Netflix's The Adam Project (2022), starring Ryan Reynolds and directed by Shawn Levy of the Night at the Museum trilogy (2006-2014) and Free Guy (2021) fame (also starring Reynolds), is okay. There is one great scene in the middle of the film which is sweet and heartwarming, but other than that, the rest ranges from generic sci-fi mediocrity to over-complicated time travel jargon, and the result is made up of frustratingly underdeveloped potential that is ultimately gone to waste. The rest of the cast (including Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, and Zoe Saldaña) is likable and charming, but their characters are either not given enough to do or are killed off before we get a chance to know more about them. With that out of the way, here is my spoiler-filled review of The Adam Project.
The Adam Project centers around twelve-year-old Adam Reed (played by Walker Scobell), a good-hearted yet snarky kid still reeling from the loss of his father, Louis Reed (Ruffalo), a quantum physicist, in a car accident in 2018. That year will play an essential role in the story. Adam is bullied at school, expelled for fighting back, and is emotionally distant from his mother, Ellie (Garner). One night, he finds a strange man in his garage, which he soon discovers to be a grown-up version of himself (Reynolds) from the year 2050, where time travel is a reality, and the world is under dystopic rule by Maya Sorian (played by Catherine Keener), a cunning and greedy businesswoman who funded Louis' research but took advantage of his technology after his death. A race against time-traveling baddies ensues, sci-fi action sequences occur, our characters encounter familiar faces from the past and future, and a family bonding experience happens at once, all of which vary in quality as the film progresses.
As stated earlier, the performances are charming. Reynolds has been defaulting to his signature 'good guy with a snarky attitude and big mouth' persona for the last several years, and this movie is no exception. The main difference is the plot point of time travel and encountering his younger self. Despite his reliance on this persona being highly repetitive and, frankly, a little annoying, Reynolds manages to bring to this movie a layer of emotional depth that I think had been lacking in his other films, which I found to be rather touching. Said emotional depth helps elevate a scene in a bar where he interacts and reconnects with his mother while expressing his love and gratefulness for her (without giving away his identity). This moving and tear-jerking scene surprised me, for it was what I had wanted and expected from the rest of the movie. For said scene alone, this movie is worth the watch.
Garner and Ruffalo are both incredibly endearing in this film, and it is delightful to see both of them star in the same movie together for the first time since 13 Going On 30 (2004). Still, to my disappointment, they don't share enough scenes as they share excellent chemistry. However, the highlight of this movie is Scobell, who not only perfectly captures the essence of and bounces off Reynolds' snarky quips but injects a wholehearted amount of youthful heart and pathos into his performance. Saldaña does a solid job as the grown-up Adam's future wife, Laura, and her dynamic with Reynolds as his long-separated spouse, who has to make the difficult decision to fight off and ultimately sacrifice herself to the baddies for Adam's mission to succeed is heartbreaking. However, this plotline and the extent of Reynolds and Saldaña's relationship are not explored far enough, and her character feels wasted. Keener is alright as both the younger and elder versions of Sorian, but the visual effects meant to bring the younger version to life are less than stellar, but I will get back to that later.
Direction-wise, Levy goes for an Amblin-esque adventure movie ala E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) mixed with 1980s time travel movies like Back to the Future (1985) but starring Ryan Reynolds as, well, Ryan Reynolds. For the most part, Levy's direction is lively and briskly paced. However, a tonally crowded screenplay weighs down much of his efforts. The action scenes, when present, are often exciting, which can be attributed to Levy's infectious enthusiasm for effects and character-driven filmmaking. One, in particular, is a car chase through a forest with both Adams and Laura versus the bad guys, which is highly reminiscent of the speeder chase from Return of the Jedi (1983). Unsurprisingly, there is even a stylized rod that the characters jokingly refer to as a lightsaber. Now, on to the not-so-positive stuff.
On the other hand, The Adam Project's most significant weakness lies in the screenplay. The movie tonally goes from a generic science fiction flick to an Amblin-esque family movie to an intricately layered time travel picture, and the result is one convoluted mess of a story that doesn't fully fulfill everything that the movie wants to accomplish within its runtime. Despite a runtime of a-hundred-and-six minutes, this movie still feels too short given all the various story elements. To make matters worse, the visual effects range from rather generic-looking sci-fi flare to underbaked and not very convincing for a big-budget adventure film. Such is the case for the de-aging effects of Maya's younger self, which look like a fanmade deepfake of a younger Catherine Keener that can be found on YouTube, but not a well-made one, mind you. Considering the resources that the filmmakers have access to, better direction over the visual effects could have helped more effectively with the deepfake technology.
Overall, The Adam Project is inoffensively enjoyable but somewhat lackluster. It has the potential to develop a cult following, but the faults within its screenplay and visual effects prevent me from enjoying it as much as I wanted to. Is it worth watching? Perhaps solely for the one scene as mentioned earlier. Re-watching other movies like E.T., Back to the Future, or literally, any of Ryan Reynolds' other projects like Free Guy will undoubtedly make up for some of the missed opportunities in The Adam Project.
Final Score: 6 out of 10
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