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The Adam Project
Mix Star Wars with the 1978 Superman, The Terminator, and add just a dash of Back to the Future and you have a deft and ambitious sci-fi adventure from Netflix called The Adam Project, that, despite all the cinematic pyrotechnics, finds a heart through some flawed and vividly human characters.
The 2022 film stars Hollywood's busiest actor right now, Ryan Reynolds, as Adam Reed, a fighter pilot from the year 2050, who has stolen a spaceship to embark on a mission, taking him back to the year 2018, in order to save his late wife and all of civilization by stopping the invention of time travel. Adam is shot during his escape, throwing his ship off course, landing him in the year 2022 near the home of himself when he was 12 years old. Adam is disturbed at having to look at his 12 year old nerd life and 12 year old Adam is fascinated by the chiseled futuristic hero he has become, but adult Adam must trust 12 year old Adam because it is going to take them working together to complete the mission, which boils down to the Adams finding their father (Mark Ruffalo), who died a year and a half before we meet young Adam and apparently was behind the invention of time travel.
The idea at the heart of this film is so fascinating...the idea of an adult revisiting his childhood or a child getting a glimpse at his adult life. Remember in the 1978 film Superman when Superman saved Lois Lane's life by turning back time? That concept is revisited here as it becomes clear that adult Adam cannot change his childhood, beautifully evidenced in a scene where young Adam gets bullied in adult Adam's presence but adult Adam forces him to fight for himself, as much as it hurts. He knows that everything he is now is because of everything he experienced as a child. Also loved the scene where adult Adam encounters his mother (Jennifer Garner) in a bar.
The story gets another interesting layer when the Adams find their father, who immediately figures out what is going on and is wracked with guilt about it. As the father and sons begin to battle the 2050 villains, where another familial is revealed, the film's straight shift to pure sci-fi battle, they almost lose us, but the smoothly detailed denoument leads to a lovely and believable conclusion.
Director Shawn Levy (Arrival) puts equal detail into first rate production values and crafting likable heroes and hissable villains. Reynolds; adult Adam is a perfect melding of Hans Solo and John McClain and Walker Scobell is totally winning as young Adam. The film provides solid action sequences and vividly human characters, but I wish a little more focus had been on these terrific characters, especially the two Adams.
Mix Star Wars with the 1978 Superman, The Terminator, and add just a dash of Back to the Future and you have a deft and ambitious sci-fi adventure from Netflix called The Adam Project, that, despite all the cinematic pyrotechnics, finds a heart through some flawed and vividly human characters.
The 2022 film stars Hollywood's busiest actor right now, Ryan Reynolds, as Adam Reed, a fighter pilot from the year 2050, who has stolen a spaceship to embark on a mission, taking him back to the year 2018, in order to save his late wife and all of civilization by stopping the invention of time travel. Adam is shot during his escape, throwing his ship off course, landing him in the year 2022 near the home of himself when he was 12 years old. Adam is disturbed at having to look at his 12 year old nerd life and 12 year old Adam is fascinated by the chiseled futuristic hero he has become, but adult Adam must trust 12 year old Adam because it is going to take them working together to complete the mission, which boils down to the Adams finding their father (Mark Ruffalo), who died a year and a half before we meet young Adam and apparently was behind the invention of time travel.
The idea at the heart of this film is so fascinating...the idea of an adult revisiting his childhood or a child getting a glimpse at his adult life. Remember in the 1978 film Superman when Superman saved Lois Lane's life by turning back time? That concept is revisited here as it becomes clear that adult Adam cannot change his childhood, beautifully evidenced in a scene where young Adam gets bullied in adult Adam's presence but adult Adam forces him to fight for himself, as much as it hurts. He knows that everything he is now is because of everything he experienced as a child. Also loved the scene where adult Adam encounters his mother (Jennifer Garner) in a bar.
The story gets another interesting layer when the Adams find their father, who immediately figures out what is going on and is wracked with guilt about it. As the father and sons begin to battle the 2050 villains, where another familial is revealed, the film's straight shift to pure sci-fi battle, they almost lose us, but the smoothly detailed denoument leads to a lovely and believable conclusion.
Director Shawn Levy (Arrival) puts equal detail into first rate production values and crafting likable heroes and hissable villains. Reynolds; adult Adam is a perfect melding of Hans Solo and John McClain and Walker Scobell is totally winning as young Adam. The film provides solid action sequences and vividly human characters, but I wish a little more focus had been on these terrific characters, especially the two Adams.