"The Adam Project" (2022)

“The Adam Project” is an amalgamation of sci-fi blockbuster cinema, crafted for the versatility and adaptability of a streaming release. The film tackles action, checks off a car chase, and handles the balance between an other-worldly hero with that of the sci-fi everyman. The film’s humanist take of the commodification of time travel works well in a plot grounded by the importance of family. “The Adam Project” breaks the longstanding sci-fi rule of time travel: don’t engage with yourself. Asking, what would happen if that rule was broken? “The Adam Project” explores what such consequences mean for time, history, and family.

In “The Adam Project,” not only does Adam’s time travel lead him to himself, but it also leads him to his younger self. Ryan Reynolds is a natural choice in casting to bring levity and emotion to an otherwise gimmicky plot. Although clever and based on clear knowledge of cinema, something about Reynold’s humor does sometimes ring with the essence of a pre-teen. Perhaps this is also why pre-teens gravitate toward his robust blend of dad and juvenile humor. The trope of meeting and saving the world with your younger self doesn’t work onscreen without finding the perfect counterpart to the leading man. How did director Shawn Levy choose such an actor? Well, you choose one that knows “Deadpool” by heart and can improvise off of it on the fly.

Enter, Walker Scobell. Reynolds and Scobell play off each other, carefully delivering the younger brother-older brother therapy needed to put them on better paths in their own lives. If you’ve ever meditated on what you’d say to your younger self and what they’d say to you, “The Adam Project” tackles this dichotomy in subtle, touching fashion – backdropped by the destruction of time travel.

The wholesome and robust cast rounding out “The Adam Project,” including Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, and Catherine Keener, create a strong base for the film.

Making a film takes a lot of work from many very talented and knowledgeable individuals. However, when you assemble a cast of already in-demand and widely recognizable actors, their clout will inevitably hold a film. That’s what good actors do; that’s their job. Plus, it really helps when you’ve seen them do the same thing before. Zoe Saldana plays a tactile warrior caught in a love plot with the main character. Mark Ruffalo plays a high-level scientist responsible for creating time travel. Jennifer Garner plays a wholesome, emotionally available one-step-from-loosing-it Mom. I mean, it’s a pretty type-casted ensemble, in addition to Ryan Reynolds as a witty action star, which doesn’t ask the audience to reach too far into their subconscious to make parallels.

Still, director Shawn Levy of “Night at The Museum” and, more recently, “Free Guy” success crafts an exciting, emotional, poignant, suspenseful movie. Because it is another time travel movie with a pre-teen-based plot and type-casted ensemble, “The Adam Project” would not do nearly as well with audiences in a theatrical release. Due to its recognizable cast, spin on a classic sci-fi trope, and accessibility of screening via Netflix, “The Adam Project” is worth a watch and a rewatch, with family or friends in the comfort of your own home.