The Adjustment Bureau – Blu-ray Review

The Film:

There isn’t a mathematical equation to figure out the odds of a chance encounter. It’s one of those accidental elements in nature. Most people believe their lives are either decided upon based your own Free Will or that God has a plan for us. But what if they’re one in the same? The Adjustment Bureau is based on a Philip K. Dick short story, which might be one of his more underrated exercises in his continuously explored themes of authoritarian governments, perception, theology, and identity. It’s a paranoid sci-fi thriller, that while Blade Runner is the definitive film adaptation of Philip K. Dick, The Adjustment Bureau is a mesmerizing close second.

I pity people who find love in the typical fashions: a set-up, Internet dating sites, a family recommendation. The chance encounter is one of those anomalies in life that are so unexplainable, so rare, it’s worth living a lifetime to have it just once. You stay late at work one day, or pick up a shift begrudgingly, or take a different route home, these little sparks of compulsive decisions could lead you right into that special someone. But what if your decision making went against your life’s plan? How far will you willingly buck the course predetermined to you? The Adjustment Bureau is a riveting expose of the preciousness of Free Will and the notion that humans are meant for something better.

Surprisingly enough, the film is written and directed by George Nolfi, making his debut. We’ve seen other Philip K. Dick adaptations fail to successfully balance his complex themes in an entertaining way for a movie, but Nolfi wisely allows the actors to carry the sci-fi parable. Matt Damon is the perfect everyman. Emily Blunt is a classic beauty. Combined, they’re the stars of a Hollywood long gone. Picture Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint in North by Northwest. This is a Hitchcock type of movie.

But it’s the human element that boosts The Adjustment Bureau from a good movie to a great movie. No matter how wild the premise is, this “pulling the curtain back on Oz”, The Adjustment Bureau has a heart that beats a tune we know all so well. It’s the power of love, as Huey Lewis was a wise man. If we are just puppets dancing for a greater puppeteer, how do we willingly accept their knowing what’s best for us? The Adjustment Bureau is a rarity in sci-fi: it avoids spectacle for thought-provoking chance at showing us what it means to be human.

The Blu-ray:

Audio/Video: Universal Home Entertainment offers up a top-notch HD presentation. The transfer is highly detailed and crisp; skin tones are natural, the image has depth, and the black levels are rich and thick. There is an online debate of UHE using VC-1 codec over AVC, but it doesn’t matter, everything looks amazing. The DTS track is great too. It’s fully immersive, especially since it starts off as a dialogue driven movie, but latter on the sound design offers up some robust qualities that makes the mix pop, with clarity and bass.

Commentary: Writer/Director George Nolfi offers a solid track by himself. He talks mostly about adapting the story to screen and the location shoot in NYC.

Labyrinth of Doors: Running 30 minutes in total, this is an interactive map where clicking on a highlighted door shows you a clip, behind-the-scenes interview, and the like. It’s a bit cumbersome to get through, though.

Leaping Through New York is a short behind-the-scenes location shoot of how they filmed in NYC, and Destined to Be is your typical EPK on the actors and their characters. Becoming Elise focuses on Emily Blunt’s training for the ballet and some Deleted Scenes that show an all-new character that was wisely deleted from the film. Your typical DVD and Digital Copy, Trailers, and BD-Live supplements round out the extras, which are all in HD.

The Film: Rating:

The Blu-ray: Rating: