The Adam Project – Film Review
by Fran Winston

Directed by: Sean Levy
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, Walker Scobell. Catherine Keener. Zoe Saldaña

Available on Netflix March 11th

Fresh from the success of Free Guy, director Sean Levy and star Ryan Reynolds team up once again for this sci-fi /action drama. Reynolds plays Adam – a time-travelling fighter pilot from the not too distant future who accidentally crash lands in 2022. Injured, he takes shelter in his childhood home and encounters his 12-year-old self (Scobell). If you’ve ever watched any time travel movie you’ll know that interacting with your younger self is a no-no. Despite this, the pair team up to save the future and in the process manage to reconcile with their pasts.

This is the kind of role Reynolds plays really well. He gets to flex both his action and comedic chops. Indeed the character isn’t a million miles away from his Free Guy role, but if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, right? Young Scobell is a revelation as the younger Reynolds and bounces off him perfectly. You absolutely buy into the idea that this is his mini-me.  While Garner is somewhat wasted as Adam’s mother, Catherine Keener absolutely relishes playing two versions of the baddie here (her younger and present self). It’s a real departure for her and it is really refreshing to see an older actress (she’s not old by any means, she’s just not the 25-year-old they usually cast) getting the opportunity to hold her own in an action flick.

At its heart this is an action flick, and as you’d expect there are big set pieces and fight scenes that are suitably spectacular. However, on the small screen, they may get lost a bit. This is the dilemma with streaming services commissioning big productions. It’s hard to replicate that cinematic action experience at home unless you have an absolutely huge television! Unfortunately, many will be watching this on their laptops which seems like a waste.

That aside, this is extremely slick and entertaining. The time travel jargon and physics gets a bit confusing but it doesn’t matter because the ride is such fun, it’s a total romp. It’s not trying to reinvent the wheel and is all the better for it. I look forward to many more Levy and Reynolds collaborations because they always leave the viewer with a smile on their face.