'The Adam Project' Reviews Are In: ‘Pretty Satisfying Popcorn Fare’

On Friday, “The Adam Project” finally became available to stream on Netflix.

“Deadpool” star Ryan Reynolds has been hyping the movies for weeks and has also seemingly coerced “The Greatest Showman” star Hugh Jackman to record a glowing review.

The teaser opens on a 12-year-old boy named Adam, played by Walker Scobell. He’s struggling with the loss of his father (Mark Ruffalo) and getting into trouble at school, which is causing his mother (Jennifer Garner) a great deal of concern.

One night, a strange man (Ryan Reynolds) enters his house. He knows his way around the house, he has the same scar, and he’s wearing his late father’s watch. Adam quickly realizes that he is talking to himself… from the future.

Reynolds explains to his younger self that “This world, our world, everything has already been changed” and they need to team up to “put the genie back in the bottle.”

The film is directed by Shawn Levy, who also directed Reynolds’ 2021 comedy “Free Guy.” The script was written by Jonathan Tropper, T.S. Nowlin, Jennifer Flackett, and Mark Levin.

At the time of this writing, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 69% fresh rating with an audience score of 81%, although these scores will likely fluctuate in the coming days as more people view the film.

Tara Brady of the Irish Times called the film “the kind of post-Goonies family-oriented schmaltz that plays very well on Netflix (see all of Stranger Things, a show sometimes directed by Levy) and not so well in cinemas.” Brady gave the film 3 out of 4 stars.

Linda Marric of The Jewish Chronicle wrote, “The Adam Project manages to showcase some great performances from all involved, even if in the end they are let down by a decidedly unimaginative premise and some rather lackluster action set pieces.” Marric gave the film 3 out of  5 stars.

Peter Travers of ABC News wrote, “Ryan Reynolds leads an A-list cast in this Back to the Future nostalgia trip that coasts down well-worn roads instead of paving new ones with fresh imagination. But there is still fun to be this cynicism-free throwback to 80s family entertainment.”

Lindsey Bahr of the Associated Press wrote, “It’s pretty satisfying popcorn fare with some genuinely affecting beats. All that’s missing is some Harry Chapin.” Bahr gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars.

Randy Myers of San Jose Mercury News wrote, “The special effects and action set pieces are impressive and the story is simply sweet, swift and sincere.” Myers gave the film 3 out of 4 stars.

Richard Roeper of Chicago Sun-Times wrote, “With echoes of ‘Back to the Future,’ ‘The Terminator’ and even a little of ‘Heaven Can Wait,’ this is a consistently entertaining comedy-actioner with a lot of heart — and the perfect ending. Roeper gave the film 3 out of 4 stars.

Bilge Ebiri of Vulture called the film “an assemblage of ideas from other popular films that just hangs there with little cohesion. It’s like watching a movie that hasn’t been made yet.”

Brent Simon of AV Club wrote, “With an overworked script that checks boxes rather than delivers compelling characters, this effort lands as perfectly bland.” Simon gave the film a C- grade.

James Berardinelli of ReelViews wrote, “The premise is intriguing and the cast is top-notch but, taken as a whole, The Adam Project comes up short.” He gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars.

Scott Tobias of The Reveal wrote, “The Adam Project is what happens when you wish on a cursed monkeys paw that Hollywood would make more original movies.” Tobias only gave the film .5 out of 5 stars.

David Fear of Rolling Stone wrote, “You’ll see it, possibly enjoy it, and then require your own future self to travel back, many years (or possibly even hours) from the future, and remind you that you’ve already watched it.”

It seems that “The Adam Project” failed to wow a considerable number of critics, but for fans of Ryan Reynolds, the movie might be worth a watch. “The Adam Project” is currently available for streaming on Netflix.