Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Adam Project
The Adam Project is filled with the kind of jokes expected from a Ryan Reynolds movie, but the sci-fi film takes it one stage further in playing with the star’s successful formula. Netflix has scored yet another hit with The Adam Project as it continues its mission to dominate the streaming wars. To that end, Ryan Reynolds is one of Netflix's frequent collaborators, with 6 Underground and Red Notice also turning in record viewing numbers. Ryan Reynolds' movie star persona is a big draw for these movies, which The Adam Project has fun mocking.
For a while, Hollywood struggled to find the right types of roles for Ryan Reynolds, with movies like X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Green Lantern not properly utilizing his talents. Deadpool and Deadpool 2 really turned things around though, with the Marvel character's trademark quips and deadpan humor meshing perfectly with Reynolds' natural charisma and comedy style. Taking full advantage of this success, Ryan Reynolds has repeated this archetype of quip-happy characters in his subsequent movies, including The Adam Project. The Adam Project centers around time travel, with a pilot (Ryan Reynolds) from the future who goes back in time and encounters his 12-year-old self (newcomer Walker Scobell).
The Adam Project goes beyond just repeating Ryan Reynold's movie star persona, as it takes the opportunity to perfectly mock the formula. In grieving over the death of his father (Mark Ruffalo) young Adam has developed a habit of running his mouth and getting into fights at school. Due to him being smaller than his classmates, though, young Adam always ends up on the receiving end of the punches. Never one to let a good insult be left unsaid, Ryan Reynolds' grown-up Adam hasn't learned to keep his mouth shut, which continues to earn him punches throughout the movie, even from his own father. The Adam Project's running joke of Adam running his mouth off at every opportunity and getting punched (or deserving to) as his reward ultimately feels like a great riff on the Deadpool-esque characters that audiences have responded so positively to Ryan Reynolds playing.
The Adam Project's playful mocking of Ryan Reynolds’ formula extends to Walker Scobell's perfect imitation of Reynolds, with young Adam’s quips almost making getting punched worth it to land a zinger. Scobell studied Reynolds’ performance in the Deadpool movies for years and even gets a Deadpool joke with his own superhero landing. Ryan Reynolds would have led the charge over his self-deprecation, and the running jokes about him being punched for his big mouth are all in good fun, winking at the audience. Even the pre-release material for The Adam Project had Ryan Reynolds being teased by Scobell over Reynolds' formula of "just playing himself."
Adam's habit of not being able to stop quipping is also a virtue as well as a crutch. It's his "gift of the gab" that wins over his future wife, Laura (Zoe Saldaña). The Adam Project may mock Ryan Reynolds' movie star persona, but it is also one of the reasons the movie works as well as it does. The story of a son having the chance to reconnect with his father across time also gives Ryan Reynolds the chance to extend his range across a wealth of emotions. Though the characters in The Adam Project may often want to punch Adam, audiences are still quite happy to see Ryan Reynolds stick to his movie star persona formula.