Ryan Reynolds is so good at marketing that I always end up feeling really excited about every film he’s in no matter how awful it looks. Even his awful Netflix originals, which have traditionally turned out to be underwhelming. This is why I’ve not been too bothered to have missed out on his recent releases. Although, now that I’ve got it back, I figured that I might as well give this one a chance. After all, it also stars Mark Ruffalo who is normally fun to watch. And, more importantly. it came in at under 2 hours, which is something that is kind of rare these days. Maybe Netflix does get some things right?

We’ve seen science-fiction films like The Adam Project before. It involves time travel, meeting your past self and trying to prevent an evil corporation from taking control. This time with Ryan Reynolds’ signature quips and comic timing. As much as I love Ryan Reynolds, his films do tend to blend into one. Dramatic tension that is constantly being interrupted by his one-liners. That’s not a bad thing and they do tend to be enjoyable.

However, it isn’t as exciting as it possibly should be. These films tend to pin a lot on the charisma of their main star. This time he takes centre stage as Adam, a pilot who steals a plane in 2050 to travel back to 2018. Instead, he crash lands in 2022 and comes face-to-face with his 12-year-old self. Younger Adam is going through a troubling time following the death of his father and his mother is struggling to keep it together. Can both versions of Adam help their other self?

There’s a lot of sweetness here that is pretty well-played. It deals with the different sides of grief. Although, it coukd definitely have made more use out of Jennifer Garner as Adam’s mother. As always, she is a dependable and lovely presence. She has an encounter with Reynolds’ Adam early on and it’s a genuinely sweet moment.

As a whole, this doesn’t really stand out. The special effects are pretty good for a Netflix production but are definitely tailored to smaller screens. The premise is kind of thin and the world-building vague. It can’t or won’t answer basic questions regarding time-travel and the impact on a person’s timeline. What it does offer is a mini Ryan Reynolds in Walker Scobell. Although, the impersonation does get a bit much at times. Ultimately, if you like Ryan Reynolds and shiny sci-fi, you’ll enjoy this one.