Men In Hats: 'The Adjustment Bureau' Trailer HD

"Hooray for 'Dick!' - as in Phillip K Dick.

That's certainly what Hollywood types must now be saying of the late sci-fi master, having now adapted at least seven of his works for the big screen (Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report and others).

In this case, Dick's short story, the Adjustment Team, about a shadowy confederacy (complete with trench coats and fedoras) who direct the lives of mere mortals with the help of "magic DayRunners" starts of as a kind of 'Caucasian Obama fantasy'.

A wonder-boy politician (Damon) heads to the men's room of the Plaza Hotel in the aftermath of a stunning loss (people were already touting him for President) in the New York Senate race - owing, we are to believe, to the publication of an unflattering photo in - wait for it- The New York Post.

There he is surprised by aspiring dancer hiding from security after 'successfully' crashing a wedding. Its love at first sight, and ironically, its this fairly old-fashioned romance that sustains credibility as the movie twists and morphs through a couple of other sub-genres: conspiracy theory, Inception knock-off, and meditation on God and the seeming conflict of pre-destination and free will.

This multi-stop trip swings and careens engagingly through Manhattan, with Damon's character initially at the mercy of the "adjusters" then finding his footing and rushing headlong toward his goal. He's aided and abetted in this quest by a turncoat "adjuster" (seamlessly played by Anthony Mackie) and has to confront and outwit a higher-up (the always welcome Terence Stamp).

Truly though its Blunt who takes this movie. he combination of devil-may care sensuality personal ambition and  - increasingly as the film progresses - vulnerability and submission lift the film above the ever-present cesspool of cliches. Director George Noolfi, who graduates from screenwriter on the 'Bourne' series to director on this outing gives Damon plenty of latitude even as they recreate several of the frenetic chase scenes that typified the action-espionage franchise.

The Adjustment Bureau starts off with some degree of pretensions toward "seriousness" as in , Oscar-contender. It doesn't live up to those, but in shedding those those aspirations it actually becomes - as indeed many of the 'Dickian' adaptations are - a more than tolerable piece of entertainment - solid escapism that poses just enough of the right questions that you don't leave feeling totally empty