Is the fate of one couple's love as pressing as the fate of the world? If you're one half of that couple, it is! And so this loose adaptation of Philip K. Dick's "Adjustment Team" gives us both a star-crossed romance with two very likeable leads in Matt Damon & Emily Blunt, as well as posing some interesting questions about Fate vs. free will. And it does so with a touch of humor in addition to the intensity: even on a cosmic scale, bureaucracy tends to get tangled up & make mistakes at times. In this case, it's when Matt Damon's character connects with Emily Blunt's, when he was supposed to encounter her just once, for a fleeting moment.
What I like about this film is that it's told on a more modest scale. If Damon & Blunt are separated, the world will still go on … but their personal world won't. Are they meant to be together? Is there even such a thing as two people being meant to be together? Is it good & right to sacrifice yourself for some undefined greater good? And just who decides what's greater & what's good, anyway?
The film makes marvelous use of its NYC locations, making familiar places look fresh & new & beautiful. And it sparks those deeper questions while offering both a love story & a suspenseful chase. Entertainment & thoughtfulness: you can't ask for much more from a movie, can you? I find it quite re-watchable over time, having just seen it again & enjoying it as much as ever. For some, it m ight seem too slight; for some, the metaphysical underpinnings might be off-putting. But for me, it works. Highly recommended!