Not sure when multiverses and actors meeting younger versions of themselves became Hollywood’s go-to, but here we go again…

“The Adam Project” stars Ryan Reynolds as a pilot from the future who crash lands in the year 2022 and must work with his 12-year-old self (Walker Scobell) to get back to his time. Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, Catherine Keener, and Zoe Saldaña also star while Shawn Levy directs.

As a director goes, Shawn Levy either produces fun kid’s films (“Big Fat Liar” and “Night at the Museum”) or mediocre adult dramedies like “The Internship” and “This Is Where I Leave You.” “The Adam Project” finds itself somewhere in between, combining space battles and the quippy charm of Ryan Reynolds with some pretty standard family drama, resulting in a film that feels like something right out the Netflix oven.

I’ve been a fan of Ryan Reynolds for years, and while I wish he would branch out of his “Deadpool” persona I’m not sick of it like others seem to have gotten. Here, Reynolds is still doing the same schtick he’s been at since 2016, but it’s at least dialed down. He shares a decent chemistry with Walker Scobell, who himself could pass for a 6th-grade Reynolds.

The action is hit-or-miss, with some of the fights being fun but other bits  just feeling pretty generic and stale. Levy has worked on these types of projects before (directing “Free Guy” and producing “Stranger Things”), but no one has ever accused him of being Ridley Scott or James Cameron. Things move along at a decent-enough pace until the climax, where they slow down as the film tries to be smarter than it really is or even needs to be.

“The Adam Project” is fine enough, but it’s just another forgettable Netflix original doomed to be forgotten this time next week. Fans of Reynolds or families looking for a sci-fi night in should get their in-the-moment kicks, but honestly if you want a “big name actor meets their younger self” movie, you’re better off watching “Looper,” “Gemini Man,” or “Back to the Future” instead.

Critics Rating: 5/10