Ryan Reynolds’ 106-Minute Sci-Fi Action Film Is Officially One of the Biggest Streaming Hits in History
Deadpool star and bona fide A-lister Ryan Reynolds is (likely) waiting to return as the Merc With a Mouth in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, with the character expected to return to the MCU after bringing in over a billion dollars at the box office with 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine. And while he has found success since with this year’s Apple TV movie Mayday, the only other Ryan Reynolds-led effort that comes close to his Deadpool success is a sci-fi action outing that is officially one of the biggest hits in Netflix history.
Ryan Reynolds Joins Forces With His Younger Self To Save the Future
Ryan Reynolds leaves some of the sarcastic quips behind to make way for a younger version of himself in the sci-fi action movie The Adam Project, which finds the Deadpool actor joining forces with a pitch-perfectly cast Percy Jackson and the Olympians star lead Walker Scobell in his first acting role. Thus, The Adam Project centers on a 13-year-old Adam as he navigates his way through ordinary problems like school and bullies, before facing the extraordinary when he’s awoken in the night by a mysterious noise.
Adam quickly discovers that the older version of himself, played by Reynolds, has been injured after a crash landing after time traveling from the future into his own childhood. On a mission to save his lost love, the two Adams must work together to avoid enemies from the future and tackle issues from the past.
Directed by Deadpool & Wolverine’s Shawn Levy, and starring fellow MCU stars Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner as Adam’s parents, with Zoe Saldaña as another time traveler, The Adam Project is the very definition of a throwback as it combines the delights of such classics as Flight of the Navigator and Back to the Future, and all draped in a Steven Spielberg/Amblin-esque vibe.
‘The Adam Project’ Is a Solid Mix of Sci-Fi Action & Amblin-Esque Nostalgia
Thanks to the drive for nostalgia, as well as some surprisingly moving moments as the older and younger Adam confront their lives from years apart, The Adam Project was met with solid reviews upon release. The movie now holds respectable scores of 68% and 73% from critics and audiences, respectively, on Rotten Tomatoes, and has become one of the biggest Netflix movies of all time.
The Adam Project has since accrued over 157 million views and more than 280 million hours viewed, placing it fifth in Netflix’s all-time top 10. The sci-fi action outing joins the likes of the survival thriller Bird Box, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence’s satirical comedy Don’t Look Up, and the action movies Carry-On, Red Notice, and Alan Ritchson’s recent War Machine, with the fantasy epic phenomenon KPop Demon Hunters taking the top spot.
|
TOP 10 MOST POPULAR MOVIES OF ALL TIME (GLOBAL) |
||||
|
RANKING |
TITLE |
VIEWS |
RUNTIME |
HOURS VIEWED |
|
01. |
KPop Demon Hunters |
325,100,000 |
1:40 |
541,800,000 |
|
02. |
Red Notice |
230,900,000 |
1:58 |
454,200,000 |
|
03. |
Carry-On |
172,100,000 |
2:00 |
344,100,000 |
|
04. |
Don’t Look Up |
171,400,000 |
2:23 |
408,600,000 |
|
05. |
The Adam Project |
157,600,000 |
1:47 |
281,000,000 |
|
06. |
Bird Box |
157,400,000 |
2:04 |
325,300,000 |
|
07. |
Back in Action |
147,200,000 |
1:54 |
279,700,000 |
|
08. |
Swapped |
144,900,000 |
1:42 |
246,400,000 |
|
09. |
Leave the World Behind |
143,400,000 |
2:22 |
339,300,000 |
|
10. |
War Machine |
139,900,000 |
1:49 |
254,200,000 |
While The Adam Project may have now faded from our collective memories somewhat since being released in 2022, audiences continue to discover the sci-fi action throwback, with recent RT reactions hailing it as “a great surprise,” a “great” movie where “everything falls perfectly into place,” and “Time travel sci fi, heartfelt family dynamics, Ryan Reynolds comedic quips throughout – what’s not to like?”
