For decades, the work of science fiction writer Philip K. Dick has been a treasure trove of stories to adapt for both television and film. Several of his classic short stories have been turned into sci-fi movies, but one that perhaps underwent too many alterations was his 1954 tale, “Adjustment Team.” The original story followed a real estate agent by the name of Ed Fletcher, who, through the chance of a delayed bark from a dog (seriously), uncovers that there’s a secret organization manipulating reality itself. Instead of telling the world of this revelation, he’s ordered by the Adjustment Team to keep quiet, doing so, even after his wife demands answers for his brief disappearance.
57 years later, and the conspiratorial nature of this titular team got expanded and explored in George Nolfi’s 2011 movie, “The Adjustment Bureau.” The film starred Matt Damon as American congressman David Norris, who uncovers the titular organization responsible for creating the illusion of free will in the world. The bureau’s plans get thrown off kilter, though, when Norris crosses paths with Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt), thereby diverting him from his path to becoming the President of the United States. Upping the stakes compared to the original story, “The Adjustment Bureau” ended up being a decent adaptation, but one that didn’t gain quite as much attention as some of the other stories adapted from Dick’s works.
The Adjustment Bureau is an okay but forgotten sci-fi movie
Compared to classics like Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner,” Steven Spielberg’s “Minority Report,” which predicted our modern technology with creepy accuracy, and Paul Verhoeven’s “Total Recall,” 2011’s “The Adjustment Bureau” hasn’t left as much of a mark, possibly because it focuses more on romance than science fiction. That’s not to say it wasn’t well-received when it came out, as the film scored a respectable 71% on Rotten Tomatoes. The Washington Examiner called it “that rare thing, an intelligent romance,” while The Standard described it as “essentially a sweet love story coated in a layer of Phillip K. Dick.”
While many Dick adaptations stuck to the source material, “The Adjustment Bureau” did a daring job of expanding on a pretty simple one, and for that, it should get some credit. It also boasts an impressive supporting cast, with Damon and Blunt joined by Anthony Mackie, John Slattery, Michael Kelly, and the late but great General Zod, aka Terence Stamp. It might struggle to compete against worlds that involve murder-detecting psychics or bounty hunters chasing down androids, but it’s a decent watch. Perhaps if it had a few more adjustments, it could’ve found a spot among the greats. Unfortunately, it seems like the bureau had other plans.
