‘The Adam Project,’ which was released on March 11th, is a science-fiction-based movie focusing on time travel and ultimately going back to make sure it was never invented. The movie is currently number one on Netflix and deservingly so. The movie features a star-studded cast, profound action, and a fascinating concept to tie it all together. The overlying themes that come to the surface shed light on family, love, loss, and putting yourself first, which is an underlying tone throughout all the action and future characters meeting their old selves. The film features Ryan Reynolds (Old Adam Reed), Walker Scobell (Young Adam Reed), Mark Ruffalo (Louis Reed), and Jennifer Garner (Ellie Reed). Ryan Reynolds is playing his usual sarcastic yet charming self, while his relationship with his former self is only so dynamic due to Walkers’ acting skills where his charm and wittiness, which both he and his older self share, are put on display. It is definitely a duo that leads to a lot of laughs and a lot of action.

Time travel movies can often become chaotic and confusing, but this film did a great job not only to clarify any confusion but keep the setting simplistic and not jump all over to different time periods and timelines. There are only three years the film focuses on, and one of them isn’t even shown, just used as a reference. This makes it really easy to follow all the actions occurring and isolate the protagonist’s and antagonist’s path to each other and what they are after. The main two years in which the film focuses are 2022 and 2018. This simplistic approach to time travel allowed for the majority of the movie to be in our present time and highlighted how much the world changes in the next 30 years. This also leads to less scientific talk and more time spent following Old Adam on his journey with young Adam. Any science discussed in the movie was mostly between Old and young Adam, which allowed for the explanations of the timelines to be understood by anyone, and they didn’t overcomplicate any explanations.

Although the story’s time-traveling and science fiction parts are fascinating, the film’s true beauty is in its plot and the underlying points that bring the movie together. There is not much context upon Old Adam’s original arrival, and this is strategic as we see the details unfold throughout the movie without having too much prior information. Walker Scobell does an absolutely amazing job in the film, creating a hysterical duo with his older self. He and Reynolds do a great job of playing off each other, mimicking speech and actions with one another, and combining memories to better themselves. There is also a plentitude of plot points, which, although minor, ultimately complete the themes and tone of the movie.

One of the most interesting concepts within the movie is a future and past self meeting and the differences in emotions and memories they protrude. However, the same person, the wisdom, and heightened emotions are different due to the relativity of the events and the age gap within the Adams. The younger Adam has been without his dad for over a week, while the older Adam has been without him for over thirty years. The older Adam also views his relationship with his mother differently, while the younger Adam refuses to see the same perspective at first simply because he doesn’t know any better. The conversations between the two Adams are deep and fulfilling and touch a lot upon grieving and how “anger is mistaken for sadness.” Due to the fact that they have different current perspectives, they make each other realize what the older self wishes he has done better and vice versa to make them happier in the long run. Once they go back in time and meet their father, they have more dialect in which the audience hears about the different sides to grieving and how powerful memories are. Lastly, the film touches upon fate and destiny with a love story involving Adam and how their father didn’t want to know when or how he died. The themes and messages presented in the dialect made the film just that much stronger and more enjoyable to watch. It definitely tugs at the heartstrings.

Verdict: 5/5

This film indeed features it all. From a loaded cast, a fantastic and interesting plot, to the tears shed at the end; there is no dull moment. The action is intense, and the characters are enjoyable to watch. It is funny without trying and should be a top film on Netflix for a while.