Kevin's Watch

My review: zahirblue.blogspot.com/2011/02/adjustme ... eview.html

Damn, I've got to see this film.

Absolutely loved it. I saw it on a plane. Twice.

zahir - thank you for the review. and the chance to hear enigma while doing so. really liked your site.

deer of the dawn wrote:Absolutely loved it. I saw it on a plane. Twice.

I watched it on the plane coming back from the US. Really enjoyed it. The lead female was great.

julie is a huge matt damon fan...

Excellent film! I had never even heard of it until a few days ago. (I guess that's what happens when you DVR everything ... I don't watch commercials anymore.)

Spoilers follow ...


I love the overall theme of the fate of our civilization being "controlled" for our own good. Not that I want to be controlled, but it's just the best conspiracy theory story ever invented. And it explains just about everything about us, from the rise of intelligence to our religions. I like how they allowed us to retain control for a few periods, and then we messed it all up, necessitating a return of control. This is obviously a testing, trial-and-error kind of species that is watching over us. (I'm siding with a "higher" race of aliens, as opposed to angels and god.)

But obviously the conspiracy theory falls apart if you look at it closely. Why would they worry about "ripples" if they're not worried about controlling all of human history?? If there's no "prime directive" forbidding interference, then why would there be any limit on interference whatsoever? It's not like they're altering the past and have to worry about creating a paradox. They're altering the present, and they can do it anyway they wish. Maybe I'm misunderstanding something ...

Also, if freewill isn't important, then why is the illusion of freewill important? Why not just come down from the skies and become our overlords? If we're not choosing our fate anyway, and we're merely puppets, then why the puppet show? Why not reveal the truth to us instead, and see how that works in curbing our destructive tendencies? It can't be for any reason related to preserving our independence and freewill, obviously. So what would be the harm in overtly taking over our management??

If Damon's character was so damn important, then why would they ever risk resetting his brain? That wasn't an empty threat--they were going to do this. So if they can lose his "amazing potential" through their own actions, why was it necessary to screw with his life to such an extent anyway? They must have had a backup plan that dealt with the contingency of not having him as President, if they were willing to reset him. And that plan must have included someone else being President. So why not just go with that person, and let him have the girl? Out of 300 million Americans, there was no one else who could become the right kind of President without taking away the love of their life? Bullshit.

If an alien race was really going to do this, and they had this much control, and didn't give a damn about freewill/Prime Directive issues, then they could have simply engineered us to be whatever the hell they wanted. If they didn't like our destructive tendencies, then just edit that out of our DNA and be done with it! Geesh, this could have been done so much easier. If they can take apes to the next stage and make them intelligent, they could take humans to the next stage and make them peaceful. There are peaceful humans, and destructive humans. Breed them based on these characteristics, if that's what is important.

Other than these logical/narrative problems, I liked the way this film told its story, and I liked the way it was character-driven ... or at least how the characters overcame the plot mechanics. Quite literally, actually, as they defied The Plan.

i've skipped over malik's review (tho i most usually enjoy your take on films) so as not to read any spoilers. i'd been wondering if i should see this movie but wasn't sure. since most of you posting here seemed to like it i think i'll see it.

thanks.

ok, watched it.

should've known it was a pkd story huh!

yeah i agree there are some minor flaws with some of the logic
and i liked it all the way up to the ending...but...really i wanted
something a bit more...i dunno...maybe a bit less tearfully sentimental.

i think i need to go find the story and read it. something tells me
this isn't the way the pkd story ended. i could be wrong but...just sayin.
doesn't seem like a phillip k dick ending to me.

lucimay wrote:ok, watched it.

should've known it was a pkd story huh!

yeah i agree there are some minor flaws with some of the logic
and i liked it all the way up to the ending...but...really i wanted
something a bit more...i dunno...maybe a bit less tearfully sentimental.

i think i need to go find the story and read it. something tells me
this isn't the way the pkd story ended. i could be wrong but...just sayin.
doesn't seem like a phillip k dick ending to me.

