The Adam Project (2022)

User Review

• 

  d_riptide

  6 / 10

  If Free Guy was pure junk food, then I’m inclined to say “The Adam Project”, through and through, is more or less the same: it’s far from the most nuanced or sensible watch at the end of the day but you will have a fun irreverent time watching it and there’s some value to that.
  
  Shawn Levy continues to cross the line between having the inspirations of his projects as an outline be both a helping and a hinderance. His directing sets the atmosphere and story beats in place but he still can’t shake off the influence of the other movies that inspired this one. He wanted to go for something ambitious and his direction doesn’t become as threadbare as his previous film, but if it walks and quacks like a duck, it’s still a duck. Every cast member is solid per usual but the standouts are a surprisingly lively Mark Ruffalo, Walker Scobell giving the best performance bar none in his film debut and a thankfully branched-out Ryan Reynolds delivering the goods. The banter between the latter two makes the best out of the never-ending quippy one-liners ironic department that litters the rest of the screenplay; most of which actually got chuckles out of me.
  
  Special effects and CGI are strictly PS2, PS3 quality and it actually makes the stale, toyetic production design somehow look even more fabricated. There are some decent locales involved like the Blarney Stone but it’s difficult to feel like we’re actually there in the heat of the moment sometimes. With a fast-moving briskly pace and the type of action orientated flair that is barely held together by some so-so choreography, forgettable music aside, the editing and cinematography are decent enough to hold those up in well regard too.
  
  The story definitely has its heart and intentions set in the right place; sometimes it’s easier to be angry than sad but family provides a child's place in the world and sense of identity. Kids don't need a parent to be perfect; they just need a parent to be there for them.
  
  But unlike Free Guy where the rules it establishes in the beginning of its story are either retconned later or completely forgotten about, it’s more damaging here because it’s FREAKIN’ TIME TRAVEL and that’s a plot device which is VERY easy to mess up; by the time we get to the end, all that narrative potential goes out the window because it simply won’t commit to that particular element all the way, toning down all motives and killing that entire plot line to give us something more action-orientated. I get that that’s the point of all time travel movies to take a risk and more complications as a result but this movie switching up gears halfway through almost tarnished a REALLY solid first act.
  
  A little bit more focus on that could've fixed it but on its own, the way it’s handled here as a device for a more intimate character study is well appreciated and helps give the overarching story another dimension to an already tried-and-tested formula.

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