The Adjustment Bureau
Universal Pictures | Release Date: March 4, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
60
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 41 Critic Reviews
Positive:
21
Mixed:
18
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin WilsonMar 4, 2011
An exhilarating balancing act, at once a science-fiction romp, a paranoid thriller and a philosophical treatise. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMar 3, 2011
The main thing that keeps audiences glued throughout its running time is that it's a love story, easily one of the best American love stories of the past year. Read full review
90
The New York TimesManohla DargisMar 3, 2011
One reason filmmakers like Mr. Nolfi seem attracted to Philip K. Dick's work, beyond the brilliance of its ideas, is that his unembellished writing style leaves them room to make the stories visually their own. Read full review
88
Washington PostAnn HornadayMar 3, 2011
Equal parts playful, sophisticated and engrossing, The Adjustment Bureau is like the first songbird of spring, signaling that the winter of our collective brain-freeze is over and it's safe to go back to the multiplex. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerMar 4, 2011
If the head of the bureau is God, then why is he played by Terence Stamp and not Morgan Freeman? Read full review
80
SalonAndrew O'HehirMar 4, 2011
Nolfi's dialogue is lean and often funny, while Damon and Blunt play appealing and clearly delineated characters drawn together by the kind of old-fashioned romantic passion you don't often see in contemporary movies. Read full review
80
Boxoffice MagazinePam GradyFeb 28, 2011
The action, fantasy and suspense elements are all highly enjoyable, but if the romance didn't work this movie would fall apart. Read full review
80
EmpireHelen OHaraFeb 28, 2011
By keeping the pace quick, the explanation light and the characters strong, Nolfi achieves the near-impossible: a film puzzle you won't mind leaving unexplained. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyFeb 24, 2011
George Nofi pulls off a relative rarity in his feature film debut by creating a genuinely romantic fantasy suspense thriller. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovMar 3, 2011
The Adjustment Bureau is, above all, a romance of chance and chaos theory of the heart. (In this respect, some viewers will recognize it as kin to the early Gwyneth Paltrow fantasy "Sliding Doors.") Read full review
75
Portland OregonianShawn LevyMar 4, 2011
Ultimately, The Adjustment Bureau shifts from paranoid dystopia to a more hopeful tenor, and that weakens it slightly. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertMar 4, 2011
A smart and good movie that could have been a great one if it had a little more daring. Read full review
75
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottMar 4, 2011
Not the deepest stuff, but thought-provoking all the same -- and entertaining to boot. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsMar 3, 2011
What's striking about the picture, I think, is its lack of violent threat. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliMar 2, 2011
Perhaps the most surprising thing about The Adjustment Bureau is that, irrespective of the misdirection of the trailers and T.V. spots, this is more of a romance than a science fiction thriller. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanMar 2, 2011
An enjoyable piece of hokum – your basic doom-laden parable of metaphysical sci-fi mind control, only with a surprise romantic sparkle. Read full review
70
SlateDana StevensMar 3, 2011
What emerges from the chaos may be uneven and at times ridiculous, but it's never boring. Read full review
70
NPRJeannette CatsoulisMar 3, 2011
Everybody loves a do-over, but this could become tedious were it not for the undeniable chemistry of the two leads, whose dialogue crackles like cellophane. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranMar 3, 2011
What results, against some odds, is an intriguing entertainment. Adjustment Bureau's central concept is certainly ingenious, but the details are a little wonky and don't stand up to too much scrutiny. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia PuigMar 3, 2011
Compelling enough, a sort of "Inception"-lite, but the plot holes take it off course. Read full review
63
Orlando SentinelRoger MooreMar 2, 2011
This "Inception" meets "Made in Heaven" by way of "They Live" is also the screwiest movie Matt Damon has been in since, what, "Dogma?" Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierMar 4, 2011
Unfortunately, the fantasy-thriller they're in eventually falls apart, becoming a much sillier, less substantial movie than its lead actors deserve. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzMar 2, 2011
Ultimately it's not the lives of the characters that need adjusting here. It's the story itself. Read full review
60
Time OutJoshua RothkopfMar 1, 2011
You outsmart the movie way too soon. Read full review
60
VarietyJustin ChangFeb 24, 2011
Its fun first hour soon gives way to a leaden, expository approach that unwisely favors emotional stakes over speculative-fiction smarts. Read full review
50
TimeRichard CorlissMar 7, 2011
It's a clever idea that, around the mid-point, stumbles into absurdity as the movie itself makes too many lunatic choices. Read full review
50
New York PostLou LumenickMar 4, 2011
The misleading trailers for the supremely goofy The Adjustment Bureau promise action-packed sci-fi. What you actually get is a love-struck Matt Damon running for the US Senate as he's stalked by fedora-wearing angels. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenMar 3, 2011
Sometimes, a strong premise makes for a weak movie, which ends up drowning in its own clever conceit. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternMar 3, 2011
Two movies for the price of one, though only one of them-a fragmented romance within a ponderous parable-qualifies as a bargain. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley MorrisMar 3, 2011
Whether this movie works for you largely depends on whether you're willing to work for it. To which I say: Bring your gym clothes. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyMar 3, 2011
A movie where the action scenes feel like filler, the romantic leads have little magnetism, and, before long, its metaphysical underpinnings fall to pieces. Read full review
50
ObserverRex ReedMar 3, 2011
A stupid waste of time and talent, but it might be just what his (Damon) fans are waiting for. Read full review
50
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanMar 3, 2011
So despite fine acting and swift pacing and well-managed effects, it falls apart. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesMar 3, 2011
As in Christopher Nolan's Inception, the premise is so mind-boggling and fraught with implications that it tends to obviate the action mechanics of the last couple reels. Read full review
50
Village VoiceJ. HobermanMar 2, 2011
The so-called Plan is derailed! Read full review
50
The New YorkerDavid DenbyFeb 28, 2011
Strange, empty movie, a metaphysical Cracker Jack box without a prize in its empty-calorie depths. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsMar 3, 2011
It's too little premise stretched over too much movie, and while the cast gives it their all, Nolfi's characterless direction only makes the movie feel that much slighter. Read full review
40
MovielineElvis MitchellMar 3, 2011
Maddeningly repetitious. Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinFeb 28, 2011
The doughy Damon and aristocratic Blunt don't match up physically, and they never get any Hepburn-Tracy rhythms going that might create some current. Read full review
38
Rolling StonePeter TraversMar 3, 2011
What Dick rendered potent, Nolfi renders preposterous. Read full review
25
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezMar 2, 2011
There's a startling moment 10 or 15 minutes into The Adjustment Bureau - the only time, really, when the film achieves any level of surprise. The dispiriting dullness of this dreary misfire hasn't had time to settle in and thicken: The movie hasn't yet revealed its utter and thorough ineptitude. Read full review
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