The Adjustment Bureau Review

Going into The Adjustment Bureau, I already knew that I would have trouble taking it seriously.  The premise is just so dumb, and even from the trailers, I knew it would be a challenge to suspend my disbelief to the extent the film requested, even required.  But I tried.  I suspended my disbelief as much as I could, but eventually, it hit a ceiling, and the utter stupidity of the premise came crashing down upon me, suffocating me with the lousy quasi-religious symbolism even as my eyes became exhausted from their extensive rolling.  It's rare for a film, especially one that is as technically sound as The Adjustment Bureau, to collapse completely because of a poor story, but sadly, that's the case here.

The idea of a covert group that keeps people on track to fulfill their purposes in life is, in and of itself, not a terrible idea, but when it's physically represented by a weird, pulsating book, and the group is run by the unseen "Chairman" (i.e. God) and populated by angels, and water messes up these agents' powers for no reason whatsoever, and hats have to be worn to navigate a bunch of magic doors a la Monsters, Inc., the narrative crumbles under the shit-ton of ridiculousness, and not even the charming chemistry between the leads can salvage the movie.

Which is sad, because Matt Damon and Emily Blunt are perfectly cast, Damon as a rowdy politician and Blunt as an aspiring dancer.  Damon's charisma is put to good use as a people's choice senatorial candidate with eventual presidential potential.  Blunt plays her part with a slyness and humor that brings out the best in Damon.  Their scenes together are electrifying, and as a result, the film works best as a love story.  Damon's character defies fate (or God's will, or at least the most current version, or something) at every turn, but he also repeatedly panics and flees, making one wonder why Blunt's character is so willing to take him back each time.

The film does address their deep attraction to each other, but like everything else in the movie, the explanation is moronic.  It's a problem when a movie is so heavily expository, and what is being explained is so hackneyed and obnoxiously metaphorical.  With something like Inception (a film that The Adjustment Bureau inexplicably keeps getting compared to), there's a reason to the explanations, as they allow the audience to follow the plot, invest in the characters, and keep up with the action.  Of course, The Adjustment Bureau also wants its audience to be able to achieve these simple cinematic goals, but there are such gaping holes, such as the afore-mentioned magical properties of water, that it feels like the film is either holding out on the audience, or the filmmakers don't really know what they're doing.  I strongly suspect the latter is the case here.

During the inevitable big chase finale, there's a bit of technical wizardry as the world becomes a secret labyrinth of mix-and-match portals, and while it's fun to watch, the hat clause hangs over it with its raging idiocy, and it all builds to a gratingly awful fairy tale-esque ending.  The film ends with a sort of feel-good seize-the-day sentiment, but it compromises it by not really solving anything.  The protagonists get their happy ending, sure, but there's no resolution for the larger picture.  It's yet another aggravating note in what might be the worst-conceived premise I've ever witnessed.