With its glitzy cast and familiar premise, Netflix’s The Adam Project has seemingly delivered on its promise of delivering pure, unfiltered nostalgia for kids who grew up on Spielberg magic.
The film sees lead star Ryan Reynolds reuniting with Free Guy director Shawn Levy for a time travel adventure with a charming storyline. Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, newcomer Walker Scobell, Catherine Keener and Zoe Saldaña pack the sci-fi flcik with plenty of star power.
Kicking off the glowing reception is Mama’s Geeky, which dubbed The Adam Project “a damn near perfect movie,” adding that it was “easily the best film of the year so far, packed with action, heart, comedy, nostalgia, and multiple incredible acting performances.” In the film, Reynolds plays Adam Reed, a time-traveling pilot who reconnects with his father and younger self to save a love interest.
Rotten Tomatoes approved critic Courtney Howard gave the movie a 3.5 out of 5 rating on FreshFiction despite its “rocky, questionable start.” Highlighting the heavy emotional work beneath the high-concept cinematography in this “endearing sci-fi adventure”, Howard wrote:
“Still, much of this film’s magic survives on the interplay between Reynolds and Scobell. They’ve got excellent chemistry, bickering and bantering. Their dynamic is funny, sweet and super charming. Scobell nails Reynolds’ practically patented snark with assured wisdom and wit. Not only does Reynolds have the comedic timing down, he shows us a few new shades, coloring the complexities of his character’s buried facets with nuance and an authentic sense of vulnerability we don’t often get to see from him.”
Writing for Variety, Owen Gleiberman offered up another glowing review of the new flick (particularly the “action scenes choreographed to classic rock”), describing it as “the kind of time-travel movie that spins your head until it turns your head to mush.”
“The Adam Project is the definition of trivial, and on the small screen it overstays its welcome by about 15 minutes, but it’s a brashly likable piece of antic high-powered fluff. Here’s my own leap into the future: As a team, Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy are going to make much better movies than this one, but you can feel the tastiness of their combo even in “The Adam Project.”
Folks looking to see The Adam Project for themselves starting tomorrow, March 11, when it will be available to all Netflix subscribers.