The Adam Project
Netflix | Release Date (Streaming): March 11, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
55
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 48 Critic Reviews
Positive:
22
Mixed:
19
Negative:
7
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
IGNRyan LestonMar 9, 2022
The Adam Project is a thoughtful, witty mash-up of all the movies from my childhood. It’s Back to the Future meets The Last Starfighter with a slew of wonderful performances from a cast that clearly loves the concept as much as I do. Ryan Reynolds is on top form as Adam, while Walker Scobell matches him punch for punch with a great debut performance. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comNell MinowMar 10, 2022
There is genuine tenderness in his realization that anger does not prevent sadness and that second chances are possible. The action and fantasy are fun, but this is what families will want to talk about after they watch it together. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeMar 13, 2022
The high-concept plot is held together more by force of will (and some decent special effects) than by logic, but the core of this engaging, kid-friendly Netflix production is a big-hearted tale of broken families made good. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonMar 11, 2022
What’s lovely about The Adam Project is its treatment of grief, the love between mothers and sons and, to a slightly lesser extent, fathers and sons. Read full review
80
Screen RantChris AgarMar 9, 2022
The Adam Project is a charming and fun sci-fi throwback, fueled by a strong script and one of Reynolds' best performances. Read full review
80
SlashfilmBen F. SilverioMar 9, 2022
Not only are "Free Guy" director Shawn Levy and star Ryan Reynolds reuniting to send characters back in time to save the world, but the movie itself is like a time machine, transporting you back to a period in your life when a trip to the movie theater or the video store was your ticket to a world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicAlexis PotterMar 9, 2022
It's not often anymore that you find a film everyone in the family can enjoy, but The Adam Project is that and more. Think "Guardians of the Galaxy" vibes, but a little more low-key. Read full review
77
CNETRichard TrenholmMar 9, 2022
Ryan Reynolds stars as a wisecracking time-flyer in Netflix's breezy but heartfelt version of ET, Back to the Future and Flight of the Navigator for the Marvel era. Read full review
75
PolygonKatie RifeMar 11, 2022
The Adam Project is zippy, agreeable sci-fi fun that produces a few good chuckles. But in moments where undiluted sweetness is required, the film’s glib writing stands out in a negative way. Read full review
75
ObserverEmily ZemlerMar 9, 2022
Still, for all its adventure and flash, The Adam Project welcomes feelings. Levy doesn’t shy away from heart-warming, tear-jerker scenes, just like those beloved films of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyMar 9, 2022
With so much going on, that means a lot of balls need to be kept in the air. Some of them drop. Of course they do: The Adam Project is entertaining but no masterpiece. What’s unusual, and impressive, is that the dropped balls often keep bouncing. That’s a tribute to the movie’s wit, energy, and imaginativeness. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperMar 9, 2022
With echoes of “Back to the Future,” “The Terminator” and even a little of “Heaven Can Wait,” this is a consistently entertaining comedy-actioner with a lot of heart — and the perfect ending. Fine work, Adam(s). Read full review
70
We Got This CoveredScott CampbellMar 11, 2022
It isn’t always entirely successful, but when The Adam Project is firing on all cylinders and zeroing in on the family drama that’s never too far away from the surface, you may just find yourself fighting back tears. Read full review
70
ABC NewsPeter TraversMar 11, 2022
Ryan Reynolds leads an A-list cast in this ‘Back to the Future’ nostalgia trip that coasts down well-worn roads instead of paving new ones with fresh imagination. But there are still laughs and tears to be had this cynicism-free throwback to ‘80s family entertainment. Read full review
70
VarietyOwen GleibermanMar 9, 2022
The movie is a total trifle, but it’s often a diverting one — a wide-eyed sci-fi adventure with a screwball buoyancy. Read full review
67
UproxxVince ManciniMar 11, 2022
It’s a toe-tapper, and Levy excels at this kind of upbeat, PG-friendly action rendered in major key. It looks great, and you can tell what’s happening — a bar most action movies fail to clear these days, including the most recent one, The Batman. Read full review
