Netflix’s “The Adam Project” is a perfectly good movie that you probably won’t remember watching. As with anything that stays on the top of Netflix’s Top 10 charts for a period of days, you will eventually find yourself watching a family-friendly science fiction movie jam-packed with stars like Ryan Reynolds, Zoe Saldana, Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner.  

A science-heavy exploration of time travel may be the driving force of this somewhat predictable movie, but it’s the simplistic plot and characters that turn it into an enjoyable time. “The Adam Project” is a straightforward story obviously influenced by mainstream geek culture. It’s designed to be a perfect vessel for a young audience where they really don’t have to think about the logistics of impossible scientific gobbledegook.  

Instead, the film focuses on Ryan Reynolds crashing a time machine in 2022 where he meets a younger version of himself, played by Walker Scobell. He is a wisecracking kid named Adam who is troubled after losing his father a few years prior. The two are forced to team up to save both Reynolds’ wife who has gone missing (Zoe Saldana) and hopefully prevent their father from inventing time travel in the first place, so it won’t lead to a dystopian future in 2050.  

Everything about the film felt urgent as if someone had their finger pressed down on the fast forward button. Most characters exist to fill in the plot and quickly drive the story forward. At a one-hour and 45-minute runtime, there isn’t much time for a break as this film moves at breakneck speed.  The script is a bit muddled at times but Ryan Reynolds has met his match, literally, in young actor Walker Scobell. He plays the 12-year-old version of Reynold’s character and matches his senior in comic charm and timing. The interactions between the two actors make up the majority of the movie and both have such good chemistry that you could almost say that they are identical.  

The rest of the story is filled with misplaced humor with jokes that don’t land since as there are too many one-liners to even count and a slightly awkward pause every actor has before delivering their line believing it’s going to be funny. It’s not just all comedy though, and there are some genuinely moving moments with the dad and mom played by Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner respectively. Likewise, Zoe Saldana gives a solid performance despite her appearance being brief. The action sequences were exciting and suspenseful. However, the CGI is quite bad, and there are a lot of very noticeable green screens. For some reason, they also don’t use actual explosions but CGI explosions which just look cheap. A major misstep in this movie is the lack of creativity. Despite that Director Shawn Levy uses his assured touch to keep every moment fun. “The Adam Project”  is an ideal opportunity for the whole family to enjoy an amusing sci-fi adventure that you’ll forget by morning.