HOLLYWOOD—I will admit I didn’t expect much from the Netflix sci-fi adventure “Atlas” starring actress Jennifer Lopez. This is not a perfect movie, but it does a raise an important question; how much of a threat can Artificial Intelligence (AI) be to our livelihood? Yes, AI is the craze of all crazes when it comes to technology. The problem with “Atlas” is that it takes a bit of time to get moving, so much to the point it might lose the audience right as the movie is starting to gain steam.
With that said, Lopez stars as Atlas Shepherd, an analyst who is very skeptical of AI, as the planet is currently dealing with a massive crisis thanks to an AI terrorist named Harlan (Simu Liu), who is responsible for the murder of millions of people on the planet. Now when I think of AI I’m thinking of a voice, I don’t think of an actual human being or robot, I think of a computer program. However, this movie takes the notion of AI to new heights with robotic creatures that look just like us who are super intelligent and are doing some wicked things.
The one thing this movie surprised me with was its cast. Not only are Lopez and Liu solid in the roles, but we also have Oscar nominee Sterling K. Brown and Mark Strong, who I really consider an actor who doesn’t get as much credit as he deserves with countless supporting roles that are much stronger than people give him credit for. Brown’s character is not utilized as much as he could have been. The cast for this movie is tight and that works because we don’t have a ton of characters we need to get to know or understand the motives behind their behavior.
This is Jennifer Lopez’s movie; she is the driving force for much of the narrative as she comes across as a paranoid individual who has lost too much already, her mother, who created Harlan and her father, who left the family when she was a kid. In a way, Atlas is a bit of a loner looking for social interaction beyond some of the AI that she utilizes in her home as she plays chess amongst many things.
The narrative focus on Atlas helping military forces led by the International Coalition of Nations (ICN) as they plan to hunt for Harlan and dismantle his organization, but it will not be an easy feat because Harlan is smart people, quite smart. So, he is always a step ahead of our heroes. The pacing is slow in this movie, it really takes about an hour into the movie before the gears really start clicking and once they start clicking you’re witnessing an entertaining movie on the small screen.
I had a ton of fun with the action-sequences and the special effects which deliver for the spectator. You have a worthy villain in Harlan, that Liu taps into a dark side as an actor we haven’t seen from him before. I can see Liu tackling more villainous roles in the near future. Lopez does what Lopez does well as exuding empathy for our protagonist so that we root for her success and the ultimate downfall of the villain at so much emotional turmoil for our primary character and plenty of others.
“Atlas” really kicks its narrative in full gear in the second half of the second act of the movie, just as it enters the third act. Once that punch is kicked into gear the audience is going to enjoy this movie. You don’t have to run to watch “Atlas,” but if you happen to catch the movie it will entertain you, just be aware that it takes a little time to get moving.
