The Adam Project's CGI has left Netflix users baffled

gamesradar.com:

It seems like people either absolutely loved or vehemently hated The Adam Project, or found themselves somewhere in between. However, there seems to be one specific factor in the film that everyone can agree on: the strange use of CGI, specifically in a scene involving Oscar nominee Catherine Keener.

The movie stars Ryan Reynolds as the titular Adam, a fighter pilot from a dystopian 2050 who attempts to travels back in time to the year 2018, but crash lands in 2022 and meets his 12-year-old self. Catherine Keener plays Maya Sorian, the villainous leader of the dystopian world who attempts to capture Adam and bring him back to 2050.

Halfway through the film, Maya goes back in time to visit her younger self. Rather than use makeup or hairstyling to create a young Keener, the film uses CGI to project a flat, one-dimensional 'deep fake' onto Keener's face. Many took umbrage with this choice, with more viewers tweeting about the deep fake than about Keener's actual performance.

The de-aged/CG/deepfaked/whatever-the-hell-they-did young version of Catherine Keener in THE ADAM PROJECT is freaking uncanny valley pic.twitter.com/qoC1orywmUMarch 11, 2022

"The Adam Project is on Netflix and it’s a pretty great movie," one Twitter user said. "It also has one of the worst de-aging CG effects I’ve ever seen."

"If, somehow, the de-aged CGI Catherine Keener from The Adam Project could be captured holding the baby from American Sniper, time might stop and the universe would fold in on itself and collapse," another joked.

One user said he "didn't hate" the film, but that he'd "rather forgive a slightly different looking actress than a wonky CGI."

New York Times film critic Natalia Winkelman shared her review, calling it "a movie that loves