Atlas
Director: Brad Peyton
Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Simu Liu, Sterling Ok. Brown, and Mark Strong.
Let’s all be clear, if we weren’t already, that in relation to Jennifer Lopez, it is concerning the love story. Always the love story.
J.Lo the pop star, singing about rekindled love on her newest album, “This is Me … Now.” J.Lo the rom-com common, making films about in search of love (together with the extraordinarily autobiographical movie of the identical title.) J.Lo the real-life movie star goddess, in numerous headlines about … what else?
Love, for higher or worse.
And so if we inform you that now, now we have J.Lo in Atlas, taking part in a information analyst who travels to a planet populated solely by evil AI bots making ready to extinguish humanity, properly, your solely query actually must be, “Where’s the love story?”
Don’t look again, J-Lo, however I believe Sauron’s behind you.
Glad you requested! Because there is one. It might not be with a human. It may very well be with a laptop program. But there is one. Because Atlas, an usually ridiculous sci-fi epic with dialogue cheesier than a Brie wheel but additionally an old style, human coronary heart o’ gold, is a J.Lo film. Through and thru.
We’ll give the filmmakers some credit score: Atlas, directed by Brad Peyton (San Andreas) is well timed. And not simply because Lopez has been in the information recently, however as a result of the topic is AI – which has been in the information much more than Bennifer, consider it or not.
We start our story on Earth, method off into the long run, at a time the place somebody can say “Remember there was issues referred to as smartphones?” and everybody laughs. A montage of stories studies informs us that issues haven’t been going properly for the human race. AI, created to advance humanity, has turned in opposition to it, killing over 1 million civilians.
What do you imply I appear to be I’m over-compensating?
The evil AI chief is Harlan (Simu Liu), who after turning on humanity has escaped to an unknown location removed from Earth. But when an affiliate of his, Casca, is captured on Earth, the pinnacle of ICN, a coalition of countries combating the AI menace, calls on Atlas Shepherd (Lopez) to assist query him. Who higher than the girl who’s devoted her life to the hunt for Harlan?
We study Atlas is not a completely happy particular person. Also, she’s hooked on espresso – quad Americanos, to be exact. And she hates – completely hates – AI, for causes unknown.
Anyway, Atlas deftly manages to acquire Harlan’s location from Casca, and shortly finds herself begging to hitch a mission to his far-off planet to seize the villainous bot, with whom she shares a mysterious previous connection. At first, mission commander Banks (Sterling Ok. Brown) objects strenuously, however rapidly and relatively illogically adjustments his thoughts. (Both Liu and Brown deserve significantly better roles than the generic, lifeless ones they’re given.)
Soon they’re off, to GR-39 in the Andromeda galaxy, the place the ICN space rangers fall into a disastrous lure laid by Harlan. It’s right here that Atlas meets an important different particular person in the film – properly, not a particular person. It’s her AI software program, who proves her essential ally as soon as Atlas is pressured to crash land, in her mechanized battle go well with, onto the planet.
Who wants ten magical rings if you’ve acquired a cool robotic go well with, eh, Shang Chi?
The key difficulty is trust-building. Atlas, as we stated, would not belief AI. As the 2 get to know one another, the software program provides himself (he has a “default” male voice) a title: Smith.
Atlas: “Is that basically essential?” Smith: “Names create an emotional response.” Atlas: “You’re a laptop program.”
The plan consists of discovering Harlan, defeating his dastardly plot to destroy humanity and getting off the planet – all whereas hopefully staying alive. At each step, Smith informs Atlas with all the info at his disposal how exactly determined the chances are. This outcomes in some amusing banter as Smith, voiced by Gregory James Cohan, “learns” sarcasm and humor.
As for Atlas, she must learn to let down her guard – or relatively, her mind partitions. Her distrust of AI leads her to stubbornly refuse (at first) Smith’s entreaties to make use of the “neural hyperlink” – a pathway into one another’s brains – that can vastly improve Atlas’ possibilities of survival, combining her analytic capability with Smith’s information entry.
Harlan doesn’t seem till midway into the film, and we quickly study one thing concerning the tragic previous he shares with Atlas. In any case, it’s Smith, not Harlan, that finally evokes actual feeling from Atlas – and provides Lopez a likelihood to emote, which she does moderately properly given the mediocre dialogue. You might name it a futuristic triangle: Human, unhealthy AI, good AI.
Who will win out? Our protocol, as Smith would say, doesn’t permit us to present spoilers. But you may guess one concept that emerges shining shiny: It’s a 4 letter phrase that begins with “L.” — AP
