Simon Dillon reviews the film

The Adjustment Bureau, from a story by Phillip K Dick, has been jokingly referred to as The Inception Identity or The Bourne Bureau, but it is in fact an altogether different beast. It most resembles a strange subplot from TV series Fringe involving the "Observers" - beings who watch human history unfold and occasionally intervene to ensure it remains on track. Only in this case, the Observer type characters have a bit more personality.

But despite these sci-fi trappings, The Adjustment Bureau is, above all, a love story. David (Matt Damon) is an up and coming Senator who has an unusual meeting with dancer Elise (Emily Blunt). She inspires him to make a very candid political speech that massively boosts his career in the face of defeat. Later he meets her again on a bus, but this meeting was meant to have been prevented, and for mysterious reasons strange men in hats are forced to intervene to stop them from falling in love.

Frankly, I really liked this film. It has flaws and it's not going to change the course of cinema, but the romantic leads are both immensely likeable. There is also good support from the likes of Anthony Mackie, John Slattery and even Terence Stamp. It's engagingly written and directed by George Nolfi, and although trailers and marketing have been somewhat misleading (I expected a thriller), it's still a fairly solid piece of work.

On a spiritual level the hoary old free will versus predestination debate crops up, and there are some interesting (and not so subtle) analogies to be drawn involving the "Chairman" whom the mysterious observers work for. One element of the finale even seems to be built around Hebrews 11 verse 6, that without faith it is impossible to please God.

In the end though, The Adjustment Bureau isn't particularly profound. It's just a romantic and entertaining story with characters one can easily root for. Undemanding, but well worth a look.