The Adjustment Bureau - a Review

The new Matt Damon/Emily Blunt movie, The Adjustment Bureau, opens tomorrow and I had a chance to see it in an advance screening last month.  My screening was made up largely of pastors and conservative blogger and was hosted by radio talker Hugh Hewitt.   Following the movie there was a panel discussion led by Hewitt and including the movie's director George Nolfi, plus a couple of religion professors.  There was also a nun on the panel who couldn't seem to get over the fact the movie didn't have a lot of women in it, but that's another story.

The basic premise of the movie is that our futures are all planned by a Chief Executive (the word "God" is never used in the movie) and the Adjustment Bureau is made up of men whose job it is to make sure we stay on the planned path.  They may throw obstacle in our path or create various events that redirect us when we stray from the plan.

Damon plays a politician who's a lock to win the New York Senate seat when at the last minute news breaks that destroys his campaign.  On the way to his new job he meets Blunt and sparks fly.  Unfortunately for both characters, their meeting wasn't supposed to lead to anything more and the Bureau is responsible for keeping them apart.  When one of the adjusters blows his assignment Damon witnesses other bureau members reprogramming one of his friends and Damon suddenly finds himself confronted by a whole world he wasn't supposed to know existed.

It's quite a ride after that as Damon seeks his soulmate in Blunt and the Bureau seeks to stop them.  A romantic thriller in the best sense of the term.

The adjusters have a unique way of getting around the city.  I won't give it away here, but it's an interesting approach to travel.  One sympathetic adjuster (the same guy that blew the assignment earlier) decides to help Damon find the girl and change his destiny.

The movie has a lot of great shots of New York City, including many of the most famous locations.  It's a visually interesting movie as well as a fast-paced story.  And it will make you think.

It's worth the price of the ticket.  Go see it.