Always on the lookout for the next great genre production, I checked out the most recent Netflix movie I have been hearing about yesterday evening. I wasn’t expecting the next truly great sci-fi movie to come down the pipeline, considering the source, but you never know, and some of the productions coming from Netflix have been right on the money. The Adam Project turned out to be pretty much what I expected, another better-than-average, slick, modern thriller hung on a sci-fi premise. There’s been no lack of films like these for a while now. With themes of redemption and second chances, this is a good and enjoyable one.
In this case, that premise turned out to be time travel. Time travel stories are tricky to get right, and sometimes have glaring plot holes and/or contradictory elements that are difficult to reconcile. When faced with a story involving time travel, I have gotten in the habit of turning off that part of my brain that searches for storyline sticking points, and just try to enjoy the ride. In this case that did not prove necessary, because the time travel story employed in this film’s narrative is a pretty straightforward one. This is a story with some humor, a lot of heart, and Spielbergian touches that give the story some sentimentality. The Adam Project is a film that can be appreciated by a younger audience as well as an older one. This is not a great masterpiece of genre writing but tells a fast-paced, entertaining story, that results in a fairly enjoyable slick production made for modern sensibilities.
Not familiar with this title? The Adam Project is a 2022 American science fiction action film directed by Shawn Levy from a screenplay written by Jonathan Tropper, T.S. Nowlin, Jennifer Flackett, and Mark Levin. It stars Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, Walker Scobell, Catherine Keener, and Zoe Saldaña. The plot follows a pilot who goes back in time and encounters his younger self. The two develop a unique symbiotic relationship as the story develops.
Production quality is good as one would expect from a slick Netflix creation, with some CGI used, of course, to depict the film’s more fantastical elements., such as spaceship/jets, weapons, and some robots. The small ensemble cast was, for me, very enjoyable all around. It was a pleasant surprise for me to see Jennifer Garner back to work after not seeing her for a long time, and I am a fan of nearly everyone in the cast. The kid in this foes a great job too.
It seems a lot of genre fans are looking for serious science fiction to digest these days, but there’s still a lot to be said for a lighter brand of storytelling too, and that’s what The Adam Project is, the cinematic equivalent of light reading. and that’s just what is called for sometimes. Happy viewing.