MOVIE REVIEW: The Adam Project (Netflix)

(Deep Into Space - Jamie Dupuis)  

Ryan Reynolds is, without question, one of Canada's most precious resources. He's funny, genuine, intelligent, and according to some, not entirely ugly. That said, he is just one man, a fact that several people have started to notice over the years.

Bless him, Ryan Reynolds is pretty much himself in whatever he does. Deadpool? Just Ryan Reynolds in a red suit. Green Lantern? Reynolds in a (animated) green suit.  Wolverine? Reynolds with swords. And no suit. Blade 3? Reynolds with admittedly great facial hair and a workout routine. Free Guy? Reynolds in a blue suit. Shirt, excuse me. Blue shirt.

See where I'm going here?

This all kind of hit critical mass after Ryan Reynolds' most recent endeavor on Netflix, 'Red Notice'. This wasn't a bad move per se, but it was very much just Ryan Reynolds the art thief. How does one get around this?

...apparently, you double down.  Or triple down, as the case may be. Don't change who Ryan Reynolds is! Just ADD MORE RYAN REYNOLDS!

And then call it 'The Adam Project'.

Did his clever plan work?

THE SHORT VERSION:

...Yeah.  Yeah, it worked super great, actually. Totally nailed the super hero landing on this one.

THE LONG VERSION:

There's actually not much more to say here.  ...Which, for me, is the dumbest sentence to start 'The Long Version' with, because I'm about as good with brevity as Ryan Reynolds is not being Ryan Reynolds.

'The Adam Project' is the story of Ryan Reynolds, a man who travels back in time to stop time travel by teaming up with a younger version of himself. Naturally, the kid playing young Ryan Reynolds has lines and mannerisms that make him sound like older Ryan Reynolds. And because Ryan Reynolds clearly had to get his brilliance and charm from somewhere, his mother is played by Jennifer Garner, who was clearly told, "Listen, I need you to pretend to be Ryan Reynolds for several scenes in this movie...and for the other scenes, I need you not to be there."

The really irritating part of this is that while NOTHING about what I've just told you is inaccurate in any way, the movie is so GODDAMNED GOOD that you're left with no other conclusion than to acknowledging that doubling -- excuse me, tripling -- down was, in fact, the right choice.  Seriously, the writers were like, "Listen, Ryan. Everyone clearly loves you, so just do whatever you want with the script."  And that's precisely what he did. Anyone who has spent any amount of time watching Reynolds in his films will be inundated with easter eggs, call-backs, inside jokes, and blatant references to those films. 

...and it's all awesome.

This movie is a celebration of Reynolds' career up until this point. That would be enough for some, but he had the sheer audacity to actually make the snappy, smart, razor-sharp dialogue blend seamlessly with scenes that hit you like a damned emotional jackhammer. My wife and I ended up blubbering HARD twice during this movie. How? Simple.

Ryan Reynolds knows that you're not stupid. He knows that you don't need things sugar-coated, that you don't need to be talked down to, that you don't need metaphors or schlock. This film talks to you plainly, brutally, honestly, about family, about death, about loss, about how sadness gives way to hatred and anger. Then, somehow, it heals it all for you with this absolute BODY BLOW of a scene towards the end of the film. 

This is actually a theme throughout the whole movie, this business of the film not treating you like you're stupid. There are very real, very plain conversations had during every part of the movie where they're required. It avoids succumbing to tropes over and over again, its characters are intelligently written...it's just a damn fine movie.

There's too much Ryan Reynolds in this film. He's everywhere in it...and I'm not even a little ashamed that I want even more.

P.S. Minnie, young Ryan Reynolds -is- Corbin, and I am not okay with it.