Movie review: ‘The Adam Project’ hits its mark on several levelsBy Kelly Martinez
Time travel, comedy, and family drama are at the heart of Netflix’s “The Adam Project,” which, for a straight-to-streaming movie, has a lot of star power—and not just the stars that show up in the night sky.
Ryan Reynolds (“Deadpool”), Mark Ruffalo (“The Avengers” movies), Jennifer Garner (“Elektra”), and Zoe Saldana (“The Guardians of the Galaxy”) have each played superheroes in other moves, but that’s not what they play in “The Adam Project.” In spite of that fact, their characters are strong and capable, just not on superhero levels.
Set in 2022, the movie opens by introducing viewers to 12-year-old Adam Reed (Walker Scobell) who is struggling to deal with his father’s death a few years previous. His mom Ellie (Garner) is also trying to deal with the loss of her husband while enduring the hurtful jabs from her wisecracking son, Adam.
While his mom is on a date, young Adam encounters the 40-year-old version of himself (Reynolds) who’s traveled back in time from 2050 to stop a pivotal event from happening. The older Adam misses his targeted year (2018) and winds up in the backyard of his younger self in 2022. It doesn’t take the younger Adam long to figure out who the stranger is in his home.
Begrudgingly, the older Adam gradually lets his younger self in on his time-traveling objective, in classic snarky-Reynolds fashion.
Laura (Saldana) is the older Adam’s wife who is also jumping through time, but with a different objective. Running into her in 2022 is a surprise to the older Adam because in the future she’s dead.
Every sci-fi movie needs a villain and “The Adam Project” gets its bad guy in the form of a woman, Maya Sorian (Catherine Keener), who’s bent on preventing the older Adam from achieving his time-traveling aim.
Eventually, the Adams wind up in 2018 where they encounter their father, Louis Reed (Ruffalo), with whom the older Adam has issues.
Like most time-traveling flicks, the time travelers need to be cautious about changing the past so it won’t affect the future—even though that’s precisely what the older Adam wants to accomplish. Such is the case in “The Adam Project,” but it’s done in comedic and dramatic fashions.
Crisp, witty writing keeps the movie interesting and entertaining, providing Reynolds the platform to do what he does best: crack wise and be funny.
If you’re looking for a movie that’s got something for everyone, “The Adam Project” fits the bill.
Rated PG-13 for violence/action, language, and suggestive references, “The Adam Project” hit the internet on March 13, 2022, and is streaming on Netflix.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
