The Adam Project: 7 Characters, Ranked By Intelligence
Content Warning: The following article contains spoilers for the Netflix film The Adam Project.
Only the smartest characters in Netflix’s The Adam Project manage to dictate the flow of time in the sci-fi action film. These individuals often have to take into account the complicated aspects of time travel to achieve their goals, which are not always for the greater good.
From its main villain Maya Sorian (Catherine Keener) to the likable badass Laura Shane (Zoe Saldaña), the most brilliant characters in the movie prove that they can stay one step ahead of others and untangle even the messiest facets of time travel.
7 Christos
Christos (Alex Mallari Jr.) serves the powerful sci-fi villain Sorian without questioning the morality of her actions and decisions. He’s a loyal soldier and doesn’t seem to do anything without her approval, as evidenced in the way he tells Adam Reed (Ryan Reynolds) that he hopes the boss will let him kill the rogue time traveler.
He may have impressive moves but Christos is definitely a character who is valued more for his brawns than his brains. It’s interesting to think about how he went to “the academy” with Adam and Laura, but didn’t end up nearly as smart as either of them.
6 Ellie Reed
Jennifer Garner’s role as Ellie Reed has become one of her most memorable ones, as she manages to depict the single mother in a way that highlights both her immense inner strength and understandable vulnerability. She doesn’t get as much screen time as the rest of the main characters, but the scenes she does have highlight how much she’s willing to do for her young son.
It takes strength and intelligence to be able to hold it together like she has after Louis Reed’s (Mark Ruffalo) death. A conversation between the couple underscores her ability to give wise advice about how Louis can be a good father. She may not be smart in the way her husband, Adam, or Sorian are, but she’s brilliant in the way she makes others feel loved and reassured that everything will be okay.
5 Adam Reed
Fans may have expected 2050’s Adam to be the smartest among the time travelers, but as his younger self (played by Walker Scobell) points out, he seems to have traded his “brains for those muscles.” He’s the last to figure out what Laura means when she explains how Sorian had already altered the time stream, which prompts that funny comment from his 12-year-old counterpart.
That said, Adam has some moments in the movie that highlight his intelligence, like how he notices that something’s not quite right with the logs showing Laura’s reentry. He’s also intelligent enough to see the bigger picture when Laura insists on him leaving her for the greater good, which is not an easy thing to do (especially considering it’s the second time he loses her).
4 Young Adam Reed
Scobell is the perfect child actor to cast as Adam’s younger self, as he’s able to be just as charming, witty, and even more intelligent than his 2050 version. The endearing character has a “big mouth,” and his clever comebacks have gotten him in trouble more than once.
Despite being only 12 years old, Adam has no trouble grasping Laura’s explanation of how Sorian already altered the time stream. He also quickly comes to terms with older Adam’s existence in his timeline and asks intelligent questions about how it could impact his childhood and future. He’s definitely going to need more years in school to outsmart characters like Laura and Louis, but his actions in the film show that if he makes better choices, he’ll find himself on the right track.
3 Maya Sorian
Whether fans like her or not, there’s no denying that Sorian is among the smartest people in the movie. Sorian managed to fool everyone for a long time, making them believe that she is rightfully in “control over the most valuable resource on earth, time.”
As Louis’ primary funder, she has always been knowledgeable about time travel and the mechanisms behind it – she also used to respect its dangers. Sorian’s older, more cynical self may not be as smart and idealistic as her younger version, but she is still strategic and cutthroat, which is the only way she’s able to cover up her crime. Her arrogance, unfortunately, gets the best of her, and the fact that she focuses on “the bigger picture” instead of “the science” kills her in the end.
2 Laura Shane
Without Laura’s intervention, Sorian likely would have continued to dominate the dystopian future for years. It takes guts and brilliance to do what she did, knowing that she could get stuck in the past without any guarantee that someone would come for her.
Aside from uncovering what Sorian did in 2018, Laura is also way ahead of everyone else in figuring out how to undo the mess. Even before Adam’s arrival, she had already formulated a plan and knows exactly what he has to do to fix the time stream. She’s also smart and brave enough to accept that for the plan to work, Adam has to leave her behind.
1 Louis Reed
Without a doubt, Louis is the smartest character in The Adam Project. Not only did he invent time travel, but he’s also the person Adam turns to when things go horribly wrong in the future. The protagonist knows his dad will have a solution for the huge problem Sorian has created, despite not seeing him for decades.
The scientist’s epic fight with Sorian is the moment that truly shows how much smarter he is compared to everyone else in that room. Only he seems to understand how the magnetic field created by the deteriorating particle accelerator would bend the bullet and kill the villain. As an added bonus, he gives both Adams the closure they both needed from their father, who is smart enough to accept that he shouldn’t avoid his death that is just around the corner.