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Film Review: The Adam Project (2022)

by Emily Nagle

Recently, Netflix debuted the sci-fi time travel flick “The Adam Project“. It quickly blew up on social media outlets, primarily TikTok, where videos tagged #TheAdamProject have racked up a total of 7.4 billion views. It most likely is trending due to its well-known cast members. The film stars Ryan Reynolds as Adam Reed, a time pilot from the year 2050 who, after crash-landing in 2022, encounters his 12-year-old self (played by Walker Scobell). Together, they embark on a mission to save the future. Also featured in the credits are Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, Catherine Keener, and Zoe Saldaña.

Something I liked about the movie was the dynamic between Scobell and Reynolds. They had excellent chemistry onscreen, and the relationship between adult Adam and young Adam was entertaining. 40-year-old Adam wants to warn his younger self about the scary things awaiting him later in life, but of course his 12-year-old self just wants to know if he’ll get laid. Not to mention it was super badass to see the two of them team up to save the future.

The CGI was mostly lacking. I didn’t have any problems with the shorter effects, like the ones applied to soldiers from 2050 who have been sent to bring Adam back to the present day. In one scene, the soldiers had this really cool-looking effect applied where they morphed through a window like it was water. However, the more prominent graphics, like the scenes of the time planes, were plastic and artificial.

At times, “The Adam Project” doesn’t really know who it wants its target audience to be. It’s rated PG-13, but there were moments where it’s more like a family movie, especially the ending part with Ruffalo’s character Louis, who is Adam’s father. Back in 2022, Louis had recently died in a car accident, so when the Adams travel back a little earlier and see him again, they don’t want to experience losing him all over again. Louis and the Adams tearfully embrace at the end before heading back to their respective time periods, and the whole thing is weirdly out of place, since most of what we were watching up to this point was action-packed comedy. We don’t learn much about Adam’s relationship with his father until later on, when it’s revealed he wasn’t around much due to working a lot.

My final thoughts? Overall, “The Adam Project” doesn’t really bring anything unique to the classic time-travel film genre. It felt watered-down compared to other movies from the genre. They did name Adam’s dog Hawking to pay tribute to “Back to the Future” (and as a dog lover and a fan of “Back to the Future”, I wholeheartedly approve of that creative decision!). However, if you’re bored at home one night and just wanna grab your favorite snack and veg out on the couch to a movie that isn’t super complicated, then “The Adam Project” is perfect for you!

“The Adam Project” is available to stream now on Netflix.

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