16 Mar The Adam Project Review

THE ADAM PROJECT

dir. Shawn Levy, starring Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, and Catherine Keener

The Adam Project, Netflix’s latest sci-fi offering follows a pilot from a dystopian future who travels back in time and teams up with his younger self to find his missing time travelling wife, while also correcting the mistakes of the past to help create a better future.

Starring Ryan Reynolds in his twentieth or so movie playing the fast talking, sardonic smart guy, The Adam Project sees the veteran actor at ease in the lane he’s carved out for himself. A lane that could’ve once been occupied by Kevin Smith’s Jason Lee, Reynolds appeared fully formed on the set of Van Wilder in 2002 and for the last two decades has continually provided variations of the same character. While that could lead some to the (arguably justifiable) criticisms of Reynolds rarely stepping out of his comfort zone to try new things, it also can’t be denied that he’s played this role incredibly well. Some of the criticisms of Reynolds starring in just another Deadpool or Red Notice levied against The Adam Project may be well deserved, but there’s a harder edge to his jokes in this film. While a good number of them are being tossed out in Reynolds’ usual flippant manner and rapid fire, there’s a bite to some of them, an angry bitterness not always present in his other films. A good chunk of that speaks to the circumstances Adam’s grown up in and the pain he’s carried with him for years; part of it is due to being reminded of that pain when he crosses paths with his younger self. In these instances, the failed attempts to fully hide his pain makes Reynolds’ performance just slightly different than his usual I’m-the-funniest-guy-in-the-room-and-I-know-it performances.

Co-starring Walker Scobell as the younger version of Adam, the actor is the perfect choice to play a younger version of Reynolds. Doling out careless one liners that usually land him in more hot water than anything else, Young Adam is the heart and soul of the movie and Scobell manages to give a performance that makes him at times sweet and incredibly likeable and at other times frustratingly smug. Scobell’s line deliveries are top notch; the young actor’s confidence that he can do Ryan Reynolds just as good as Ryan Reynolds (and at times he does) gives the character a sense of false bravado that’s also mirrored in Older Adam. While his best scenes are with Reynolds, Scobell also has good chemistry with his mom Ellie Reed, played by Jennifer Garner. Garner doesn’t get much screen time in the movie, but what little she has, she manages to squeeze every bit of. Garner, possibly Hollywood’s steadiest actress (she appeared in five films in 1997 and has been in at least 1 movie almost every year since 2000, while also holding down the lead role on a television show for five years), conveys the awful loneliness and obstacles of being a single parent and the frustration of having to attempt dating in the new age. With just a few scenes, including a stellar scene with Reynolds, Garner steals the spotlight at every chance.

The least served actors are Catherine Keener and Mark Ruffalo. While Ruffalo gets a little more screen time than Jennifer Garner, his appearance late in the second act of the film serves to help propel the story to its foreseeable conclusion. Ruffalo does what he does best: brings a warmth, humanity, and a good helping of neurosis to his character. While some parts don’t work as well (his initial meeting with the Adams, for example), his final scenes are handled with enough care to make even the most cynical of Ryan Reynolds critics soften a bit. Catherine Keener’s Maya Sorian, business partner to Ruffalo’s Louis Reed, is the worst served here. As the antagonist of the film with nothing more than the paper-thin motivation of greed and hunger for power and influence, not only does Keener have little to work with in terms of writing or character development, she also has relatively little screen time, appearing sporadically throughout the movie until her big splash in the third act. Unfortunately, with the level of skill and acumen we’ve seen Keener demonstrate in previous films, it’s easy to see that there’s no actress who could provide Maya Sorian with any real depth or facets.

Zoe Saldana is also in this movie.

Directed by Shawn Levy, The Adam Project is he and Ryan Reynolds’ second collaboration with a third one recently announced. Known mostly for his Night at the Museum trilogy, Levy has spent the last two decades honing his craft directing comedies and this film is another good addition to his resume. Levy’s directing, combined with Reynolds’ penchant for excellent comedic timing are a potent combination, with Levy’s blending of character work and action delivering a fine film that doesn’t dare to ask too many questions. Fun is the name of the game in this movie and if there’s one thing that Levy is up to the task of, it’s delivering a project that’s sure to entertain. While some of the effects shots don’t hold up as one would expect in 2022 (the de-aged version of Catherine Keener, just as bad here as it was when Netflix deployed it on Robert DeNiro in The Irishman), the mid budget affair is still one that delivers an interesting message: faced with an equally quippy younger version of himself, even Ryan Reynolds can get tired of the Ryan Reynolds shtick.

Overall, The Adam Project (a movie likely to fade into obscurity due to Netflix’s relentless release strategy) makes for a good bit of enjoyment while the audience is in the moment. A great way to spend a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, the sci-fi elements invoke some mildly interesting visuals and the story itself is a simple one to follow. Has Ryan Reynolds’ initial appeal of overly sarcastic, quick witted jokesters worn thin? Certainly. But still, here that trademark caustic wit is deployed to deflect rather than amuse, a facet of Reynolds’ career we rarely see. His chemistry with co-star Walker Scobell is the highlight of the film; the Adams bounce off each other with a charm that seems natural and relaxed. With a scant 106 minute runtime, the film is science fiction meant to distract and entertain, rather than sci-fi used to hold up a mirror to contemporary society. The Adam Project is currently streaming on Netflix.

Review by Darryl Mansel