Atlas

 

Atlas (2024)

A Painfully Conventional Ride Through Sci-Fi Tropes

★★☆☆☆

A competent but derivative AI thriller that leans heavily on its star power and CGI budget.

Directed by Brad Peyton, Atlas is a competent, but painfully conventional science fiction and action feature. With standard, stereotypical characters and a plot obviously inspired by Blade Runner, Terminator, and Pacific Rim, the film struggles to carve out its own identity. On the plus side, the movie boasts some strong special effects and impressive production design for a straight-to-streaming title. Jennifer Lopez puts up a game effort, even if the material feels like a collection of ideas we've seen a half-dozen times before.

"Lopez has reached that level of fame where she can only be seen as herself despite her best intentions. In her defense, it's hard to picture this film being greenlit without her, considering how mediocre the material is."

— Ray Manukay

🎬 Cast & Crew

• Director: Brad Peyton
• Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Simu Liu, Sterling K. Brown
• Voice Cast: Gregory James Cohan (Smith)
• Platform: Netflix

The Vision

Brad Peyton attempts to create a high-stakes "man vs. machine" odyssey, but the vision often gets lost in the generic beats of the script. Jennifer Lopez is undeniably watchable as she navigates the film, but she feels miscast as a brilliant but traumatized data analyst—a role that demands a level of character depth the superstar's massive public persona tends to overshadow. The film's strength lies in its visuals, which provide enough "eye candy" to keep the average viewer engaged through the predictably listless narrative.

🎬 Cinephile Fun Facts

• AI Resonance: The film's release coincided with a global surge in AI discourse, though critics noted that the screenplay actually predates the current ChatGPT era by several years.
• Physical Production: To help Lopez react to her robotic companion, the production used a real voice actor on set rather than just recording the lines in post-production.
• Netflix Numbers: Despite mixed critical reviews, Atlas debuted at #1 in over 90 countries on Netflix, proving Lopez's enduring global "greenlight" power.

✅ Pros

• Strong special effects and high-quality production design.
• Jennifer Lopez is a magnetic, pleasantly watchable presence.
• Functional action sequences for fans of the "mech" subgenre.

❌ Cons

• Derivative plot that feels like a collage of better sci-fi films.
• Jennifer Lopez feels miscast as a "traumatized analyst."
• Stereotypical characters and uninspired dialogue.

🏆 Final Verdict

A "comfort food" sci-fi flick that won't win any awards for originality. Atlas is a glossy, mid-tier spectacle that serves its purpose as a weekend stream but disappears from memory the moment the credits roll.

View original review on Letterboxd