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Reviewed by Cas Harlow, 14th March 2011.
Great premise. Great chemistry. But misleading advertising, a tempered audience-friendly romantic narrative and a thoroughly anticlimactic payoff leaves The Adjustment Bureau pretty far from being 2011’s answer to Inception. Taking the potential from a great Phillip K. Dick short story, the movie squanders its opportunity for deeper theological undercurrents, playing it safe and, despite its original ideas, ending up sitting squarely in cliché territory. With few thrills, and even less action, it’s pure rom-com all the way, just dressed up with a sci-fi twist. But this is one of the areas it doesn’t do so bad in – the chemistry between the two leads sparking a convincing romantic thread; and the natural charm and wit of both of them also allowing the audience a chuckle while they’re waiting, in vain, for some thrills. Don’t be fooled by the superior premise, go into it with open eyes, and expect a fairly lightweight sci-fi romance, with a good sense of humour. That way you won’t be disappointed. Me? I’ve already got my eyes set on the next interesting project – promoted in one of the trailers before this movie – a movie called Hanna. It’s about a teenage girl who happens to also be a highly trained killer. Hang on, don’t switch off yet. This one’s directed by Joe Wright, the guy behind Atonement, and stars Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett, and the little girl from The Lovely Bones in the title role. Trust me, it looks pretty special. And it doesn’t look like it’s going to secretly turn out to be a romantic comedy either.
Read the full review...
Great premise. Great chemistry. But misleading advertising, a tempered audience-friendly romantic narrative and a thoroughly anticlimactic payoff leaves The Adjustment Bureau pretty far from being 2011’s answer to Inception. Taking the potential from a great Phillip K. Dick short story, the movie squanders its opportunity for deeper theological undercurrents, playing it safe and, despite its original ideas, ending up sitting squarely in cliché territory. With few thrills, and even less action, it’s pure rom-com all the way, just dressed up with a sci-fi twist. But this is one of the areas it doesn’t do so bad in – the chemistry between the two leads sparking a convincing romantic thread; and the natural charm and wit of both of them also allowing the audience a chuckle while they’re waiting, in vain, for some thrills. Don’t be fooled by the superior premise, go into it with open eyes, and expect a fairly lightweight sci-fi romance, with a good sense of humour. That way you won’t be disappointed. Me? I’ve already got my eyes set on the next interesting project – promoted in one of the trailers before this movie – a movie called Hanna. It’s about a teenage girl who happens to also be a highly trained killer. Hang on, don’t switch off yet. This one’s directed by Joe Wright, the guy behind Atonement, and stars Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett, and the little girl from The Lovely Bones in the title role. Trust me, it looks pretty special. And it doesn’t look like it’s going to secretly turn out to be a romantic comedy either.
Read the full review...