Ryan Reynolds Says The Adam Project Feels like an '80s Movie

Netflix is putting a ton of weight behind The Adam Project, and the early reactions have shown everybody exactly why. The studio seems to have a hit on its hands, with the new Shawn Levy and Ryan Reynolds project attracting both adults and kids alike. The time-traveling adventure is an action movie for all ages, albeit with a massive budget and an even bigger heart. According to Reynolds, who stars in and produces the movie, it's meant to feel like The Goonies, E.T., and other hits of the 1980s. 

"I loved that Netflix positioned The Adam Project like that. They love the movie the way we love the movie," Reynolds told The Hollywood Reporter, speaking about Netflix's big Super Bowl movie ad. "It's been such a labor of love for myself and Shawn Levy from the jump. I'm grateful that Netflix has a commitment to making movies like this, original stories based on nothing more than an idea, and we get to bring them to life. Especially films with this tone that – and I say this in a good way – is a little bit old-fashioned with an '80s wish-fulfillment, meaning something amazing or even supernatural happens to a kid but he's home by dinner, and his parents have no clue. It's a type of old-school, warm and nostalgic filmmaking that I love."

Reynolds went on to explain why those types of movies have become even more important now. With more movies than ever before, a lot of family films have been marketed to just younger audiences. The Adam Project bridges the gap.

"I really, genuinely did have the time of my life because it was that exact kind of movie," Reynolds said. "Shawn is in Budapest right now, and he would love nothing more than to be sitting here doing this interview as well, but I speak for him when I say that [The Adam Project] is the type of movie we were weaned on. Movies like E.T., Back to the Future, Stand by Me and Goonies all appealed to kids as if they were adults. Now, in the modern age of entertainment, we tend to bifurcate those by saying that kids' movies are really kids' movies, and grown-up movies are grown-up movies, while we're being blasted with a fire hose of content 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

Reynolds stars in The Adam Project alongside Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, and Zoe Saldana. The film is set to debut on Netflix on March 11th.