I'm sure you're right, but I actually loved the happy-ending version. I know I read some Dick too many years ago ( that sounds pretty weird) and want to go back and re-read since it seems like so many of my favorite films are adapted Dick stories (ok, now I'm doing it on purpose ) but I'm almost afraid that I liked the film versions too much and will find the stories too dark or depressing.

I liked the happy ending, too. I thought they earned it. There was so much frustration invovled in keeping these two apart, I appreciated the tension being resolved by letting them be together. Many happy endings are too easy and predictable, but this one was achieved by the main characters defying "Fate" itself (if you can call the Plan that) and the premise that we don't have freewill ... even when the "truth" of that premise was shown to them, and they (well Damon's character at least) had every reason to believe that the hat-guys' control was absolute. He was willing to risk having his brain reset, even if it meant he could be with the woman he loved for only a short time. That's beautiful.

We can apply it to ourselves, too. Even if we don't have freewill--even if we're slaves to our DNA, our environment, our hormones, our culture--we still have this all-too-human desire to push back against these forces, to transcend the facticity of our existence, and to transcend our limits. Philosophers can talk themselves out of the existence of freewill, and pretend that our brains are just extremely complex computers, but this doesn't explain how we defy prediction, how we sacrifice ourselves, how we choose the irrational in defiance of our "programming," ... how we love.

Most people walk in the ruts of history, chained to the weight of their past and present culture, following the paths laid down in their DNA, but every once in a while truly great people break out of this sleepwalking mediocrity and move all humanity forward. Perhaps that *was* The Plan for this guy. Maybe it was all a test to see if he could defy The Plan, and become one of those few who could truly lead.

deer of the dawn wrote:

lucimay wrote:ok, watched it.

should've known it was a pkd story huh!

yeah i agree there are some minor flaws with some of the logic
and i liked it all the way up to the ending...but...really i wanted
something a bit more...i dunno...maybe a bit less tearfully sentimental.

i think i need to go find the story and read it. something tells me
this isn't the way the pkd story ended. i could be wrong but...just sayin.
doesn't seem like a phillip k dick ending to me.

I'm sure you're right, but I actually loved the happy-ending version. I know I read some Dick too many years ago ( that sounds pretty weird) and want to go back and re-read since it seems like so many of my favorite films are adapted Dick stories (ok, now I'm doing it on purpose ) but I'm almost afraid that I liked the film versions too much and will find the stories too dark or depressing.

By a "PDK ending" we mean "confusing and depressing?"

I thought "A Scanner Darkly" was the best Dick adaptation (heh) I've seen, and it followed the book pretty much exactly.

Spoiler

Although it left out the bit where the guy tries to top himself with an OD only to realise he'd taken psychedelics instead of downers

Minority Report was okay too. Blade Runner was fantastic, but so different from "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" that I think it's fair to say it's they're separate stories.

Cambo wrote:

deer of the dawn wrote:

lucimay wrote:ok, watched it.

should've known it was a pkd story huh!

yeah i agree there are some minor flaws with some of the logic
and i liked it all the way up to the ending...but...really i wanted
something a bit more...i dunno...maybe a bit less tearfully sentimental.

i think i need to go find the story and read it. something tells me
this isn't the way the pkd story ended. i could be wrong but...just sayin.
doesn't seem like a phillip k dick ending to me.

I'm sure you're right, but I actually loved the happy-ending version. I know I read some Dick too many years ago ( that sounds pretty weird) and want to go back and re-read since it seems like so many of my favorite films are adapted Dick stories (ok, now I'm doing it on purpose ) but I'm almost afraid that I liked the film versions too much and will find the stories too dark or depressing.

By a "PDK ending" we mean "confusing and depressing?"

