The Super Powered Fancast

The Adam Project

Netflix

Written by Jonathan Tropper, T.S. Nowlin and Jennifer Flackett

Directed by Shawn Levy

Starring Ryan Reynolds, Walker Scobell, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, Zoe Saldana, Catherine Keener and Alex Mallari Jr

Rated PG-13

A time-traveling pilot teams up with his younger self and his late father to come to terms with his past while saving the future.

The third collaboration between director Shawn Levy and actor Ryan Reynolds is an interesting family drama mixed with a thrilling sci-fi action adventure. The film immediately starts with high flying, fast paced action as adult Adam Reed (Reynolds) flies a time jet through the upper atmosphere to escape people trying to kill him. The scene is great and filled with great special effects that will permeate the movie without taking away from the story.

The story then shifts to the present where young Adam (Scobell) is getting in trouble in school and being bullied for his abrasive personality. In the wake of the death of his father Louis (Ruffalo), Adam is being raised by his increasingly exasperated mother Ellie (Garner). When adult Adam comes into the past on a mission to rescue someone he loves, he finds himself back at his childhood home and dealing both with his personal loss as well as his younger self.

The dynamic between Reynolds and Scobell is great and I like how the script gives the younger version of the character a lot of the humor. Both leads are funny and charming, but you can see the parallel between Scobell’s raw, biting approach and Reynolds more subtle manner. It beautifully shows the evolution of a personality brought on by maturity and is never cringe-worthy like they were trying to make Scobell more like Reynolds.

After finding Laura (Saldana), a woman with a connection to adult Adam, the three discover that there is a bigger mission they need to embark on and that will bring both young and adult Adam further into the past to find their father Louis. The first encounter between the three characters is fun, charming and really funny. It does a brilliant job of showcasing the characters and their personalities and leads to some really engaging conversations about the science behind the story as well as the emotional issues both versions of Adam are dealing with.

If there is one weakness in the overall story its Catherine Keener’s Maya Sorian. She’s established as the bad guy early on, but she never really moves beyond that role. There didn’t seem to be much nuance to her performance and her scenes didn’t serve much more than to drive the plot along. There wasn’t any menace to her presence and there were moments when she was just annoying. Also, the CGI for her younger self was not particularly good at all.

As much as The Adam Project is a sci-fi, time travel adventure, the movie is also a family drama. Those moments work really well and are filled with a sweetness that never becomes sappy and both highlights father/son dynamics as well as mother/son relationships really well. The Adam Project is a fun, sweet and entertaining adventure with some great messages about family and grief.