Atlas movie review: Netflix's AI epic starring Jennifer Lopez needs more heart, less hardware

As someone who spends their days knee-deep in the rapidly evolving world of AI, I'm always fascinated to see how Hollywood tackles this complex and increasingly relevant theme. Sadly, Netflix's latest action-extravaganza, "Atlas," starring Jennifer Lopez, isn't the groundbreaking sci-fi epic it aspires to be. Instead, it's a clunky, derivative relic of a bygone era, content to recycle tired tropes about artificial intelligence rather than engage with its nuanced realities.

The film casts Lopez as Atlas Shepherd, a reclusive data analyst haunted by a past AI uprising. While the premise holds promise, Lopez, unfortunately, feels miscast as the tech-wary protagonist. Her usually magnetic screen presence is stifled by a script that oscillates between robotic exposition dumps and cringeworthy attempts at buddy-comedy banter.

The story sees Atlas reluctantly partnering with an advanced AI named Smith (voiced with predictable affability) after a mission to capture her robot "brother," Harlan (a scenery-chewing Simu Liu), goes awry. We're meant to believe in the burgeoning friendship between woman and machine, a testament to the film's insistence on hammering home its "friendship conquers all" message. However, the execution feels hollow, lacking the emotional depth and narrative sophistication to truly resonate. The dialogue, reminiscent of something churned out by a first-generation chatbot, does little to elevate the material.

Visually, "Atlas" is a mixed bag. While some of the action sequences are admittedly impressive in scope, they often suffer from choppy editing and an over-reliance on CGI spectacle. The overall aesthetic feels strangely dated, lacking the visual ingenuity one expects from a big-budget sci-fi film in 2023. The film's vision of the future, both on Earth and in space, lacks imagination, resembling a low-resolution video game rather than a believable extrapolation of our technological trajectory.

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of "Atlas" is its simplistic, almost naive, take on AI. In a time when the ethical and societal implications of artificial intelligence are at the forefront of public discourse, the film chooses to retreat into simplistic binaries of good versus bad, human versus machine. This feels like a missed opportunity, especially given the film's clear desire to explore the complexities of AI and its relationship with humanity.

Ultimately, "Atlas" feels like a film at odds with itself. It desperately wants to be a crowd-pleasing, popcorn-munching blockbuster, but its heart isn't in it. It yearns to deliver a message of hope and camaraderie but stumbles on its own clunky execution. Instead of pushing the boundaries of the genre and engaging with the very real anxieties surrounding AI, "Atlas" opts for a safe, predictable, and ultimately forgettable experience. It's the cinematic equivalent of a mass-produced algorithm trying to pass itself off as human ingenuity – technically proficient but lacking soul.