THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU

The Adjustment Bureau stars Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie, John Slattery and Terence Stamp. Directed by George Nolfi. Rated PG-13 with a running time of 1 hr. and 39 minutes. Studio: Universal.

On the brink of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate ambitious politician David Norris (Damon) meets beautiful contemporary ballet dancer Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt) a woman like none he's ever known. But just as he realizes he's falling for her, mysterious men conspire to keep the two apart. David learns he is up against the agents of Fate itself, the men of The Adjustment Bureau who will do everything in their considerable power to prevent David and Elise from being together. In the face of overwhelming odds, he must either let her go and accept a predetermined path...or risk everything to defy Fate and be with her.

The Adjustment Bureau brings up some interesting questions about fate and free will. Do we make our own choices? Or are there forces out there that we can't even imagine that control what we do and when we do it? To me that is the most interesting part of the movie and that is was makes it work. FIrst off the cast is absolutely excellent. All the way down the board from John Slattery and Anthony Mackie to the delightfully eerie Terence Stamp and even the two leads Damon and Blunt. Their chemistry simply burst off the screen and you care for these people and find yourself rooting for them. You definitely root for Damon's character because what would you do if strange men told you that you cannot see the woman you love anymore just because its not part of the plan of the universe?

The movie had two main faults. The first being that the movie begins a bit slow but that wasn't enough for me to lose interest. The biggest weakness of the movie to me was the ending. With all the complexity and intensity the film starts out with the ending was way too simplistic and I just wasn't satisfied with it. I won't give it away but I think you will know what I mean if you see it.

The Adjustment Bureau is definitely worthy to check out because of all of the questions it raises. I simply found the subject fascinating but its just a shame that the ending wasn't nearly as promising as the rest of the movie. If the filmmakers perhaps took some risks and came up with something unique it would have been an even greater movie.

B-