‘The Adam Project’ stands out amongst streaming duds

But every once in a while, there’s a streaming option that eclipses my low expectations, enough to even make me say “I’ll watch this again!” Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso” and “CODA” and Disney+/Marvel’s “Hawkeye” have made that list. I’ve already written about “CODA,” which took home an Oscar’s sweep in every category for which it was nominated last year, and “Ted Lasso” and “Hawkeye” are probably already well-known by people reading this column.

If you want to avoid other straight-to-streaming duds, another option that has broken past my low-expectations barrier is Netflix’s “The Adam Project,” which hit the streaming service’s platform 11 months ago. In this sci-fi action comedy, time traveler Adam Reed (Ryan Reynolds) goes back in time to save the future with his 12-year-old self.

Admittedly, science fiction is not my natural genre of choice, but perhaps it was the stacked cast that suckered me into choosing this one, particularly with my love of Reynolds and co-star Jennifer Garner, who plays Adam’s widower mom, Ellie. In “The Adam Project” older Adam Reed and his 12-year-old self – played by brand-new child actor Walker Scobell – fight to save the future from a morally bankrupt scientist, Sorian (Catherine Keener). We get a reuniting of Garner (“13 Going on 30,” “Alias”) and Mark Ruffalo (“13 Going on 30,” “Avengers”), who plays Adam’s dad Louis, as well as 10 minutes of action with an underutilized Zoe Saldana (“Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Avatar”) as older Adam’s wife Laura.

Despite my frequent reluctance to watch sci-fi, what I love is a good story with a punch of humor, and this one had it in spades, so much so that I’ve watched it twice. At its core, it’s a movie with stakes as high as saving of the galaxy’s future, packed with air-space dog fights and ground-level combat – even though the CGI is rather sub-par. But it’s also a story about grief and second chances. Through the beauty of time-travel, older Adam and younger Adam get more time with their dad Louis, a time-travel researcher and professor, to heal old wounds before his death.

And then there’s the cast’s chemistry that takes this movie from moderately entertaining to what would’ve been a fun theater flick. Its foundation is Reynold’s trademark humor, dripping with sarcasm and snark, a brand of humor that is well-mimicked by Scobell as Adam’s younger version, nearing a perfected sibling-like banter throughout the movie. Ruffalo gets in a few good one-liners, and Garner gets off a few sweet quips as Ellie, who is perhaps my favorite character throughout the movie. But it’s not hard to love Garner in almost anything she does, and likewise with Ruffalo, who together again remind us just how much magic comes from their pairing on-screen.

So, would this have been a great blockbuster to rewatch in theaters? Probably not, compared to other juggernauts. Will it become a cult classic in the genre? Highly unlikely. But is it worth the watch at home on a Friday night? Absolutely.