67
The PlaylistNick AllenMar 10, 2022
When this time travel story is at its best, it gives Reynolds space to convey the frustration one can have about their past, including when facing their younger self. The movie doesn’t fill out this concept with too much imagination about time travel or villains, but it does wind up with a powerful parable about healing. Read full review
67
ConsequenceLiz Shannon MillerMar 9, 2022
The truth of the matter is that even a subpar Ryan Reynolds movie features a crap ton of Reynolds Reynolds-ing it up in every scene, and that can be a pretty enjoyable flavor of ice cream, in moderation. The problem is that like ice cream, there’s not much nutritional value here; there are far worse ways to spend 106 minutes of your life, but The Adam Project seems likely to fade from the memories of Netflix viewers relatively quickly — meaning it’s pretty in line with most of the Netflix original films that have come before it. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattMar 9, 2022
For all its earnest sentiment and questionable science, though, Adam barrels along on movie stars and charm, from futures past and back again. Read full review
63
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanMar 10, 2022
The Adam Project isn’t especially smart, but it does leave you with a warm, fuzzy feeling. Its science grade is only passing, but its emotional IQ is above average. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliMar 10, 2022
The premise is intriguing and the cast is top-notch but, taken as a whole, The Adam Project comes up short. As a way to fill an unpretentious couple of hours, it’s fine (especially as part of a bigger streaming package), but as a destination film, it’s a disappointment. Read full review
63
The Associated PressLindsey BahrMar 10, 2022
Pathos and action are found in equal parts in The Adam Project, the latest attempt by Netflix to create the kind of throwback blockbuster that you might have paid to see in movie theaters. Read full review
60
The Irish TimesTara BradyMar 11, 2022
This is the kind of post-Goonies family-oriented schmaltz that plays very well on Netflix (see all of Stranger Things, a show sometimes directed by Levy) and not so well in cinemas. Read full review
60
Christian Science MonitorGregory WakemanMar 11, 2022
The Adam Project won’t win any prizes for originality. But, thanks to its self-awareness, the sci-fi comedy adventure’s amalgamation of homages never actually grate. Read full review
60
Total FilmJack ShepherdMar 10, 2022
Ripples in time create holes in the plot, but Reynolds and his younger self patch over the missing piece with incredibly watchable charisma. Read full review
60
The New York TimesNatalia WinkelmanMar 10, 2022
Blissfully under two hours, The Adam Project is no modern classic. But it does benefit from an affecting finale that pays special attention to Adam’s strained relationship with his father. Read full review
60
The GuardianAdrian HortonMar 10, 2022
It’s spectacle coasting on the evergreen draw of time travel paced with beats of occasionally effective human emotion – grief, regret, self-loathing and acceptance in sometimes moving, very manageable amounts. Read full review
60
EmpireJordan KingMar 9, 2022
Though a forgettable villain and some uninspiring set-pieces sometimes hinder The Adam Project, Reynolds and Scobell’s cracking performances and the film’s surprising emotional depth make it worth a look. Read full review
55
CNNBrian LowryMar 10, 2022
Reuniting star-producer Ryan Reynolds and director Shawn Levy after their winning collaboration on "Free Guy," The Adam Project has the generic feel of a project created by committee, combining action, humor and smart-alecky one-liners in a way that's at best aggressively okay. That's probably enough for Netflix coming off a success with Reynolds in "Red Notice," but like the film's plot, this amounts to rehashing history. Read full review
54
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzMar 10, 2022
It is fast-food fantasy, artificially flavoured and quickly devoured. Read full review
50
TimeStephanie ZacharekMar 11, 2022
The Adam Project should be fun, but it’s sabotaged by its unwieldy ambitions. Forget the complexities of time travel, of wormholes and the laws of physics. This movie can barely get from point A to point B without tripping over itself. Read full review
50
ScreenCrushMatt SingerMar 11, 2022
