**** (M)

Director: George Nolfi.

Cast: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie, John Slattery, Terence Stamp.

ARE we the masters of our own destinies or merely pawns in a bigger game?

The Adjustment Bureau, based very, very loosely on a Philip K. Dick short story, posits the latter, and that the moderators of the game are dapper hatted men with extraordinary powers.

The main piece in play here is David Norris (Damon), a candidate in the upcoming election for New York governor who has a chance encounter with dancer Elise (Blunt).

The spark between them is instant and significant but the universe has other plans - particularly that they are not destined to be together. Enter the men in hats, who find Norris none to keen about their idea to keep him away from Elise.

While The Adjustment Bureau might not be the next Inception (although it probably wants to be), it's certainly got a thought-provoking edge to it with its ruminations on the balance of impulse, free will, fate, destiny, emotion and chance.

It will probably get you thinking about such things, but you may also start thinking about whether the script is watertight - dealing with predestination, omniscience, and superpowers versus the general chaos of existence is always difficult, and the film's attempt to reign these things into an ordered filmic world with strict rules is a bold one, if not a flawless one.

What's intriguing is that this is essentially a sweet love story coated in a layer of Phillip K Dick, with Damon turning on the charm and Blunt a good mix of feisty and fragile as they deal with the G-Men of Destiny.

Best of all its fun and polished, its stars share a decent spark and its intriguing premise make this a pretty good ride.