THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU 3.25****

What if what we thought was “free will” granted to us by God was only a well designed pretense. What if in fact God has decided for each of us in advance what our life “plan” should be. What if there was a host of invisible angels always around us to intervene and make “adjustments “if we should attempt to stray from the plan or if pure chance alters the plan. Well that’s the premise and a good one and they manage to pull it off fairly successfully.

Matt Damon, as a rising New York politician, and Emily Blunt, as a rising ballerina, are the stars and, as you might guess, become romantically involved. And of all things they first meet in the Men’s room at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City and hit it off immediately even though we’re only talking about 5 minutes or so. It’s a “chance ‘ meeting that is not a part of their life “plan” . What happens from there makes for an interesting and enjoyable movie. Some may say its “hokey” or too “Hollywood”, but I liked it a whole lot and left with in strong “feel good” mood.

.It's a delightful surprise to have a well done romantic comedy sci-fi which speculates on the nature of god and whether we have free will or not. Filmed on location in New York City, it has intriguing twists and turns that show off the Big Apple in a pleasing way.

Some folks may be bothered by the religious aspect of the film, but the movie offers a reasonable explanation for why God might take away our free will. So don’t get tangled up in the premise but, instead, just sit back and enjoy the story and some good acting. After the movie you can debate among your friends the religious aspects.

It’s rated PG-13 for some brief strong language and some sexuality.

Clark