The Adjustment Bureau Review (5/5)

Unlike any film I've seen so far this year, The Adjustment Bureau layers intrigue and thrills heavily and refuses to let up its vigorous pace no matter what the scene. The premise in itself hints at the sheer intelligence exuded from the screenplay: the titular Bureau can change events in a person's life to fit the set path of time and fate as their Plan dictates, but they come across a couple with potential to do great things...should they be kept apart. It hardly seems like the next Inception, but believe me when I say that your attention need never be drawn from the screen here for fear of missing out on a witty and masterfully directed setpiece that played out in front of your eyes over the course of just a few seconds, and that's a trait that few motion pictures past and present can truly lay claim to. Of course, a piece with such an ambitious plot needs a compelling lead name to carry it, and while Matt Damon might not initially have been my first choice for the role of protagonist David Morris, a man forced to battle for his love in circumstances already plotted against him, he actually gives his best performance yet, high and above his roles in True Grit and even Bourne trilogy. We spend most of our time with Morris, hence the cast list amounting to just six or seven names bar extras, but the others (Emily Blunt and Terence Stamp proving the most notable) give great performances too, adding substance to an already impressive script. The ending is sadly a bit of a damp squib, failing to live up the high promise of the premise and/or give us a haunting denoumement to keep us thinking (something which after Inception I had come to expect). Don't let that deter you, though: The Adjustment Bureau is a surprise hit in my book that proves complex enough to keep us guessing but never overwhelming and thus almost always utterly captivating viewing.