Atlas is an science fiction action film directed by Brad Peyton and released in 2024. The film features a cast of great actors that work together creating a thrilling experience for the viewers. Jennifer Lopez who plays Atlas Shepherd stars as the lead character. She is a data analyst, who lives a quiet life and is deeply skeptical of advanced Artificial Intelligence. Simu Liu, plays Harlan, the film’s antagonist. Harlan goes rogue by reprogramming himself and decides to commit a genocide killing over 3 million people making him the primary adversary from the start.
Something I found to be very consistent is the film’s continuity. This being a high-budget film, editing perfection is expected. The science fiction aspect comes to life through immersive CGI which brings the robotic props like Smith to life. I found the music score to be very interesting considering that some of the soundtracks used do not fit into the Sci-fi genre. This could have been a deliberate attempt by the director to elevate Jennifer Lopez as a Sci-fi actor, a role in which she isn’t synonymous. Anything else was somehow awful and disappointing having had higher expectations for the film. Every frame looks more like a stock image. The actors are neither given anything of value to do nor anything to add to give something memorable to the visual language. I know critics will have a say in this. We can’t blame a woman for trusting their robot toy but her path to trusting Smith wholeheartedly is never captivating in the slightest. Netflix has bankrolled yet another exasperating, incompetent, and badly acted sci-fi film. It is one of the worst things Lopez has done after last year’s “The Mother”. The character Atlas seems to have been forced on Jennifer Lopez. I would say that this is a bit of a disappointment. The film having debuted at number one on Netflix’s most popular English films isn’t in my books of a good screenplay and I would say it buckles under the weight of a script whose intelligence is merely artificial. Since it is an open question, it is intriguing that it raises questions on whether AI is good or bad to be used in future civilizations. As much as I appreciate Jennifer Lopez's previous films and what it meant for her inclusion in Atlas, her execution in her protagonist role isn’t satisfying. The only thing that she did execute perfectly is her mastery of chess and using the queen as a metaphorical representation of her role in the film.
Be that as it may, some of the acting skills are very interesting to watch, for example, Mark Strong’s acting and character are small but he executes it well and maturely which makes me give this film a solid 6.0. I was extremely tempted to rate it higher in order to offset the low ratings; it’s obviously not a 10 but it is not a 4 either. In my opinion, Smith should have been the protagonist; it seems that AI is already taking over. I don’t plan on recommending this film to a science fiction enthusiast but it is worth passing time with.
6/10 "The character Atlas seems to have been forced on Jennifer Lopez."
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