I read something in a review or a blurb that suggested this movie was better when it wasn't trying to be scifi and when I watched the first half of this movie I didn't understand but now having seen the back half. That's just the first of things wrong with this movie. I thought the initial time travel and technology from the future weren't bad. Until they get to Act 3 then it gets.... Marvel bad. Like every Marvel movie ends in a CGI fight scene that's always set at night so they can hide how imperfect the CGI is. It's ridiculous and it ruins the best movies like Black Panther and even Wonder Woman. That's utter disappointment you feel when that final fight in the dark comes. That's how I felt at the end of this movie. The third act is a cartoon. I have my issues with Act 1 and 2 but the end of the movie just ups the silly to ridiculous proportions.
The biggest non ending problem in the movie is the child actor. Walker Scobell is a perfectly fine child actor. I'd totally watch him in other movies but whoever wrote his dialog needs to be punched in the mouth. Repeatedly. Then allowed to heal. Then punched in the mouth again. It's AWFUL. This kid talks like he's Ryan Reynolds. It's literally pure Ryan Reynolds sarcasm and swagger but coming out of a preteen. If Ryan Reynolds talked like that he'd be bullied so hard he wouldn't have made it to adulthood. People write children terrible in general but this is one of the worst examples I've ever seen. It's not cute. It's bloody annoying. No kid has the confidence of an adult Ryan Reynolds especially not a bullied kid who gets literally beat up every day at school. At THIRTEEN? it's just stupid. It drags down the entire movie.
That said if they ever do a movie where Ryan Reynolds gets trapped inside the body of a teenager. This kid has his reel already prepped. He would absolutely destroy that role. He'd kill in some sort of Freaky Friday thing.
Anyway, outside of the kid and the constant grating dialog given to him. I was actually having a solid time. It's no blockbuster but it's a solid action movie with a fun cast and decent special effects and a story you can follow with minimal effort. It's a bit overly simplistic. But hey I don't need every time travel movie to be intricate. It is pretty violent though. For such a "fun" escapism movie they certainly do a lot of murder. Like i mean most of the people don't come off as "evil" but there's just so much casual murder. Didn't really seem necessary but it does let them use their fun disappearing body special effects. This just reminds me of the fact that vampires turn to dust in Buffy the Vampire Slayer because it made everything more tidy when dealing with dead bodies.
Ryan Reynolds being Ryan Reynolds again, which if you like that, then you'll probably enjoy this movie. Overall every good vs bad fight was poor. If you're good, all you gotta do is grit your teeth and make a face like you're trying really hard, and you too can do the thing! Cool futuristic gadgets, and the young & old Adam convos were kindof funny. The scene with Laura where she's "prepared for years and they'll never see me coming" was comically terrible. The climactic good vs bad with bullets that get sucked into the... thing (?) because they are metal is also terribly bad. It's not like the bullet wasn't made of metal BEFORE it was fired from the giant metal gun. If you're going to make a sci-fi movie, at least have the sci part SOMEWHAT accurate. Spoilerish but not really The "twist" is seen coming for at least half the movie, so there's not a whole lot of excitement when it actually happens, except that it DOESN'T actually happen, which makes the movie even worse! It was so obvious what they SHOULD have done with the story that would have made the movie so much better, but sadly, even the actual story was poor to meh.
Despite having shades of Back to the Future, The Adam Project finds a way to pave its own path to deliver a fun and heartwarming story about self-forgiveness. The movie starts incredibly strong, introducing the viewer to the main characters. The chemistry between the two actors is fantastic and feels really genuine, creating an instant connection between the two and the audience. Walker Scobell does an excellent job doing his best Ryan Reynolds impersonation, making me really buy into the fact that they are the same character. This pace carries on up until the second act when characters and lore are being thrown at the viewer left and right. This section feels incredibly rushed resulting in the viewer having very little emotional connection with the ideas introduced. Zoe Saldana and Mark Ruffalo do a fantastic job with the limited screen time that they have, it was great seeing them outside of their standard CGI suits (looking at you Marvel). The antagonist wore her welcome towards the end of the film as her antics seemed a little forced. The comedy in this movie was done fairly well. I enjoyed the fast sarcastic nature of the boy and his back and forth with Reynolds, but some jokes did fall flat. But that is par for the course in any comedy. Overall, this film was enjoyable and even though it had its faults I appreciated the concepts it delivered.
Verdict: Good
Review by Paladin5150BlockedParent2022-03-10T05:47:23Z— updated 2022-03-12T01:28:44Z
Ryan Reynolds does his "Ryan Reynolds thing", as a time traveling pilot who over shoots his mark while on a unsanctioned rescue mission, and ends up forgetting every "timey whimey wibbly wobbly" paradox rule, as he and his younger doppelganger try to "correct the timeline", which, according to the butterfly effect and years of Sci Fi scripts, should pretty much nuke the future as they know it.
But, since this is indeed a Ryan Reynolds movie, which automatically precludes any hope of a dark, downer (read: REALISTIC) ending, so, we are instead treated to a happily ever after world where even the bad guys are dispatched sans any blood and guts and are instead decapitated, drawn, quartered, and halved in a 4th of July spray of neon colored unicorn sparkles that dissipate into nothingness.
Not that I'm complaining, because Reynolds' is more than adequate in the titular role, as is newcomer Walker Scobell, as the younger version, although, coming from a pint sized tween, Reynolds trademark quips and comeback lines come off as kind of "smart-aleckey" to the point of being so irritating that you can understand why he is bullied and disliked. Zoe Saldana appears on cue, and adds some heart and soul to the tale
Jennifer Garner is believable as a struggling Mom, and Mark Ruffalo proves he can play Dr. Bruce Banner in something besides a Marvel Universe Movie. Catherine Keener and Alex Malliri Jr. are the perfunctory bad guys, monologuing in all the right places and meeting their perspective destinies as expected.
I liked the movie, and although you have seen most of it before, like I said, it's a Ryan Reynolds affair, and, as such, is a splendid way to spend a couple of hours on an afternoon or evening.