The Adam Project review: Ryan Reynolds' emotional time-travelling film lacks punch

3/5

To come to terms with his past while rescuing the future, a time-travelling pilot (Ryan Reynolds) partners up with his younger self (Walker Scobell) and his late father (Mark Ruffalo).

When Shawn Levy offers you Stranger Things and Free Guy in consecutive years, you expect his next outing to be as explosive as these titles. The filmmaker tempted the cinephiles with a meaty cast, including Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, and Zoe Saldana. But has The Adam Project created the impact it was "supposed" to have? My answer would be...

After Levy's Free Guy and Netflix's Red Notice, Reynolds has come back as a time-travelling pilot who crash-lands in his past, which is situated in 2022. Knowingly or unknowingly, he meets up with his 12-year-old self (Walker Scobell) only to create a mission to save the future.

Writers Jonathan Tropper, T.S. Nowlin, Jennifer Flackett, and Mark Levin have taken cues from all the futuristic films, namely Back to the Future (1985) and also Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), to create this slightly impactful yet little entertaining The Adam Project.

Thank God for the limited runtime, so the film's mid-drop into a snoozefest doesn't last for a long time. Reynolds' quirks and equally getting it from his younger self, surely will leave you in splits. But don't expect a Free Guy level of humour that makes your chairs shake as you are dying laughing.

The Adam Project is higher on the emotional quotient as it's mostly about the father-son relationship. Another commonality in Hollywood films is the "daddy" issues and thickening of the screenplay. However, it's not lost in translation, as the makers put it most simply, and might make you grab tissues during some emotional sequences.

Before getting the "father" problems into the picture (well, the discussion keeps on happening), it's the banter between Reynolds and Scobell that is the show-stealer. The young actor is so similar to the Deadpool star that it might freak you out in some instances.

The film has got that part right in casting Scobell and, of course, making the rom-com fanatics go weak in the knees by getting the 13 Going On 30 duo of Ruffalo and Garner back on the screen. However, it's a major disappointment that there are hardly any sequences between the two actors and it will leave you wanting more.

But The Adam Project has established that it's a sci-fi film dealing with childhood abandonment issues, talking about saving the future and also about some off-shore accounts. Well, it might ring a bell with the Panama leaks.

The film brings out the best of the performances, especially by Reynolds, who doesn't get jumpy and is limited to his smugness, unlike his last outings, namely Red Notice and Free Guy. The actor is entertaining to the core, needless to say.

So is Ruffalo in his limited role. The actor is just so squishy and, to be honest, nobody could have played the better onscreen father to Reynolds than him. Their one sequence is beautifully uncomfortable and it's made to feel so. Also with Garner, she will always be a treat to watch and her sequences are soothing visually.

Saldana as Reynolds' onscreen wife is just another chapter of her MCU character Gamora, with which she once again proves that there isn't anyone as badass as her.

The Adam Project has time-travelling as an undertone, as it's the tagline "it's all about loving your parents" that overpowers it most sweetly. The film promises to be an out-and-out entertainer, but it seemed like an unfulfilled one to me.

Levy's works are high on emotions, but it's a perfect amalgamation of action and comedy. Although all three aspects are present in The Adam Project, it lacks the punch it was supposed to have.

The Adam Project can be called a perfect casting coup with a forgettable story and incredible performances.