This movie is not entirely worthless. Reynolds and Scobell have amusing chemistry together that evokes a lot of ’80s buddy comedies in a fresh way; here is a movie about the tired trope of mismatched partners where the mismatched partners are actually the same person. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsMar 11, 2022
The movie has a good shot at a huge streaming audience. But does it have the creative instincts of a good movie? An OK one, yes. It’s too bad The Adam Project is only that, since the cast isn’t dogging the assignment for a second. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreMar 11, 2022
Everything here is something we’ve seen before — chases, “light saber” fights, the big Bond-sized set-piece finale. It gets fairly tedious fairly early on. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshMar 9, 2022
The first half is the more intriguing as older and younger tussle with each other and ask the tough questions, figuring out their mission together. But it all falls apart in a hackneyed third act. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMar 9, 2022
A few things make The Adam Project a little better than bearable. Read full review
50
Rolling StoneDavid FearMar 9, 2022
The movie starts out desperately wanting to be E.T. It ends by pretending it’s the second coming of Field of Dreams. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubBrent SimonMar 11, 2022
With an overworked script that checks boxes rather than delivers compelling characters, this effort lands as perfectly bland. Read full review
42
IndieWireDavid EhrlichMar 9, 2022
It’s a fitting third act for an overly safe film that only feigns at its ambition, and it leaves “The Adam Project” seeming less like a natural fit for Reynolds’ talents than an ill-fitting star vehicle for someone who’s never been less interested in stretching his limits. Read full review
40
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyMar 10, 2022
The tone here aims for a vague combination of time-travelling romps like Back to the Future and Flight of the Navigator plus time-travelling weepies like Forever Young and The Lake House. It wears both those tones unconvincingly, like a serial killer in a skin suit. Read full review
40
NMENick LevineMar 9, 2022
Because of this humanity vacuum, the film’s emotional beats feel strained and awkward; often, Levy relies too heavily on Rob Simonsen’s mawkish score to tell us to feel something. The result: an inoffensive but forgettable sci-fi trifle that probably isn’t worth anyone’s precious time. Read full review
38
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiMar 10, 2022
Although it is a soft PG-13, The Adam Project is stylistically geared toward 5-year-olds who aren’t going to watch a movie about time travel and frayed parent-child relationships. Today’s teens and 20-somethings are too smart for a movie so dumb. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineDerek SmithMar 9, 2022
Ultimately, the film tries so hard to do so much that it doesn’t end up doing any of it particularly well. Read full review
35
Paste MagazineJesse HassengerMar 10, 2022
As with Free Guy, Reynolds and Levy have made a movie aimed at the dead center of mainstream geek culture, designed to be described as having so much heart—even though it’s as smooth and featureless as a Funko Pop. Read full review
30
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriMar 11, 2022
It’s an assemblage of ideas from other popular films that just hangs there with little cohesion. It’s like watching a movie that hasn’t been made yet. Read full review
30
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyMar 9, 2022
The result is neither funny nor thrilling, just exhausting. Read full review
25
The Film StageMitchell BeaupreMar 9, 2022
There’s something so hollow about a production such as this, where it feels Netflix simply maneuvered parts of its algorithm into a choose-your-own-ingredients food dispenser to churn out whatever they thought audiences would click on if they saw it on their homepage for one week before the next one drops. Ryan Reynolds? Mark Ruffalo? Vague sci-fi imagery? Sure, sweetie, let’s put that on while we scroll our phones as dinner’s cooking, and fall asleep right before the kid in the movie starts using his video game skills to pilot drones that attack people. Read full review
20
The TelegraphTim RobeyMar 11, 2022
There’s almost nothing the film does well, but that doesn’t stop it donning a winner’s smirk while it copies every 1980s science fiction smash you’ve ever seen. Read full review
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