This a review for the Science fiction/action/comedy movie that released on Netflix called The Adam Project. Starring Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, Walker Scobell, Catherine Keener and Zoe Saldaña. Directed by Shawn Levy.
The Adam Project is about Adam Reed; a time-traveling pilot, that ends up back in the past and meets his younger self. They embark on a mission to save the future.
This was a refreshing take on time travel movies. A true tearjerker; hitting deep! Interwined with exciting action sequences and perfectly timed comedic moments.
These themes are all about the importance of family, connection/love, loss and destiny. The movie throws you right into the story, and you get to understand what is happening as events unfold as the characters ask questions about what happened. The time travel narrative was also explained quite simply and didn’t get messy in this regard.
The cast was such a perfect choice! Ryan Reynolds does of course bring his very familiar comedic acting style to his role, for the character Adam Reed. Reynolds’ approach just works so well in this case when he’s riffing off Walker Scobell.
Walker gave an amazing performance, and matched Reynolds’ mannerisms and line delivery as a younger Adam Reed. Bringing that humour and heart into the role is what made his character stand out well. This younger actor could have a bright future ahead of him, when this is what his first on-screen performance is!
Jennifer Garner whom plays the mother Ellie Reed, and Mark Ruffalo whom plays the father Louis Reed, has on-screen chemistry that instantly worked. The scenes were natural and this was more helpful, that they starred in a film together called 13 Going on 30 in 2004.
The chemistry between Ryan Reynolds and Zoe Saldaña is something that I didn’t expect to be so good. It would have been great to see more of Zoe Saldaña’s character Laura in the movie, however it’s understandable that the storyline focused more on Adam getting to know his younger self and learn the values that he once forgot.
The CGI scenes are very cool when Adam is time-traveling in the beginning and all of the fighting scenes with the ‘lightsaber’ looking staff.
However, a few things to pick out for the vfx, some of the wider set shots in the final part of the movie, that were created digitally, are noticeably unfinished in terms of detail.
Also, the deepfake CGI face placed on the body double for a certain character, was janky throughout and created an uncanny valley effect. If you’ve seen the de-aged Jeff Bridges in Tron: Legacy (2010)… yeah that similar quality! These are noticeable, however, this does not diminish the overall story. Possibly, they ran out of time to finish these sections of the movie.
It was a very heartwarming ending to the story, and they handled the father & son family dynamic theme well. Perfectly wrapped up the events. It’s an enjoyable movie with steady pacing. A recommended watch!
What are your thoughts on this movie? Tweet us @chatterboxfilm
