Posted at 10:30 a.m.
Teaming up again immediately after discovering a professional complicity thanks to Free GuyRyan Reynolds and Shawn Levy offer a comedy adventure whose manner recalls the popular films produced by major studios during the 1980s. Set somewhere between Back to the Future and Field of Dreams, The Adam Project fully accepts its influences. And is the kind of entertainment that can resonate with audiences of all ages, a mission that is increasingly difficult to achieve in the current context.
Even though his new feature film is produced by an online broadcaster and intended to be seen on a platform, Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum, This Is Where I Leave You) has obviously not skimped on the means or on its ambitions. The special effects are top notch. And support a narrative focused primarily on family relationships, especially those that we would sometimes like to redefine.
The screenplay, which also bears the signature of Jonathan Tropper (This Is Where I Leave You, kodachrome), explores this universal fantasy, which consists of being able to revisit the past to better redo things that, over the years, have taken the form of small or large regrets. With, even, this possibility of meeting a younger version of oneself.
In a good-natured tone, and always keeping in mind a desire for adventure, The Adam Project manages to strike a more sensitive chord. Played by Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo, who we haven’t seen together on screen since 13 Going on 30, Adam’s parents thus become the vectors of this dive in time. Ryan Reynolds and Walker Scobell, who also play the same character (one at 40, the other at 12), also form a good tandem in this story which also relies on a feeling of nostalgia.
Obviously, no one will shout at the masterpiece, but for entertainment, The Adam Project (Adam through time in French version) fulfills the objective it has set itself, which is to please the whole family.
Available exclusively on Netflix
adventure comedy
The Adam Project
(VF: Adam through time)
Shawn Levy
With Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner
1:46