‘Adam Project’ adds Reynolds’ riffing to kiddie plot

Similar to Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds has become an actor who cranks out similar, vaguely likable, harmless comedies. In fact, “The Adam Project” (Netflix) comes right on the heels of another Shawn Levy-directed sci-fi comedy, “Free Guy” (2021).  

This one isn’t as big or ambitious, nor as good. But it starts with an emotionally appealing time-travel premise. Reynolds, as the Adam from 2050, has cute chemistry with Walker Scobell, the Adam from 2022. Scobell resembles his established co-star and delivers snark with the speaking rhythms and facial expressions we recognize from Reynolds.  

Time after time  

The problem with “The Adam Project” is the plot has been done before, and better, in many other films. In structure, it resembles a genre that’s often simplistic: the children’s film. It’s as if the writers initially penned a kids’ flick, then peppered in lightly suggestive adult humor to seek a wider audience.  

---

---

The plot and emotional stakes resemble “The Terminator.” Because the color palette is vibrant, and because there are tons of CGI action sequences (starting with “space chase, destination wormhole”), and because everyone takes time travel so casually, a viewer might not make the connection.   

This is despite the fact that Big Adam compares his 2050 to the future in “The Terminator.” (Note to tossed-off time-travel flicks: It’s generally not a good idea to encourage viewers to think about better time-travel flicks.)  

Meanwhile, “The Adam Project” doesn’t dig into the world’s problems of 2022 (or 2018, the ultimate time jump destination because of plot reasons). So the occasional hand-wringing about how Big Adam can’t return to his own time is totally out of whack – especially since the love of his life, Laura (Zoe Saldana), has also time-hopped back to 2022.  

Granted, 2022 is a painful time for Young Adam because he has recently lost his dad, Louis (Mark Ruffalo), in a car accident. We get nice domestic scenes between Young Adam and mom Ellie (Jennifer Garner) as the youth struggles with school bullies and they both use defense mechanisms to deal with their grief. Young Adam and his mom live in a nice house, like the type you’d find in a Disney Channel sitcom. Their struggles are sweet and universal, even if their backdrop is prettier than average.   

Fellow travelers  

“The Adam Project” misses a chance to make time-travel fun and/or funny. I kept waiting for a twist that would make it stand out. But it remains a “My First Time-Travel Movie.” Granted, the scheme of future villain Maya (Catherine Keener, for some reason) involves insider trading and easy riches, rather than straightforward world domination, but she’s still just The Bad Guy.  

While “The Adam Project” doesn’t become something special, it is easy to watch. I and my buddy selected it for the 106-minute runtime, a reasonable commitment in this era when almost everything is 3 hours long.  

Reynolds plays himself as usual, but he’s invigorated by acting across from Scobell, and he gets to show off one oddly specific skill: He holds a straight face while making a snoring sound. Ruffalo, Garner and Saldana are pleasant. Each gets a time-travel-triggered scene that flirts with sappiness but dodges it.  

“The Adam Project” has its heart in the right place, keeping the threads about familial and romantic love ahead of the gee-wiz sci-fi. But the two Adams’ forgiveness and appreciation of their past and future selves could’ve been played up more; I think that’s the movie’s missing hook. Consider the two Adams’ encounter with their school bullies. It’s a good scene, but it could’ve been great if we felt catharsis about Adam confronting past troubles from a future perspective.  

When we look back at Reynolds’ catalog in 2050, “The Adam Project” unfortunately will fail to stand out.