Entertainment : From the Front Row of the Balcony: \'Adjustment Bureau\' questions fate

     I hate movie formulas.

     I hate the formulas for action movies: Good guy chases bad guy. Good guy catches bad guy. They fight. Good guy almost loses. In the end, he wins.

     I hate formulas for romantic movies, as well: Boy meets girl. Boy likes girl. Girl likes boy. Girl and boy see reasons liking each other won't work. They try to be together anyway. They fail. In the end, they succeed.

     "The Adjustment Bureau" is an action romance/comic drama that does not let you see the formula.

    Instead, it makes you think, and while the ending is not surprising, the journey is one that you may not recall being on before.

The Story:

     David Norris (Matt Damon) is the country's fastest rising political star. But just before the election for U.S. Senate in New York, the papers run photos of an unfortunate college prank, causing him to lose the election. Norris goes to the men's room for some privacy as he ponders what to say in his concession speech. There he meets Elise (Emily Blunt), who had gone to the same hotel to crash a wedding and is hiding from security. There the couple finds they have many things in common. But before David can learn Elise's name, his aide interrupts them. Time for the speech he says.

    David, inspired by Elise, gives a speech that is shockingly candid. The honesty makes him popular and sets his political career back on track for the next Senate election. But David is in love with Elise, whom he meets a month after the election.

     But fate -- or whatever you choose to call the unseen powers that guide men (or try to) -- does not want David and Elise together. For them, fate comes in the form of mysterious and powerful men wearing hats. These men chase David and tell him he has to leave Elise.

   For the rest of the movie, David tries to overcome these agents of fate to be with her, while at the same time trying to find out why the men in hats are trying so hard to keep them apart. These agents -- "The Adjustment Bureau" -- literally chase David through New York City, using the power of their hats to open doors to shortcuts throughout the city.

Why you should go:

     I often say Hollywood lacks originality. This one offers it, although the story is based (very, very loosely) on a book, "The Adjustment Team," by Philip Dick (1954).

What you should know before you go:

     The movie is rated PG-13, but it is very mild for that rating. And although the movie did make me think about a lot of things concerning choices and fate, I can see now that it did follow those formulas I hate so much -- although it disguised them well.

My favorite part

    The doors that leads to Yankee Stadium and Ellis Island. I gotta find those doors.