The Adjustment Bureau

The was not the movie I was expecting. The original trailer I saw made it out to be a non-stop action, heavily FX-ed sci-fi adventure. But, having said that, I would have been happy to watch such a movie. It had still made me excited to see it.

It was not that movie, however, and felt a lot more grounded and worth watching.

I felt like a bit of an idiot at the end when the credits started rolling and I was informed that it was based on a book by Philip K. Dick. “Oh…” I said to myself, “that’s why I liked it so much.” It’s moments like that that I think that I should have researched the movie a bit more before watching it. I generally really enjoy movies that are based on books by Philip K. Dick. Admittedly, I’ve never read any of his books which, I’m sure, is a huge oversight, but in my own defence, I find that there is too much YA fiction to read so I have to make do with movie adaptations of adult novels.

Anyway, back to the movie of the hour.

Firstly, a good third of the film passes before anything sci-fi/fantasy-ish happens, by which time you have a great sense of ‘real life’ as it has been constructed. Then, enter the mysterious agents of “The Adjustment Bureau.”

Even at this point, I was still expecting it to be typical Hollywood and get carried away with itself, but the whole thing was pleasantly restrained. I was engaged and lapping up the theory of how tiny events can change what happens in the future eagerly. How the Adjustment Bureau are there to keep people “on plan” by making you get a text at this time, or spill your coffee at that time etc.

Honestly, the resolution was a little weak, but without destroying the mystery of the Bureau, it’s probably the best that could happen.

It was a great movie!

This trailer gives a bit of a better sense of what the movie is actually like: