A time-traveling pilot teams up with his younger self and his late father to come to terms with his past while saving the future.
Chuck says:
Pam says
“The Adam Project” stars Ryan Reynolds as his typical snarky self, but this time he’s from the future, visiting his younger self in an attempt to stop his father from bringing time travel into reality. This younger version of Adam played by Walker Scobell, nails the fast-talking, barb-coated witty personality of his older version with absolute skill and while this is entertaining, the script begins to slowly disintegrate, much like the worm hole Big Adam traveled through, making this a film that will appeal primarily to the younger set.
Big Adam (Reynolds), confronts his 12 year old self one pivotal night as Mom (Jennifer Garner) is out on a first date since her hubby passed away in an accident. Trying to make sense of his miscalculations, Big Adam talks Young Adam into going on an adventure through time to see Dad (Mark Ruffalo) and convince him to stop his research in time travel through space.
There are plenty of laughs along the way as the writing crew comprised of Jonathan Tropper, T.S. Nowlin, Jennifer Flackett, and Mark Levin allow their character to answer the question, “What would you tell your younger self?” From how to handle bullying to treating mom better, the two have sarcastic yet sweet conversations about life itself and what the future holds. Young Adam, of course, is quite intrigued by the physique he eventually attains, adding yet another dollop of comedy to the interactions.
Unfortunately, as the movie bores its way to the core, we lose that banter and we see it become a typical good guys vs the bad guys movie complete with the epitome of evil, Maya Sorian, played by Catherine Keener. The story becomes repetitive, predictable, and loses the magic with which it began as it meanders into territory that isn’t necessary.
While Ryan continues to hone his razor-sharp wit, that too becomes expected, plunging into background noise that we begin to ignore. There are some intriguing sidelines this story takes, but just doesn’t spend enough time with them such as Big Adam chatting with his mother briefly or when Young Adam experiences his father’s love and humor again; something lost in his current life.
“The Adam Project” is a traditional story of the kid is smarter and wiser than the adults. Young Adam is our main subject and our hero which makes it a lot of fun for the youngsters (13 and over) to watch, but if you’re expecting it to be entertaining for adults as well, you’re going to be disappointed.
2 Stars
