After their successful collaboration in Free Guy, and before they work together in Deadpool 3, Ryan Reynolds joins Shawn Levy again in The Adam Project. However, instead of making a fresh mash up of The Truman Show, The Lego Movie and The Matrix, with a wee bit of Ready Player One thrown in for good measure, their new collaboration feels like it was designed to feel at home within the Amblin back catalogue.

The film does not waste any time to start -so make sure you are comfortable or do not mind to press the pause button-, as it hits the ground running, using the energy of Gimme Some Lovin by The Spencer Davis Group to accompany an injured Reynolds flying a spaceship and travelling back in time on his quest to find his wife -played by Zoe Saldaña-, who apparently died on a mission in the past. However, after he accidentally crash lands in the year 2022 -oh boy, what a bad year to travel back to-, he encounters his 12-year-old self, still getting to grips with the death of his father -Mark Ruffalo, as charming as ever-, and they soon discover they need each other to save the world. At this point the film still has not reached the 15-minute mark.

To say that The Adam Project feels rushed would be an understatement, but the speed in which it moves forward is not its main defect, as a fast film does not necessarily mean a bad film. Its main issue is that it feels too convoluted for its own good.

We have Reynolds dealing with his younger self, who is also dealing with his father’s death and his strained relationship with his mother -played in a thankless role by Jennifer Garner-. Also, we have both Adams -or should it be Adamses?- travelling back in time to meet with their father. Furthermore, they manage to spend quality time with his wife and still have the time to fight some faceless goons with a lightsaber and do their best to save the world from Catherine Keener and her younger CGI self, who has just returned from her holidays in the Uncanny Valley.

And, have I mention that Adam’s wound makes fart noises when pressed?

There are too many things fighting for our attention in The Adam Project -film that started development back in 2012 as a Tom Cruise vehicle- that is easy to find yourself entertainingly befuddled and thinking that neither of the four writers in charge of the script talked to each other, as the film cannot juggle all the elements of the story simultaneously. On its quest to provide entertainment, The Adam Project falls down a predictably safe route, relying on a constant flow of perfunctory action scenes and Reynolds’ charm and chemistry with the rest of the cast –special mention to Walker Scobell who shines with his diminutive version of Reynolds- to call it a day.

However, in the brief moments in which the film stops to breathe for a bit and lets its characters sit and talk we get great and warm moments, such as the one in which the older Adam talks to his mum -without her noticing-, or a couple of scenes with Ruffalo and the two versions of Adam. Had the film taken some time to slow down and develop those tender moments, the final result would have been not only better, but also it could have come closer to replicate what made films like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial or The Goonies so endearing.

Taking into consideration that it has been made by Netflix -which brings to mind another Reynolds/Netflix film, Red Notice-, it is not a surprise to see that The Adam Project is a safe and familiar film that will not prevail neither in our minds nor on our hearts, but will be watched by millions of people. After all, it is a film designed to be enjoyed by your 9-year-old self as well as by your 40-year-old self.

Plus, it gave us the 13 Going on 30 reunion we did not know we needed.