The Worst Scene In The Adam Project
Ryan Reynolds is good at a lot of things on-screen. He is funny, charming, athletic, and rocks the power of the beard better than most. In his recent Netflix film, "The Adam Project," Reynolds does what he does best: action scenes with a heavy dose of snark (via YouTube). However, even though audiences and critics alike had many great things to say about the Netflix original (via Rotten Tomatoes), it also isn't without its flaws.
The film follows Adam Reed (Reynolds), a time traveler from the year 2050, who comes to the present day in search of his missing wife, Laura (Zoe Saldana). Overall, the storyline plays it pretty loosey-goosey on the rules of time travel. We get yet another film sending mixed signals about what can happen if (and, inevitably, when) the grand laws of time travel are not fully respected. Additionally, there are times when young Adam (Walker Scobell) plays a more convincing version of Ryan Reynolds than even Ryan Reynolds himself does.
However, one specific flaw in the movie stands above (or rather, below) the rest. Here is the worst scene in Netflix's "The Adam Project."
Catherine Keener only passes as one version of her character
With examples as varied as Robert Downey Jr. in "Captain America: Civil War" and Mark Hamill in "The Book of Boba Fett," it's become much easier for film studios to make an actor significantly younger than they are in real life (via Business Insider). Of course, as this technology becomes more accessible to more creators, some instances are not without noticeable imperfections.
Mixed in with the hype of "The Adam Project" is a smattering of complaints about its chunky CGI, especially in regards to the unflattering attempts at de-aging one certain character. In the film, Catherine Keener plays Maya Sorian, the villainous CEO of a corporation that finds itself at the center of everything wrong with the world of the future. Late in the film, it is revealed that the older version of the character has traveled back in time to provide her younger self with advice on how to make millions.
One scene shows the two versions of the character meeting each other, and the moment is jarring to the viewer. After half a movie of stellar fight scenes, witty banter, and engaging special effects, the younger version of Sorian simply looks clunky and out of place. In an IMDb review, eddie_baggins said, "De-aged Catherine Keener is something I wish deeply to erase from my memory." Interestingly, average moviegoers weren't the only ones to take notice. Filmmaker Abner Pastoll called out the shoddy CGI in a post on Twitter, writing, "The de-aged/CG/deepfaked/whatever-the-hell-they-did young version of Catherine Keener in 'The Adam Project' is freaking uncanny valley."
Luckily for director Shawn Levy, this flaw didn't slow the movie's momentum down too much. Netflix audiences spent a staggering amount of time watching "The Adam Project" anyway.