Do not ‘Adjust’ your lives

In theaters Friday: The Change-Up, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Whistleblower [limited]

New on DVD/Blu-ray: Rio, Soul Surfer

George Nolfi knows how to make Matt Damon being chased through a major metropolitan city feel exciting. The screenwriter did so before with the Bourne Ultimatum, and yet this aspect of his directorial debut, the Philip K. Dick adaptation The Adjustment Bureau, falls flat and feels contrived.

Sadly, Damon turns in a strong—but wasted—performance as a wildcard congressman whose populist views and honest, everyman approach are paving his way as a serious White House contender a few election cycles from now. Those plans are seemingly derailed when a chance meeting with Emily Blunt’s flirtatious ballet dancer hurls Damon’s politician into a surreal world where agents who look like they stepped off the set of Mad Men—in fact, one of them is Roger Stirling himself, John Slatterly—control people’s destinies by manipulating incidents to keep humanity on track and according to plan.

He’s supposed to be president. She’s supposed to become the preeminent choreographer in the world. And according to these teleporting agents, neither will reach the potential they could reach alone if they settle down happily together. Short-term happiness will give way to long-term regret. It’s a thought-provoking premise, and Damon and Blunt give perfectly charismatic performances. Their chemistry boils quickly, but as the pair decide to go rogue and Nolfi’s direction and screenplay cripple what could have been a more powerful film.

Is it a thriller? A political drama? A romance? What The Adjustment Bureau could have most easily been is a dark sci-fi epic. The problem is that Nolfi has created a mystery film without any of the mystery. There are far too many early reveals and over explanatory conversations that leave viewers with so few questions to ponder along the way except maybe, “Is it over yet?” There is too much dialogue, period.

Compare this to the most famous Philip K. Dick adaptation, Blade Runner, and it pales in comparison. Those starving for original and modern sci-fi films not based on comic book characters or children’s toys will likely enjoy this, and indeed some of its concepts and visuals are refreshing in the way Inception proved to be last year, but overall The Adjustment Bureau could have used a few changes itself. This is a bold misfire, but it misses the mark all the same.