Netflix is unlikely to win any awards for The Adam Project, but its new time-travel adventure is perfectly serviceable family-friendly fare, said Adrian Horton in The Guardian. Ryan Reynolds stars as Adam, a fighter pilot who steals a time jet in 2050, with a view to going back to 2018. His plan is to save the life of his future wife – but he crash-lands instead in 2022, where he meets his 12-year- old self (Walker Scobell), grieving his recently deceased father. It turns out that young Adam is an “aerospace nerd with a strong grasp of Back to the Future references”, so the pair team up. As the film proceeds, the plot gets “mind-bendy very fast”, but there’s plenty to enjoy, including “sappy yet effective depictions of loss”, slick action sequences and a satisfyingly “booming” score.
Netflix is on a Reynolds binge, said Clarisse Loughrey in The Independent; the actor has recently appeared in its movies Red Notice and 6 Underground, neither of which were good, but both of which were “easily consumable”. The director of this film, Shawn Levy, “seems convinced that there is no such thing as too much Ryan Reynolds”, and I can understand why: he’s funny, he’s Canadian, he’s conventionally attractive. Yet even he can’t redeem this film, which is hamstrung by dodgy de-ageing effects and lacks a “functional narrative”. At its “incredibly limited best”, said Tim Robey in The Daily Telegraph, The Adam Project scrapes by as a “derivative popcorn flick for a rainy weekend”. But the finale is “such a botched horrorshow” it drags the whole into “outright atrocity”. Watching Netflix do its worst Marvel impression is an insult to the “very concept of dumb fun”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The elite falcon trade in the Middle EastUnder the Radar Popularity of the birds of prey has been ‘soaring’ despite doubts over the legality of sourcing and concerns for animal welfare
-
A running list of the international figures Donald Trump has pardonedin depth The president has grown bolder in flexing executive clemency powers beyond national borders
-
Mixed nuts: RFK Jr.’s new nutrition guidelines receive uneven reviewsTalking Points The guidelines emphasize red meat and full-fat dairy
-
Avatar: Fire and Ash – third instalment feels like ‘a relic of an earlier era’Talking Point Latest sequel in James Cameron’s passion project is even ‘more humourless’ than the last
-
The Zorg: meticulously researched book is likely to ‘become a classic’The Week Recommends Siddharth Kara’s harrowing account of the voyage that helped kick-start the anti-slavery movement
-
The Housemaid: an enjoyably ‘pulpy’ concoctionThe Week Recommends Formulaic psychological horror with Sydney Sweeney is ‘kind of a scream’
-
William Nicholson: a ‘rich and varied’ exhibitionThe Week Recommends The wide-ranging show brings together portraits, illustrations, prints and posters, alongside ‘ravishing’ still lifes
-
Oh, Mary! – an ‘irreverent, counter-historical’ delightThe Week Recommends Mason Alexander Park ‘gives the funniest performance in town’ as former First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln
-
The ultimate films of 2025 by genreThe Week Recommends From comedies to thrillers, documentaries to animations, 2025 featured some unforgettable film moments
-
Into the Woods: a ‘hypnotic’ productionThe Week Recommends Jordan Fein’s revival of the much-loved Stephen Sondheim musical is ‘sharp, propulsive and often very funny’
-
The best food books of 2025The Week Recommends From mouthwatering recipes to insightful essays, these colourful books will both inspire and entertain
