Moviefone Editorial

Tag: The Adam Project

  • Movie Review: ‘The Adam Project’

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    (L to R) Walker Scobell and Ryan Reynolds in Netflix’s ‘The Adam Project’

    Premiering on Netflix beginning March 11th is the new time-traveling movie ‘The Adam Project,’ from ‘Free Guy’ director Shawn Levy. The film stars ‘Free Guy’ and ‘Deadpool’ actor Ryan Reynolds as a time-traveling pilot from the future who travels to the past and teams-up with the 12-year-old version of himself in order to save the timeline.

    In addition to Reynolds, the cast also features Zoe Saldana, Jennifer Garner, Catherine Keener, Mark Ruffalo, and newcomer Walker Scobell. The result is a really fun and fresh take on time-traveling comedies like ‘Back to the Future,’ but also adds the emotion of ‘Field of Dreams,’ and features terrific performances from Reynolds and the rest of the cast.

    The movie begins by introducing us to Adam Reed (Reynolds), a rebellious pilot from the future who steals a spaceship and travels to 2022, while he is pursued by law enforcement. We are then introduced to a 12-year-old version of Adam (Scobell), who lives alone with his mom (Garner) after his father, Louis Reed’s (Ruffalo) recent death. The two Adams soon meet, and the older Adam explains that in the future, time travel exists, and that he has returned to find his girlfriend Laura (Saldana), who went missing after a recent mission.

    With soldiers from the future chasing the older Adam, he soon finds Laura and discovers the truth behind her disappearance. Laura explains to Adam that the timeline has been changed by powerful business woman Maya Sorian (Keener), and it is up to them to stop her from permanently changing the future. Realizing that it was their own father’s scientific experiments that led to the creation of time travel, the two Adams go back to before their dad’s death to get his help in stopping Sorian, who at the time, was Louis’ business partner.

    (L to R) Zoe Saldana and Ryan Reynolds in 'The Adam Project.' Photo via Twitter.
    (L to R) Zoe Saldana and Ryan Reynolds in Netflix’s ‘The Adam Project.’

    I can’t begin to tell you what a joy it was to watch this film. In a market place packed with sequels, remakes, reboots, and movies based on previous source material, it is so refreshing to see a completely original movie as good as ‘The Adam Project.’ Written by Jonathan Trooper, T.S. Nowlin, Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin, the film is completely original and could easily become a franchise in the future.

    ‘The Adam Project’ marks director Shawn Levy and Ryan Reynolds second collaboration, after last year’s terrific ‘Free Guy.’ As much as I enjoyed that film, ‘Adam Project’ is even better than ‘Free Guy’ and packs more of an emotional punch, especially with its father/son themes.

    Shawn Levy is an incredibly talented director, but I didn’t care much for his early films, including ‘Cheaper by the Dozen,’ ‘The Pink Panther’ and the ‘Night at the Museum’ franchise. But 2011’s ‘Real Steel’ showed elements of what the filmmaker is truly capable of when he takes on more adult themed projects like ‘Date Night,’ ‘The Internship,’ ‘This Is Where I Leave You,’ and ‘Free Guy.’ ‘The Adam Project’ is a true culmination of his entire career, and the best movie he’s ever directed.

    The supporting cast is excellent, including Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo, who form a mini ’13 Going on 30’ reunion with their pairing as Adam’s parents. The two actors anchor the sci-fi elements of the movie with grounded and realistic performances. Garner is wonderful as Adam’s grieving widowed mother, who is trying to do her best raising a son by herself.

    And if you have ever lost a parent, you’ll understand what an amazing moment it is in the movie when both Adams get to spend one more day with their departed dad. Ruffalo, much like Garner, ignores the science fiction in the plot and focuses on the relatable aspects of the screenplay giving a realistic and emotionally moving performance.

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    (L to R) Zoe Saldana and Ryan Reynolds in Netflix’s ‘The Adam Project.’

    Zoe Saldana plays older Adam’s love interest and is in many ways the heart of the film, even if she has limited screen time. Saldana has great chemistry with Reynolds and plays off his comedic wit quite well.

    Catherine Kenner plays the film’s antagonist Maya Sorian, and while the actress gives a solid performance, it is the least developed character in the movie. However, there are some great scenes where the actress acts opposite a younger version of herself, thanks to some really well done de-aging technology.

    Young actor Walker Scobell is a great addition to the veteran cast and gives a remarkable debut performance. He mimics Reynolds mannerisms and attitude perfectly and is very believable in the role.

    But in the end, the film belongs to Ryan Reynolds, and the actor gives the type of performance that only he can give. He plays older Adam with his trademark combo of arrogance and sarcasm, similar to his characters in ‘Deadpool’ and ‘Red Notice,’ but a little darker in some ways. However, he never allows Adam to become unlikable, even when he is arguing with his younger self. The actor also has some really nice emotional scenes with Saldana and Ruffalo and is completely believable in all the action sequences.

    ‘The Adam Project’ is the most original, fun, and entertaining movie I have seen in a long time. With a sequel to Levy and Reynolds’ ‘Free Guy’ already announced, I can only hope the director and actor find time to make more ‘Adam Project’s in the future.

    ‘The Adam Project’ receives 4.5 out of 5 stars.

