Atlas assessment: Netflix’s by-the-numbers AI thriller


You’d assume {that a} sci-fi film the place Jennifer Lopez companions with a smart-ass, sentient mech go well with to battle towards her evil AI brother could be a little bit extra enjoyable. Alas, AtlasNetflix’s newest try at a success streaming motion film — takes itself far too significantly. It additionally fails to essentially dig into the complexities of the AI debate, regardless of primarily being a battle between a pleasant AI assistant and machine intent on a doomsday state of affairs. There are some humorous moments, notably the banter between Lopez and her mechanical companion, however each different a part of the film appears to be combating towards Atlas’ true kind. It is a buddy comedy making an attempt too exhausting to be a critical motion flick.

Atlas takes place virtually three many years after an rebellion that noticed a sophisticated AI bot named Harlan (Simu Liu) assist liberate different machines, who then proceeded to bypass their safety protocols and begin a struggle with humanity. It’s a setup that echoes loads of real-world considerations. Besides, on this case, the AIs lose, and Harlan heads off-planet to lick his wounds — however not earlier than issuing an ominous risk to the human inhabitants. Atlas (Lopez), the daughter of Harlan’s creator who primarily grew up with him as a sibling, spends the following 28 years making an attempt to find exactly the place Harlan went so the risk may be eradicated for good. The film kicks off when she discovers that location after interrogating the severed head of an AI henchman.

A very powerful factor you might want to learn about Atlas is that she has grown to utterly detest AI and, by extension, most futuristic tech. She has the identical fears many people do (together with sci-fi characters like Will Smith in I, Robotic), that are exacerbated by the truth that the tech round her may be hacked and exploited by Harlan and his associates. At one level, whereas briefing a gaggle of troopers, she says, “You possibly can’t belief AI,” whereas handing out plans printed on paper.

This worry extends notably to a tool known as a Neural Hyperlink (to not be confused with the Elon Musk-backed Neuralink), which lets a human thoughts join on to an AI companion. It’s a cool thought, however the film by no means slows down sufficient to discover it in depth. Inevitably, Atlas finds herself with no alternative however to make use of a Neural Hyperlink to connect with an AI named Smith (Gregory James Cohan) who appears similar to Siri and is housed inside a mech go well with ripped proper out of Titanfall.

That is what Alexa may appear to be at some point.
Picture: Netflix

Contrived because it is perhaps, the connection between Smith and Atlas is definitely the very best a part of the film. Atlas is cranky and sarcastic, and due to his adaptive studying capabilities, Smith quickly turns into precisely the identical. The AI swears and makes jokes, dishing it out to Atlas the identical approach she does to him. The banter is genuinely humorous, to the purpose that, despite the fact that you possibly can see it coming a mile away, their inevitable friendship nonetheless feels touching. It’s virtually value watching the entire film only for its heartwarming finale.

The issue with Atlas isn’t a lot that it’s predictable (although that doesn’t assist, nor does its painfully generic imaginative and prescient of a sci-fi future). It’s that the film doesn’t lean into this energy. Exterior of Smith and Atlas, the whole lot else about Atlas is self-serious and uninteresting. Harlan is the most important offender, performed with a stilted impact by Liu that makes him extra boring than scary. In a future the place AI bots can mimic human beings completely, it’s confounding that essentially the most superior machine appears like an outdated GPS giving instructions. Total, there’s a whole lot of wasted potential. Particularly, the film’s premise is an ideal framing for present AI debates — Siri vs. Skynet — however doesn’t take the chance to say something new.

There are already loads of current films that discover a possible AI future with a heavy dose of sincerity, whether or not it’s The Creator, Useless Reckoning, and even Netflix’s personal Jung_E. Atlas provides nothing to that intensive physique of labor. Even worse, it fails to capitalize on its one defining side. The comedic moments are the very best a part of the film, and but they will really feel misplaced buried underneath the whole lot else. Atlas was an opportunity to take an pressing AI dialog and discover it in an approachable Hollywood bundle. It may’ve been enjoyable and good — as a substitute, like a whole lot of AI proper now, it’s neither.

Atlas begins streaming on Netflix on Could twenty fourth.

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