Since the dawn of Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds’ production company Maximum Effort has been making movies, TV series, content, ads, and cocktails for his own personal amusement, occasionally releasing them to the general public to great acclaim. Previously constrained to teasing Hugh Jackman and trying to sell Aviation Gin, Reynolds recently branched out with Free Guy, and is now teaming up once again with Free Guy director Shawn Levy for another original sci-fi movie, The Adam Project.
Adam (Walker Scobell) is struggling to navigate high school. Cursed with a quick wit and a big mouth, he’s frequently fighting bullies and battles he can’t win. Following yet another trip to the principal’s office, a bloody-nosed Adam finally meets his verbal match when he finds an injured fighter pilot (Ryan Reynolds) in the woods. Not only does the downed hero seem to have intimate knowledge of Adam’s life and Adam’s fridge but it turns out he’s also called Adam!
Big Adam (as he’s credited) is not just a hot shot fly boy wandered over from Top Gun, he’s a time travelling pilot from the future, racing against both time and a bullet wound to get back home to his wife. Pursued by an oddly intimidating Catherine Keener, the Adams must team up to find the one man who might be able to save the day – the scientist who invented time travel in the first place.
The Adam Project is a collection of well-crafted movie beats, and while the emotional barbs sting and the action scenes pop, the story is a little too overcrowded to allow space for an anchoring through-line to tie it all together. There is also the criminal underuse of Zoe Saldana and some distracting clunky CGI compositing which detract from what is an otherwise enjoyable heart-warming sci-fi adventure romp.
Thankfully, familial relationships are sensitively dealt with by the return of 13 Going On 30 power couple, Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner, while Walker Scobell competes toe-to-toe with Reynolds for most-charming asshole award.
A bombastic nostalgic overload of heart and fun, The Adam Project brings us a completely original sci-fi adventure by way of honouring all those PG-rated adventures that came before it. Back to the Future and Flight of the Navigator are combined to provide a coming-of-age story for a new generation.
The Adam Project lands on Netflix this 11 March.
