New to Netflix today is the sci-fi action movie, Atlas. Directed by Brad Peyton, the movie stars Jennifer Lopez, Simu Liu, Sterling K. Brown, Gregory James Cohan, Abraham Popoola, and Mark Strong, and follows the story of a data analyst attempting to locate a deadly A.I. bot.
In the movie, it’s the near future and the world is in trouble. A.I. bots have bypassed their protocols, gone rogue, and have killed over a million people.
To combat the bots, the world sets up the International Coalition of Nations (ICN) – a unified defence force tasked with mounting a counterattack. This attack proves somewhat successful and in turn forces lead A.I. bot, Harlan Shepherd, to flee the planet.
Fast forward 28 years and ICN is still working hard to maintain the safety of the planet. ICN operatives hunt down A.I. terrorists, with a goal of uncovering Harlan’s location.
One of these operatives is data analyst Atlas Shepherd. Atlas has a history with Harlan, and she’s keen to locate and destroy him.
After uncovering his whereabouts, Atlas joins a mission to capture Harlan. But while the ICN’s goal is to bring Harlan in alive, to find out why he went rogue, Atlas has other ideas.
Filled with action, adventure, and plenty of spectacle, including space ships and mech-suits, Atlas is a good ol’ fashioned sci-fi flick about humanity versus machines. A.I. becomes the world’s greatest threat, humans fight back, and the future is shaped accordingly.
Have we seen this sort of thing before? Totally and there’s not much in here that will appear new.
Atlas is fairly derivative stuff, borrowing from plenty of films from the past. It’s part Terminator, part I, Robot, and part Robot Jox, with various other sci-fi movies thrown into the mix.
Yet despite the lack of originality Atlas is fairly enjoyable stuff, and if you don’t think about it too much it can be quite likeable. Sure, there’s not a lot going on with the story, but the film looks good, is chock full of visual effects and wizardry, and features a steadfast performance from Jennifer Lopez as Atlas.
The central thrust of the picture is Atlas’ desire to locate Harlan, with the film dedicating the majority of its runtime to Atlas’ off-world journey. She leaves Earth fairly early on, crash lands on the alien planet GR-39, and spends her time searching for the rogue bot.
Along the way she traverses harsh landscapes, spouts a bit of techno-babble, and undertakes some kind of mind-meld with the A.I in her mech-suit. This A. I. is a computer program named Smith, who is voiced by Gregory James Cohan and becomes her constant companion through the film.
Together Atlas and Smith hunt down Harlan and do a spot of bonding. The film may be about the dangers of intelligent tech, but there’s still a bit of room for some friendly and helpful technology too.
The important thing here is not to worry too much about what’s good or bad in the technology department and instead focus on the visuals and special effects. Enjoy what is being chucked at the screen and try not to concern yourself with the story.
At nearly two-hours in length, Atlas does suffer a bit from some sagging in the middle, and a bit of editing here and there wouldn’t be a bad thing, however, the continual use of spectacle helps to smooth over some of the bumps. The final 30 minutes also contains enough explosions to help bring this thing home, with a daft but highly enjoyable battle between Atlas and Harlan.
With regards to the cast, Jennifer Lopez and Gregory James Cohan give solid turns throughout the picture, while the likes of Mark Strong, Sterling K. Brown, and Abraham Popoola pop up here and there to offer good support. Most of the cast come off well in the film, even if some get limited screen time.
The only cast member who feels completely wasted is Simu Liu who is lumbered with the thankless part of Harlan. It’s such a one-note role, with nothing for the actor to do, and it is a complete waste of his talents.
I imagine Liu took the part because Hollywood isn’t beating down his door at present, even though he appeared in Barbie and he led Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. I’m not entirely sure why he’s not being given better opportunities, but hey, he does what he can here and if he has to play a paper-thin bad guy to pay the bills, so be it.
Despite a fairly weak story, and the general feeling this is a straight-to-streaming affair (albeit with a bizarrely big effects budget), Atlas is entertaining. It’s not fantastic, so don’t for one second believe it is, but it’s not bad either.
If you’re a sci-fi fan simply looking for a bit of escapism, Atlas has you covered. There’s plenty of things to look at, even if some of the scenes border computer game territory, and you’ll find yourself entertained for the most part.
Will you remember this film in a few months from now? Highly unlikely, but that’s par for the course with Netflix and streaming in general.
Atlas is what it is, but what it is ain’t bad. It’s mindless entertainment that looks pretty and is mildly diverting stuff.
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2 Responses to Review: Atlas (2024)
Totally loved Atlas! It’s a great popcorn movie! Jennifer did an excellent job! We clapped at the end of the movie. It was just that good!
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She’s a good actress :).
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