Time travel does not exist, but if it did, we know, thanks in particular to a myriad of science fiction films, that it would come with a host of rules to follow. One should, for example, avoid coming into contact with oneself. It would also be imperative not to change the past, at the risk of compromising the future. This is the basis. And that’s what the film’s protagonist does from the start. The Adam Project (Adam through time), a pilot from 2050 who visits the pre-teen he was in 2022. The challenge? The future of humanity, more or less.
Directed by Shawn Levy, known for action comedy date night (Bad evening), the family fantasy saga Night at the Museum (A night at the museum) and the paranormal series Stranger Thingsof which he directed many episodes, The Adam Project combines all the fields of interest of the native Montrealer. Levy also co-produced the excellent Arrival (The arrival), by Denis Villeneuve, who already approached time travel, but from a much more subtle angle.
This qualification does not apply in this case at all to The Adam Projectan alternately hectic and messy Netflix blockbuster written by no less than four screenwriters.
The first act is by far the best, with Adam, 40, in command of a stolen ship, escaping enemy fire and succeeding in extremis to dive into a spatiotemporal portal during an abducted prologue. There follows a meeting in the style of Steven Spielberg’s film, time ANDbetween this escapee from the future and his 12-year-old alter ego.
Moreover, the film multiplies the winks, in particular to the cinematographic universe Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (Return of the Jedi) during a sylvan pursuit and The Phantom Menace (The Phantom Menace) during this fight with an ersatz double lightsaber…
Perfect chemistry
However, upstream, a guidance error occurred: the initial destination was not 2022, but 2018. Unfortunately, between the mourning of his father, the conflicts with his mother and the school bullying he suffered, the ” little Adam” refers to the “big Adam” an image that he did not want to see again. On the other hand, it is fortunate for the film, since there is ample emotional material to knead in order to give relief to the characters.
Characters who maintain from the outset an often very funny conflicting relationship, this one fueled as much by the murderous sense of the repartee of the young Adam as by the politically incorrect comments formulated by his more mature counterpart, but not exactly more mature.
The chemistry between Ryan Reynolds, who finds Levy after the success of the most cohesive Free Guy (The free man), and Walker Scobell is perfect. Jennifer Garner, who plays Adam’s very patient mother, manages to impose her underwritten and underutilized character during her few scenes near the beginning. Ditto for Zoe Saldana, who appears halfway through, and for Mark Ruffalo, who arrives towards the end.
Simultaneously embodying versions of herself from the future and the past, Catherine Keener for her part composes a calm and calculating antagonist: candy.
In the middle, the plot begins to err on the side of sentimentality. As for the finale, which must have swallowed up half the budget for the (excellent) special effects, it turns out to be a bit scattered. Without equaling or even approaching Back to the Future (Back to the futurethe second part of which is mentioned in the dialogue), The Adam Project turns out to be quite entertaining. The film is worth especially for the complicit game of its two stars.