absurd and comical (MAGICAL HATS!!). Besides those gripes, the plot is pretty predictable, but it doesn't hinder the movie at all really.

Overall, I would say this movie is entertaining enough to recommend and the whole movie rides on the performances, likability and chemistry of Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. It also has a terrific premise.