Atlas Review: Netflix’s AI-by-the-numbers thriller

You’d think a sci-fi movie where Jennifer Lopez teams up with an intelligent, sentient mechanical suit to fight against her evil AI brother would be a little more fun. Alas, Atlas – Netflix’s latest attempt at creating a blockbuster streaming action film – takes itself way too seriously. It also fails to really delve into the complexities of the AI ​​debate, despite it being essentially a conflict between a friendly AI assistant and a machine bent on a doomsday scenario. There are some funny moments, notably the banter between Lopez and her mechanical sidekick, but every other part of the film seems to struggle against Atlas‘ true form. This is a buddy comedy that tries too hard to be a serious action film.

Atlas takes place nearly three decades after an uprising that saw an advanced AI robot named Harlan (Simu Liu) help free other machines, which then bypassed their security protocols and started a war with humanity. It’s a setup that echoes many real-world concerns. Except, in this case, the AIs lose and Harlan leaves the planet to lick his wounds – but not before emitting an ominous threat to the human population. Atlas (Lopez), the daughter of Harlan’s creator who grew up with him as a brother, spends the next 28 years trying to locate precisely where Harlan has gone so the threat can be eliminated for good. The film begins with her discovering this place after interrogating the severed head of an AI henchman.

The most important thing you need to know about Atlas is that it has been made absolutely detestable by AI and, by extension, more futuristic technology. She has the same fears as many of us (with sci-fi characters like Will Smith in I robot), which are exacerbated by the fact that the technology surrounding it can be hacked and exploited by Harlan and his associates. At one point, while briefing a group of soldiers, she says, “You can’t trust the AI,” while handing out plans printed on paper.

This fear particularly extends to a device called Neural Link (not to be confused with the Elon Musk-backed Neuralink), which allows a human mind to connect directly to an AI companion. It’s a nice idea, but the film never slows down enough to explore it in depth. Inevitably, Atlas has no choice but to use a neural link to connect to an AI named Smith (Gregory James Cohan) who resembles Siri and is housed inside a mechanical suit ripped from his body . Fall of the Titans.

As contrived as it may be, the relationship between Smith and Atlas is easily the best part of the film. Atlas is grumpy and sarcastic, and thanks to his adaptive learning abilities, Smith soon becomes exactly the same. The AI ​​swears and makes jokes, dishing them out to Atlas the same way it does to him. The jokes are really funny, to the point that even though you can see them coming from a mile away, their inevitable friendship is still touching. It’s almost worth watching the entire film just for its heartwarming finale.

The problem with Atlas isn’t all that predictable (although that doesn’t help, nor does its painfully generic vision of a sci-fi future). This is because the film does not rely on this strength. Apart from Smith and Atlas, everything else Atlas is serious and boring. Harlan is the biggest delinquent, played by Liu with a stilted effect that makes him more annoying than frightening. In a future where AI robots can perfectly imitate humans, it’s disconcerting that the most advanced machine looks like an old GPS giving directions. Overall, there’s a lot of wasted potential. In particular, the film’s premise provides a perfect framework for current AI debates – Siri versus Skynet – but doesn’t take the opportunity to say anything new.

There are already many recent films that explore the potential future of AI with a strong dose of sincerity, whether it’s The creator, Dead Reckoningor even that of Netflix Jung_E. Atlas adds nothing to this vast body of work. Worse still, it fails to capitalize on its single defining aspect. The comedic moments are the best part of the film, and yet they can seem out of place, buried beneath everything else. Atlas It was an opportunity to take an urgent conversation about AI and explore it in an accessible Hollywood package. It could have been fun And intelligent – ​​instead, like a lot of AI today, it’s neither.

Atlas begins streaming on Netflix on May 24.