The Netflix Sci-Fi Thriller Written By One Of The Greatest Authors Ever

The Adjustment Bureau is directed and adapted by George Nolfi from Philip K. Dick’s short story Adjustment Team. The film explores the delicate balance between fate and free will, which is always a heady subject and one that the film explores in an interesting way. The film follows David Norris (Matt Damon), a charismatic politician running for Senate, who has a romantic encounter with a ballet dancer named Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt).

However, David’s encounter with Elise leads to an intervention by a mysterious group of individuals known as The Adjustment Bureau, who have the ability to manipulate reality and ensure that people’s lives go according to the universe’s plans. Along with Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, the film also stars Anthony Mackie, John Slattery, and Terence Stamp. While the premise of the story is interesting, and the cast delivers believable performances, the film was met with relatively mixed reception when it was released.

However, if you like philosophical explorations of free will and predestination, then The Adjustment Bureau might just deliver what you’re looking for. The film does have strengths outside of the stacked cast, such as blending the against-all-odds romance of Damon and Blunt’s characters against the deeper sci-fi themes. There are also engaging action sequences, so there’s a little bit of something for everyone in the film.

Upon its release, The Adjustment Bureau did decently well in theaters, eventually bringing in a $127.8 million worldwide box office haul. It had a solid opening weekend of around $21 million as well. Overall, the film was a moderate success, but there are certainly better Philip K. Dick adaptations out there.

Matt Damon and Emily Blunt also finally reunited in a huge blockbuster film this year in Oppenheimer, though their characters didn’t cross paths as much in that film. If you enjoyed both of their performances in Oppenheimer but would have liked to see these two A-list actors play off of each other a bit more, then The Adjustment Bureau will do just that since they’re the co-leads of the film. Admittedly, their Oppenheimer roles gave them some better material to work with, but that doesn’t mean that their performances in The Adjustment Bureau aren’t worth checking out.

Overall, The Adjustment Bureau isn’t going to be considered one of the best Philip K. Dick adaptations out there. That honor would have to go to Blade Runner or even Minority Report. But it’s still a fun film and one that’s worth checking out if you’re a fan of Dick’s work and want a solid sci-fi film to check out on Netflix.