Ryan Reynolds continues to dominate Netflix’s lineup. After 6 Underground and Red Notice, the actor leads a new time travel action film, The Adam Project. Before its release, the project drew attention as a dark horse, with the streaming service investing heavily in promotion yet not fully converting that buzz into undeniable success. The reviewer has had access to an early look and offers impressions based on that viewing.
What is Project Adam about?
Adam Reid operates as a time travel pilot, fleeing from a grim 2050 and landing in 2022. In the past, a younger version of himself meets a guide who explains the mission: locate a mysteriously missing wife. The protagonist becomes two versions of the same person in one story, forced to untangle elements of the past while confronting a broader conspiracy and the personal loss of a father who died in an accident.
The film presents a restrained tone for a Netflix feature. It avoids grand twists or ostentatious intrigue. A villain’s motives echo familiar beats from classic time-travel cinema, riffing off familiar public domain ideas. With a runtime just under two hours, the pacing keeps characters moving rather than dwelling on exposition.
Surprisingly, the Reynolds-led project evolves beyond simply a Deadpool-like persona. The director, who previously collaborated with the star on Free Guy, demonstrates a knack for blending light humor with a dense web of cultural references and weightier dramatic threads. In The Adam Project, that balance lands successfully.
Humor lands with precision—thanks to deliberate, non-crass jokes placed where they land. Action scenes transition smoothly into moments of philosophical reflection on the butterfly effect, while personal stakes give the narrative a grounded texture that keeps it from becoming a purely gimmick-driven ride.
The film’s take on temporal movement stands out. A seasoned viewer would expect two identical versions of a character to avoid crossing paths, yet this story breaks that convention from the start. It’s refreshing that the movie lays out why no catastrophe ensues, an idea not often explored in similar works, which lends the premise a fresh feel.
Characters and actors
The chemistry among the leads is a standout. Adam’s portrayal across different eras is handled deftly, with Reynolds delivering a performance that straddles stubborn resolve and quiet sorrow. The portrayal suits the actor, merging the bravado associated with a well-known persona with a tempered, more reflective side of a father who has endured loss.
Walker Scobell, as the younger Adam, brings a convincing blend of youthful naiveté and the gravity of a person shaped by tragedy. In many productions, young actors can become sources of distraction; here, the balance keeps the central partnership engaging and credible as it evolves in tandem with the older version of the character.
Reynolds’s ability to align the energy of the younger and older Adams helps the performance feel cohesive rather than fragmentary. The two versions grow in complementary directions, sharing a thread of common concerns, and allowing the character to wrestle with the same questions from different angles.
Supporting performances contribute to the film’s resonance. The older father figure is portrayed with tenderness and nuance, emphasizing the father-son dynamic over high-octane action. This focus deepens the emotional impact and provides a strong through-line for the narrative. The character of the antagonist is presented clearly, though without the same emotional intensity, functioning to drive the plot forward rather than to dominate the emotional landscape.
Zoe Saldana-Perego appears in a meaningful, if not expansive, role. Her presence adds polish to the ensemble and contributes to the film’s overall high level of performance, even as the character’s screen time is limited. Mark Ruffalo’s turn as Father Adam rounds out a strong cast and reinforces the film’s emphasis on interpersonal connections within a sci-fi framework.
In sum, the cast delivers a Netflix collaboration that feels more ambitious than the average entry in this space. If The Adam Project succeeds, it could pave the way for further collaborations among the ensemble in future, high-concept projects.
Do you like Ryan Reynolds as an actor?
Battles and References
The action is restrained in scale, featuring a handful of combat sequences and a standout aircraft pursuit. The future arsenal includes energy armor, gravity-based grenades, drones, and a collapsible blade reminiscent of a familiar sci-fi weapon styled to look sleek and lethal.
Melee moments are particularly memorable. A prop blade can switch between single and double-edged modes, delivering dynamic choreography that emphasizes acrobatic motion as well as impact. Star Wars-inspired lighting and weapon motifs appear as playful homages, with a distinct blue-purple blade for the hero and a red-edged option for a villain, underscoring the homage without overwhelming the narrative core.
Invisibility remains underutilized, with the protagonist not fully unlocking the ability and adversaries rarely exploiting their positional advantages. The flight sequences are visually polished but not groundbreaking, and the film avoids overloading the audience with spectacle at the expense of character development.
Overall, the action is engaging without feeling forced, and the film uses its references—Star Wars, Marvel, DC, Deadpool, and Back to the Future—with a light touch that rewards attentive viewers without turning into pure fan service.
Problems and Disadvantages
Like many Netflix offerings, The Adam Project has flaws. There are moments where the plot stretches plausibility, and visual effects occasionally reveal limitations. Some antagonists demonstrate a questionable level of competence, which can strain believability for certain viewers.
One subplot involves an unexplained DNA detail tied to a wound, which can feel flimsy without additional context. A notable attempt at de-aging an actress falls short at times, producing uncanny results that can pull the viewer out of the moment. The future world’s inhabitants appear somewhat ordinary beyond the novelty of time travel, with the film leaving broader social changes to the audience’s imagination rather than revealing a fully realized 2050 landscape.
That said, The Adam Project remains a solid entry that can entertain a broad audience. It manages to fuse energetic action with meaningful themes, delivering laughs and thoughtful moments in roughly gelijk measure. For viewers seeking a capable time-travel movie with heart and humor, this Netflix release offers a worthwhile experience worthy of attention.
And this may be one of the last Netflix releases to receive official dubbing, so the chance to experience it in a preferred language track should not be missed.
Are you watching Project Adam?