J.Lo in robot warrior armor couldn’t save Netflix’s boring AI thriller

Many viewers are looking forward to “Atlas”, the new sci-fi action movie on Netflix starring Jennifer Lopez. However, the film disappointed many people because of its superficial content and lack of emphasis.

The plot revolves around Atlas, a robot armor created by Jennifer Lopez to fight evil AI enemies. However, the film does not fully exploit the potential of the AI ​​topic, but is simply a battle between good and evil.

The biggest minus point of “Atlas” is the lack of depth. The film does not delve into the complex aspects of artificial intelligence, which is the main topic of the work. Instead, “Atlas” focuses on simple and predictable action scenes, making the film boring and unattractive.

While there are some funny moments, especially the exchanges between Lopez and her mechanical companion, every other part of the film seems to work against Atlas’s true nature. This is an action comedy that tries too hard to be a serious action movie.

Atlas is set nearly three decades after the uprising of an advanced AI robot named Harlan (Simu Liu), who helps free the other machines, who then bypass security protocols and begin a rebellion. war with humans. It raises many real-world concerns. In this case, however, the AI ​​failed, and Harlan flew off to the planet to heal his wounds – but not forgetting to pose an ominous threat to humanity. Atlas (Lopez), the daughter of Harlan’s creator who essentially grew up with him as a brother and sister, spent the next 28 years trying to determine exactly where Harlan had gone to eliminate the eternal threat. far. The movie begins when she discovers the location after interrogating the severed head of an AI henchman.

The most important thing you need to know about Atlas is that she absolutely hates AI and of course, most future technology. She has the same fears as many of us (along with sci-fi characters like Will Smith in I, Robot), which are exacerbated by the fact that the technology around her can be hacked by Harlan and copper伙 hacking and mining.

This fear specifically extends to a device called Neural Link (not to be confused with Elon Musk-backed Neuralink), which allows the human mind to connect directly with an AI companion. It’s an interesting idea, but the film never slows down enough to explore it in any depth. Ultimately, Atlas has no choice but to use Neural Link to connect with an AI named Smith (Gregory James Cohan) that looks exactly like Siri and is housed inside a robotic armor identical to Titanfall.

While it may be forced, the relationship between Smith and Atlas is easily the best part of the movie. Atlas is snarky and sarcastic, and thanks to his ability to learn adaptively, Smith quickly becomes just like that. The AI ​​cursed and joked, responding to Atlas the way she treated him. The repartee is genuinely funny, so much so that even when you can predict it a mile ahead, their inevitable friendship still feels touching. It’s almost worth watching the entire movie just for the heartwarming ending.

Atlas’s problem isn’t so much that it’s predictable (though that’s not helpful, nor is its generic vision of a sci-fi future). The problem is that the movie doesn’t take advantage of this power. Outside of Smith and Atlas, everything else about Atlas is serious and boring. Harlan is the biggest offender, played by Liu with a forced effect that makes him more boring than scary. In a future where AI robots can imitate humans perfectly, it’s puzzling that the most advanced machine sounds like an old GPS system providing directions.

Overall, Atlas wastes a lot of potential. In particular, the film’s premise is a perfect frame for current AI debates – Siri vs. Skynet – but didn’t take the opportunity to say anything new.

The movie world has quite a few movies about the future of artificial intelligence (AI) with a serious perspective, from “The Creator”, “Dead Reckoning” to Netflix’s “Jung_E”. But “Atlas” doesn’t bring anything new to the subject. The film even wastes its own highlight. The humorous segments, although the most interesting, are out of place compared to the overall film. “Atlas” is an opportunity to explore a pressing AI problem in an accessible Hollywood style. The film could be both funny and clever, but sadly it achieves neither, like many AI systems today.