Sometimes I have to go see movies with my parents. Movies that my parents want to see. And sometimes I dread the choices that they make, but I’m a good daughter (most of the time) so I swallow my pride from time to time and take a trip down to the local St. Albans theatre to appease them. Being forced to go home and sleep on the couch for two days over spring break, my mother decided she couldn’t have my brother and I hanging around the house anymore, and sent us off with our father to the movies to give her two hours of peace. Which meant that since my father was paying, he was always choosing the movie. Which meant I was going to see The Adjustment Bureau despite my desire against it.
The amazing thing is that I liked it. My brother liked it. My dad hated it from the moment it began until the moment that the credits started rolling. He sighed and he groaned and he got up several times to use the bathroom and refresh his popcorn. He whispered snarky remarks and insisted on switching seats so he could sit in the middle and whisper comments to both his children. He was, to put it lightly, not happy.
But I was engaged. I wanted to know what happened. The movie was primarily set-up. Introducing us to David Norris’ (Matt Damon) life, introducing us to Elise (Emily Blunt), introducing us to the Adjustment Bureau, introducing them all to each other, and so forth. The whole movie was setting us up for one single scene (that I won’t state for those of you planning to see the movie, which you should) that never came. It just…didn’t happen.
The last five minutes left me with a feeling of dissatisfaction. Extreme dissatisfaction. And shock that the scene I was waiting for the entire time never came. The last five minutes of this film were quite possibly the most unsatisfying five minutes of any movie I’ve ever seen. Certainly it wins some sort of award for cop-out, just-kind-of-stops ending. I was so mad after those last five minutes, I could hardly talk on the car ride home. I definitely didn’t want to talk about the movie.
But then I let it sit for a couple of days, and I went back to it. I enjoyed the first 85 minutes and that should not be negated by loathing the last five. It’s an interesting story. It’s engaging. It held my attention. Often times I judge movies that I see in the theatre by the number of times I checked the time on my watch. During The Adjustment Bureau, I checked my watch exactly zero times. That’s no small feat for a movie to do.
Overall, I was impressed with the movie and I highly recommend it. It’s not the type of movie that’s going to change the world or the watchers view of the world, but as I’ve said before (and even if I haven’t, I’m saying it now), there’s something to be said for a little bit of mindless entertainment. This is the quality kind.
The amazing thing is that I liked it. My brother liked it. My dad hated it from the moment it began until the moment that the credits started rolling. He sighed and he groaned and he got up several times to use the bathroom and refresh his popcorn. He whispered snarky remarks and insisted on switching seats so he could sit in the middle and whisper comments to both his children. He was, to put it lightly, not happy.
But I was engaged. I wanted to know what happened. The movie was primarily set-up. Introducing us to David Norris’ (Matt Damon) life, introducing us to Elise (Emily Blunt), introducing us to the Adjustment Bureau, introducing them all to each other, and so forth. The whole movie was setting us up for one single scene (that I won’t state for those of you planning to see the movie, which you should) that never came. It just…didn’t happen.
The last five minutes left me with a feeling of dissatisfaction. Extreme dissatisfaction. And shock that the scene I was waiting for the entire time never came. The last five minutes of this film were quite possibly the most unsatisfying five minutes of any movie I’ve ever seen. Certainly it wins some sort of award for cop-out, just-kind-of-stops ending. I was so mad after those last five minutes, I could hardly talk on the car ride home. I definitely didn’t want to talk about the movie.
But then I let it sit for a couple of days, and I went back to it. I enjoyed the first 85 minutes and that should not be negated by loathing the last five. It’s an interesting story. It’s engaging. It held my attention. Often times I judge movies that I see in the theatre by the number of times I checked the time on my watch. During The Adjustment Bureau, I checked my watch exactly zero times. That’s no small feat for a movie to do.
Overall, I was impressed with the movie and I highly recommend it. It’s not the type of movie that’s going to change the world or the watchers view of the world, but as I’ve said before (and even if I haven’t, I’m saying it now), there’s something to be said for a little bit of mindless entertainment. This is the quality kind.
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