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  • Super Bowl 2022 Trailer Roundup

    'Moon Knight'Poster. Photo Courtesy of Disney+.
    ‘Moon Knight’Poster. Photo Courtesy of Disney+.

    The Super Bowl took place this Sunday, and whether you were rooting for the Rams or backing the Bengals, we hope you got the outcome you were hoping for. Go sports!

    But what if you were more concerned with the trailers, TV spots and ads that traditionally look to exploit the massive viewing audience that the big event attracts? We’ve got you covered.

    In one handy, convenient place, we’ve rounded up all the exciting footage that wasn’t on the field. Even if, as has been the tradition of late, several of these trailers and spots made their way online long before kick-off.

    TV Trailers 

    MOON KNIGHT

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    While the superstar of the Marvel trailers from this year’s game was a certain magician’s multiverse madness, the MCU’s Disney+ TV arm still had something to show, as Oscar Isaac and ‘Moon Knight’ brought new footage from the show.

    Isaac plays Steven Grant, an unassuming fellow working in the British museum, who discovers the reason he’s been experiencing such vivid dreams of late – he’s just one identity filling his head, which is primarily owned by that of Marc Spector, who becomes the Egyptian mythology-powered vigilante Moon Knight, whose brand of justice tends to be more violent than some of the other Marvel heroes.

    It’ll be fascinating to see how Moon Knight is merged with the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe, though at this point, Team Marvel has proved a dab hand at juggling a wide range of different characters.

    LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER

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    Amazon has spent so much money on the rights to additional stories from JRR Tolkien’s canon (and on making the TV show) that we began to wonder whether the trailer would just be a 10-second shot of a ring.

    But no, this is an all-action look at the series, which has cost nearly half a billion dollars to acquire and make so far. There’s no doubting the ambition on display, as the clock turns back to a time before Frodo and co. (and even Bilbo) from Peter Jackson’s movies when Middle-earth was under threat from dark forces and different races had to come together to save their various homelands. Yes, it happens a lot in Middle-earth.

    The likes of Morfydd Clark (playing the younger version of Cate Blanchett’s Galadriel), Peter Mullan and Benjamin Walker are in the cast here, and the show will be on TV screens starting September 2nd.

    Movie Trailers

    NOPE

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    Jordan Peele, who has established himself as a master of horror (and an Oscar winner) with ‘Get Out’ and ‘Us’ is back on the terror beat with his latest. In this case, Daniel Kaluuya (who starred in ‘Get Out’), Keke Palmer and Steven Yeun lead the cast for the movie, which is still wrapped in some layers of mystery, even after this initial trailer.

    We do at least know that Palmer plays a woman who works tangentially for the movie industry, wrangling horses in a business that has been passed down through her family. All seems to be going well until the power at a ranch mysteriously goes out and something horrible appears in the clouds.

    What’s exactly going on? Is it aliens? Ghosts? Alien ghosts? We’ll find out when the movie arrives July 22nd.

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    SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2

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    Released a couple of days before the game, the new spot for the ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ sequel focuses a lot on Knuckles, the new threat for our hero, who boasts the vocal talents of Idris Elba. It’s a blend of footage we’ve seen in the first trailer and some new action, plus the likes of human co-stars Jim Carrey and James Marsden.

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    AMBULANCE

    A slightly disappointing spot for Michael Bay’s new film, mostly because there’s little new following the main trailer, which was a while ago. Still, get ready for glimpses of Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul Mateen II as brothers who rob a bank but then need to hijack the titular vehicle, sparking a chase across LA.

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    THE LOST CITY

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    Who is ready for Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum to go exploring jungle climes and far-flung temples? Plenty of us, it appears. The action-comedy, which also features Daniel Radcliffe and Brad Pitt, looks like it could be a lot of fun.

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    JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION

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    While a shorter version played during the game’s ad space, the first full trailer for the latest ‘Jurassic World’ entry arrived days before kick-off, bringing together two generations of ‘Jurassic’ casts and unleashing lots of the requisite dino action. Let’s just say it looks suitably massive.

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    THE ADAM PROJECT / NETFLIX

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    Like Universal and others, Netflix released its Super Bowl effort in advance, putting out a long clip essentially promoting the streaming service’s 2022 output which is, it must be said, laden with star names and anticipated movies.

    ‘Knives Out 2’ is among the biggest, but the trailer also offered another look at Ryan Reynolds’ time-travelling action-adventure ‘The Adam Project’.

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    Commercials

    AUSTIN POWERS / GM

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoqiQtc79CQ

    Mike Myers brings back his scheming supervillain Dr. Evil, who realizes he must save the world from itself to control it. Cue electric cars! The likes of Seth Green, Rob Lowe and Mindy Sterling reprise their roles from the ‘Austin Powers’ movies for a spot that mostly makes us wish A) Verne Troyer was still around to be Mini-Me and B) that they’d make another movie.

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    THE CABLE GUY / VERIZON

    A double dose of Jim Carrey this year, here returning to a role he hasn’t played since Ben Stiller’s 1996 crackpot comedy. That might have flopped, but it’s still fun to see Carrey doing his thing as the crazed cable tech, here confused by how the world has moved on to wireless internet, in this case from Verizon. He’s still got it, that Carrey.

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