Release Date (UK DVD) – 4th July 2011
Certificate (UK) – 12
Country – US
Director – George Nolfi
Running time – 101 mins
Starring – Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Anthony Mackie, John Slattery
Inception marked something of a watershed for Hollywood cinema — not least because it proved that blockbusters can be clever and still be successful. Launched very much in the wake of Inception, The Adjustment Bureau is one of that rare breed of films — a sci-fi romance. Based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, The Adjustment Bureau follows ambitious politician David Norris (Damon), a man on the brink of political greatness until he meets ballet dancer Elise Sellas (Blunt) and falls madly in love. As Norris tries his utmost to be with Sellas he finds strange forces conspiring to keep him apart from Sellas, and soon discovers his life is under the scrutiny of the agents of Fate itself — the ‘Adjustment Bureau’.
The premise of the film is undoubtedly a good one. Drawing inspiration from the man who inspired the likes of Blade Runner, there’s a lot of scope for The Adjustment Bureau to fully live up to its billing as the spiritual successor to Inception, and the film certainly draws on plenty of interesting and potentially complex themes. Where the film falls down however is in the fact it never really explores these themes to any great depth, and seems to find itself forever trapped in the shadow of its critically acclaimed predecessor.
One of the main problems of The Adjustment Bureau is that for a film of such remarkable potential, it’s remarkably straight-forward: boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy fights to get girl back. Outside of this fairly linear structure there’s really not very much deviation, and the potential to explore the motivations and drives of characters outside of the Damon–Blunt relationship are limited at best.
And this isn’t to even say The Adjustment Bureau is a bad film — far from it in fact. The on-screen chemistry between Damon and Blunt is great, and both actors really fulfil their roles well. Taken out of history and judged solely on its merits alone, The Adjustment Bureau is really enjoyable to watch, and one of those rare films that balances its romance and sci-fi elements in such a way that fans of either genre won’t be disappointed.
The DVD release comes with the usual extras including a feature commentary, extended / deleted scenes, and three short ‘making of’ features totalling some 20 minutes of additional content. While not overly long by the standards set by some DVDs, the features are all well done and don’t feel like ‘fillers’ as they can on so many modern day releases, and compliment the film nicely.
Though it certainly fails to live up to its billing as the intellectual successor to Inception, The Adjustment Bureau, is still a more than worthwhile investment. The acting is great, the dialogue slick, and the ‘pace’ of the film set just about right to keep you hooked the whole way through. While it doesn’t address quite live up to its undeniable potential, the questions the film does raise are enough to make the film stick in the mind and leave the average viewer coming away feeling fulfilled, if not necessarily ‘challenged’ in the same way we were with Inception.
If this is the first of the Hollywood blockbusters to emerge in the wake of Inception then it’s a good start. Let’s just hope this film isn’t the last of its kind.
The Adjustment Bureau is out on DVD and Blu-ray on July 4th – order it here
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