THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU

CAROLINE: The Adjustment Bureau is a new movie based on a short story by Philip K. Dick as so many great sci-fi movies have been, like Minority Report, Blade Runner and Total Recall.

RYAN: I didn’t even know this movie was considered sci-fi.

CAROLINE: Honey, have you seen the trailer? I thought it was going to be very Inception-esque… but it’s actually much more of a romance.

RYAN: I so wanted to see this movie with you, but couldn’t make the screening. You must have loved the romance angle.

CAROLINE: Totally! That was way up my alley, and I thought Emily Blunt and Matt Damon had great chemistry. But the movie was a little deceptive.

RYAN: Because of the lack of sci-fi?

CAROLINE: Kind of. I mean, I thought there’d be more focus on that and whatever conspiracy is going on, based on what I saw in the trailer. The movie’s beginning is probably the strongest part. I really liked the first 15 minutes. It’s high action and exciting and really sets the tone. Plus Matt Damon’s character plays a senatorial candidate from NYC, so there are lots of scenes of him being interviewed or introduced by NY notables like Mayor Bloomberg, Chuck Scarborough, etc. It was fun.

RYAN: I love a movie set in NYC! Were there lots of great shots of the city?

CAROLINE: Tons! The Statue of Liberty, Yankee Stadium and all kinds of city streets. I loved it!

RYAN: So what didn’t you like?

CAROLINE: It’s not so much that I didn’t like anything; I just thought the movie was going to be much more focused on getting to the bottom of what’s happening to Matt Damon’s character, and who these men in hats are who’re following him. You do find out, but it takes a little bit of a turn toward the supernatural and cheesy, and I thought it would be more of an action flick.

RYAN: Doesn’t Emily Blunt play a ballet dancer?

CAROLINE: She does, and she’s actually really good! I was surprised. She must have a dance background because she really nailed her scenes and you could tell it wasn’t a body double. I was actually more convinced by her than I was by Natalie Portman in Black Swan.

RYAN: Wow, that’s saying something! I think I like her.

CAROLINE: The scene where she first meets Matt Damon is great. The men in hats are trying to keep them apart and you don’t really know why, and that winds up being what most of the movie is about. Ultimately, the payoff isn’t that great; but I loved watching Matt Damon pursue her and how they fall in love. It’s a bit of a chick flick in that way. Maybe that’s why my husband hated it.

RYAN: I think I’d like it.

CAROLINE: You’d probably enjoy it. But I could definitely see how you could find it a little cheesy. Anthony Mackie from The Hurt Locker plays the black ‘spiritual guide’ role a la Will Smith in The Legend of Bagger Vance or Morgan Freeman in Evan Almighty, and it’s a little cringeworthy. Again, I didn’t mind, but I could see how someone might.

— BOTTOM LINE —

CAROLINE: While this movie does have some sci-fi and conspiracy elements, it’s first and foremost a love story. It’s very romantical, and I loved that about it; but I think the trailer is a little misleading. People who want to see this based on the trailer are probably not expecting so much of a love story focus. It’s not a great movie by any means, but I enjoyed it.

— RATING —