Movie · 2022 · Adventure, Science Fiction, Comedy · 1h 44m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 1.8/10 (753.3K ratings)
Past meets future.
Overview
After accidentally crash-landing in 2022, time-traveling fighter pilot Adam Reed teams up with his 12-year-old self on a mission to save the future.
Ratings
Curator score: 1.8/10
IMDb: 6.7/10
Letterboxd: 2.93/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 68%
Metacritic: 55
TMDB: 7.0/10
Director
Shawn Levy
Production
Skydance Media, Maximum Effort, 21 Laps Entertainment
Cast
Ryan Reynolds, Walker Scobell, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, Zoe Saldaña, Catherine Keener, Alex Mallari Jr., Braxton Bjerken, Kasra Wong, Lucie Guest, Donald Sales, Esther Ming Li, Benjamin Wilkinson, Isaiah Haegert, Milo Shandel
Where to watch
Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A glossy, crowd-pleasing sci-fi adventure with an easy emotional hook and a likable central duo, but it leans hard on quips, familiar beats, and sentimental shortcuts. It works best as a light family watch rather than a standout time-travel film.
Best for
Viewers who like breezy, joke-driven blockbuster sci-fi
Families with older kids or teens
Fans of emotional father-son or self-acceptance stories
People who don’t mind familiar genre formulas if the pace is brisk
Skip if
You want inventive or rigorous time-travel storytelling
You’re tired of sarcastic, quip-heavy action heroes
You prefer grounded sci-fi or sharper visual style
You dislike movies that feel engineered for broad streaming appeal
Overview
The Adam Project is built from very familiar parts: time travel, a damaged hero, a wisecracking lead, and a sentimental family core. The movie moves quickly and has enough charm to stay watchable, especially when it focuses on the relationship between the adult and younger versions of the same character. That dynamic gives the film its best energy and its most genuine emotion.
Worth noting
But the film also leans heavily on a prepackaged blockbuster rhythm. The jokes come fast, the emotional beats are telegraphed, and the whole thing often feels like it’s borrowing from better-loved family sci-fi adventures without fully earning its own identity. If you’re already allergic to Ryan Reynolds-style sarcasm, this will probably wear thin fast.
Bottom line
Still, there’s a decent amount of polish here, and the movie clearly wants to be warm, accessible, and crowd-friendly. For viewers in the mood for an easy, sentimental sci-fi diversion, it does the job. For anyone hoping for surprise, depth, or a fresh take on the genre, it’s more likely to feel disposable than memorable.
Top Letterboxd reviews
RyLan (2★) · 7195 likes
This is the 7th Ryan Reynolds film in a row where he just plays Deadpool in a new situation.
oleff (2.5★) · 4109 likes
man if i was like 10 i would fucking love this movie
☆ sophie ☆ (2.5★) · 1934 likes
this was lowkey a strange spinoff/sequel of 13 Going On 30 and you cannot convince me otherwise.
HunterGasaway (3★) · 1803 likes
Mark Ruffalo is as charming and lovely as CGI Catherine Keener is unsettling and horrifying
James (Schaffrillas) (2★) · 1710 likes
Gonna go back in time to stop Shawn Levy from ever making movies