I thought "A Scanner Darkly" was the best Dick adaptation (heh) I've seen, and it followed the book pretty much exactly.

Spoiler

Although it left out the bit where the guy tries to top himself with an OD only to realise he'd taken psychedelics instead of downers

Minority Report was okay too. Blade Runner was fantastic, but so different from "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" that I think it's fair to say it's they're separate stories.

yep. agree on all points.

and we've had that discussion regarding blade runner before. i do think that they are two different stories. i've always characterized blade runner as sort of an extraction from do androids dream of electric sheep.

Zarathustra wrote:Perhaps that *was* The Plan for this guy. Maybe it was all a test to see if he could defy The Plan, and become one of those few who could truly lead.

That's how I saw it, too.

I finally got around to watching this last night, and I'm going to disagree with the rest of y'all (big surprise). I think it's another disappointing PKD adaptation.

For starters, it's basically a long, big-budget episode of Fringe, which is essentially a good thing, as I think Fringe is the best thing on TV at the moment.

The film actually has a lot going for it, it's paced well, it distributes the narrative smartly, and it's got Terrence Stamp, who I'd pay to watch read the phone book (even though he'll always be General Zod to me).

But my biggest gripe is the "love conquers all" happy ending (which is decidedly un-Dick-like). It completely destroys the mood of the film, and is so jarring that it renders the rest of the film moot. It annoys the crap out of me that Hollywood insists on happy endings in big-budget features, even when they make no sense (and in this case is completely out-of-step with the source material).

Cail wrote:I finally got around to watching this last night, and I'm going to disagree with the rest of y'all (big surprise). I think it's another disappointing PKD adaptation.

For starters, it's basically a long, big-budget episode of Fringe, which is essentially a good thing, as I think Fringe is the best thing on TV at the moment.

The film actually has a lot going for it, it's paced well, it distributes the narrative smartly, and it's got Terrence Stamp, who I'd pay to watch read the phone book (even though he'll always be General Zod to me).

But my biggest gripe is the "love conquers all" happy ending (which is decidedly un-Dick-like). It completely destroys the mood of the film, and is so jarring that it renders the rest of the film moot. It annoys the crap out of me that Hollywood insists on happy endings in big-budget features, even when they make no sense (and in this case is completely out-of-step with the source material).

i agree and said as much in my post up thread, tho yours is a more articulate description.

But my biggest gripe is the "love conquers all" happy ending (which is decidedly un-Dick-like). It completely destroys the mood of the film, and is so jarring that it renders the rest of the film moot. It annoys the crap out of me that Hollywood insists on happy endings in big-budget features, even when they make no sense (and in this case is completely out-of-step with the source material).

disagree with your assessment of the ending. Forget the "source material"; the real issue is: does this work as a film. the answer is "yes". I agree with Zar: "They earned it". And it totally worked in the movie. Some may call it "Hollywood", in this case i call it good story-telling.

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I could have shown I posted something about this flick--really loved it, agree with the end controversy-Alot of Dick movies don't have his endings--how could Blade Runner? And Total Recall is based on two very different short stories...Paycheck, Minority Report (well, they twisted things around...) and Imposter didn't have the same endings. Imposter, terribly underrated film, thought Sinise was brilliant in it. Don't know why but Screamers is still my all time fav...perhaps I'm a closet Peter Weller fan?

I think The Adjustment Bureau suffered by virtue of it's close release to 'Inception' starring Leonardo de Caprio. It was a good enough story in it's own way but seen alongside Inception it really paled significantly. Matt Damon is suffering from the requirement that whatever film he appears in we want him to be Bourne and in fairness did a reasonable job here of (partly) keeping away from this (probably temptingly) lazy approach. But in some way the film did not seem 'heavyweight' enough. It should have been - dark forces controlling all of humanity and that - but it didn't. And yes, the ending.......!

I had not the slightest idea this was PKD until reading this thread just now. Yeah, really enjoyed the movie.