Review
Atlas (Action, Sci-Fi) (2024)
Director: Brad Peyton
Writer: Aron Eli Coleite, Leo Sardarian
Stars: Jennifer Lopez, Simu Liu, Sterling K. Brown, Mark Strong
After a humanoid AI acquires an independent will, it can reprogram other intelligent robots to rise in rebellion, initiating a deadly conflict. Waging war for several years, the AI falters, and their leader flees into outer space. Many years later, an analyst who is the child of its creator figures out where they fled and manages to chase them to ensure they never return to Earth.
Releasing in the early summer of last year, Brad Peyton delivers an action-packed science fiction straight-to-streaming film featuring none other than Jennifer Lopez as the titular character in this bombastic VFX spectacle. It was filmed in Los Angeles and New Zealand and produced by ASAP Entertainment, Safehouse Pictures, Nuyorican Productions, and Berlanti-Schechter Films, and it was distributed by Netflix.
In a distant future, where AI has developed into humanoid robots, a moment of negligence causes an incident that sees its creator's death. Having reprogrammed every other artificially intelligent being on the planet, Harlan (Simu Liu) launches a rebellion.
Thus, the International Coalition of Nations is forced into a violent struggle, now considered a terrorist threat. Eventually, humankind gains the upper hand and after a series of successful skirmishes, Harlan flees into outer space. Twenty-eight years after this event, the daughter of the AI's creator has grown up to become highly distrustful of any form of artificial intelligence, becoming an analyst trying to discover where they fled. As she interrogates an AI straggler, still hiding away on Earth, Atlas (Jennifer Lopez) discovers they've fled to the Andromeda Galaxy. The ICN gathers a selection of Rangers, with Atlas demanding to join them. Once they finally budge, a warship with boundless mechs travels to the planet where the AI resides to this day; after substantial losses, Atlas is left to either find a rescue pod or face the AI terrorist leader on her own.
Within the genre of science fiction, especially those centred around artificial intelligence, An abundance of these features hypothesise moral and ethical dilemmas, something Peyton counteracts in a bombastic and energy-filled overture more akin to "The Tomorrow War", "The Adam Project", and "Pacific Rim". 
Stemming from mutinous robot rebellions in years past, an introduction to Lopez's Atlas shows her immediate distrust of these electronic interlopers. Before reaching adulthood, she experienced every step of development in A.I. programs soon to live through the rise and fall of these fabrications meant to assist humanity, instead leading to one of the most significant conflicts in several lifetimes. Atlas' disdain and following dissent act as a guiding line through Peyton's work. The ICN has brought peace back to Earth and her cities, yet believes an A.I. named Harlan would inevitably return with possibly greater forces, and such would carry a calamitous outcome for humankind.
In hopes of quenching the robot scourge once and for all, the ICN Rangers, alongside Atlas, carry on with a daring mission to outer space by using neurally-linked mechs, further fostering the dissent within our lead actress' performance.
Such an endeavour as "Atlas" seems fitting with Peyton's unpretentious, intense, visually demanding thrill rides. Without a certain depth to uplift an action-packed personal development journey, it barely manages to carry Lopez to a violent conclusion. Basking in science fiction with a ham-fisted AI narrative, it becomes overly apparent in what it desires.
Thrusting audiences upon a wave of CGI and VFX to truly immerse within this technological and alien dreamscape becomes a harsh task. The hope is to find something redeemable within the acting and narrative surrounding it all.
Unable to ever genuinely provide anything other than popcorn entertainment, the showing provided isn't too bad in reality... Some semblance of improvement can be gauged when the mechs are introduced with Brown's model called Zoe (Zoe Boyle) a bubbly and excitable presence which "Atlas" seemed to be devoid of.
It's furthered by the mech Lopez's character is partnered with in Gregory James Cohen's Smith, at last allowing some humorous dialogue and lifting the weight of an overbearingly self-serious plot guiding that which the writers might've intended to focus on, being Atlas' emotional journey and feeling towards technological advancements including that which caused her mother to perish.
Provided by Netflix, it is natural to be unsure; hesitance is inevitable when approaching projects with their label stitched on. Thus, true success is never a reachable goal for a title ne'er intent to become anything but popcorn entertainment.
Contained within "Atlas" is an obvious run-and-gun flick which, despite illogical and mostly unexplained progression, knows what it likes to become, even holding an underlying message about trust. While it'd be difficult to honestly recommend anyone to bother with this typical Netflixian project being another forgettable entry in Peyton's middling catalogue of films, if you know what you're getting and enjoy mech-based, CGI action, you'll be fine.
Verdict
Not quite capable of carrying the globe on its shoulders.
6,0
