Watch Walker Scobell for only a minute or so in “The Adam Project” and you’ll be convinced he spent hours studying Ryan Reynolds in preparation for the movie.
In the consistently entertaining and relatively family-friendly sci-fi action romp — which plays like a cross between “Back to the Future” and “Big” and debuts on Netflix this week — the 13-year-old Scobell portrays the younger version of Reynolds’ character, Adam Reed.
As Young Adam, Scobell has his older counterpart’s speech cadence down and sounds like a chip off the sarcastic-but-charming block.
Apparently, the actor — who, according to the movie’s production notes, had done little more than a middle-school play before cast — already had done the needed prep work for “The Adam Project.” A huge fan of the “Deadpool” movies, which star Reynolds as the titular foul-mouthed, murderous antihero, Scobell apparently had memorized “Deadpool 2” by the time he was 11. (Given the content of those decidedly R-rated superhero romps, we may need to have a talk with his parents.)
“The Adam Project” begins by informing us via on-screen text that time travel is real but that we just don’t know it yet. We then meet Reynolds’ Adam in 2050, in the middle of a stressful situation. Big Adam is piloting a craft above earth’s atmosphere we will come to know as a “time jet.” He’s bleeding and confirms to a woman over the radio that he is, in fact, stealing it. As he’s being fired upon by another craft, he opens a wormhole in space and flies through it.
We then cut to 2022, where we meet Young Adam.
“Adam!” yells another boy chasing him through a crowded school hallway. “I’m going to kill you!”
Seems Adam has always had a way with people.
Young Adam is a handful for his mom, Ellie (Jennifer Garner, “Love, Simon”), who’s raising him alone since the accidental death a year or so ago of his father.
Upset with her son for now being suspended from school for fighting for the third time, she asks him why he’s just taken on a schoolmate twice his size.
“EVERYONE is twice my size!” he says. “I’ve seen babies bigger than me!”
Not surprisingly, then, when he meets his future self — Big Adam, it turns out, has traveled back in time to 2022 and is hiding out in the family garage while he heals — he’s pretty excited to see all the muscles he’ll develop over the decades.
At first, of course, he doesn’t know he’s just met an older version of himself and threatens the visitor with a baseball bat.
“If I wanted to hurt you,” Big Adam says, “I’d have done it already. Because if I’m being honest with myself, you have a very punchable face.”
It doesn’t take long for Young Adam to piece together who this guy is, and he soon learns Big Adam needs his help in his all-important mission.
The adventure that follows involves more time travel and brings into the fold secondary characters portrayed by Zoe Saldana (“Star Trek”), Mark Ruffalo (“Avengers: Endgame”) and Catherine Keener (“Capote”).
“The Adam Project” is nicely directed by Shawn Levy, whose credits include 2003’s “Cheaper by the Dozen,” 2005’s “Night at the Museum” and last year’s “Free Guy,” which also starred Reynolds. The two greatly enjoyed each other and sought out another project, landing on a script co-written by Jonathan Tropper, who saw his 2009 novel, “This Is Where I Leave You,” adapted for the big screen by Levy in 2014.
Levy deserves a lot of credit for what works here, from the pacing down to a few well-placed classic-rock songs, including Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times Bad Times.”
And Reynolds, a producer on the film whose recent on-screen credits include “Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” and fellow Netflix release “Red Notice, continues to prove to be a terrific leading man when a role calls for some comedy.
All involved with “The Adam Project” have crafted a fairly clever and emotionally satisfying tale that also harkens back to classics including “Star Wars.” (Despite what Big Adam says, Young Adam is right: The nifty weapon his larger self wields is very similar to a lightsaber.)
While ultimately a story about a father and son, its truly touching moment comes between Big Adam and his mother. Ellie has no idea who this stranger is or why he’s giving her such reassurance that she is, in fact, doing a great job raising her son.
“The Adam Project” also tugs at the heartstrings when Big Adam is reunited with his missing wife, Saldana’s Laura. Good stuff.
That said, “The Adam Project” does fall down in a couple of areas.
First, Keener’s Maya Sorian — who’s largely responsible for how time travel has been misused since its invention for her gain — is pretty weak as villains go.
Plus, the movie’s clunky big climactic set piece feels more obligatory than anything else.
Still, you should make time for “The Adam Project,” if only to appreciate the chemistry enjoyed by Reynolds and hardcore “Deadpool” fan Scobell.
“Oh God, it’s like I traded my brains for those muscles,” Young Adam says at a point when he, not his older counterpart, understands a time travel-related issue. “It’s a (expletive) deal.”
Maybe, but “The Adam Project” is a very solid deal for Netflix subscribers.
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‘THE ADAM PROJECT’
3 stars (out of 4)
MPAA rating: PG-13 (for violence/action, language and suggestive references)
Running time 1:46
Where to watch: On Netflix Friday
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