Image via Netflix
Atlas might not be flavour of the month among critics with its over-reliance on visuals effects, derivative storyline, and drama free denouncement, but it still delivers. There are huge action sequences that offer bang for your buck, pithy one-liners said with adequate distain, and Mark Strong’s General Jake Boothe giving audiences his best authority figure. The plot might revolve around A.I bots gone mad as self-awareness reaches a tipping point and humanity is seen redundant, but it also features Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings) as A.I leader Harlan (Simu Liu) wearing artfully applied prosthetics and looking mean.
Image via Netflix
Atlas needs nothing from its audiences other than a pulse. If there is blood flowing through the veins of its paying public, then everyone wins. What might surprise those who make that leap is just how good Jennifer Lopez is as Atlas Shepherd. She might have serious Ripley vibes combined with a little bit of Sarah Connor thrown in for good measure, but Lopez is also one hundred percent badass. Either looking intellectual behind designer frames, or mastering human to AI synching in under two seconds, nothing is beyond the abilities of this research analyst.
Image via Netflix
Then there is the matter of Mark Strong, who seems to relish starring alongside Lopez in a film he knows to be the equivalent of easy listening. He is solely onboard this derivative space opera to give it some kudos, hoping to tempt those people who love cinema into rolling the dice for an evening. Other surprises include Gregory James Chan, who voices Smith, an artificial intelligence entity who teaches Atlas that not all machines are bad. For someone who never appears on screen, Chan still manages to muster some essential chemistry with Lopez and help carry this film.
Image via Netflix
Sterling K. Brown (American Fiction) is also there to convince people to take a chance. His role as Colonel Elias Banks may also lean into archetypes and feels no shame in recalling a particularly poignant Aliens homage. However, Banks is another badass who has about ten minutes of screentime in a movie which runs over two hours. Meaning that all the responsibility falls on Lopez to carry this film through to its outlandish conclusion.
Image via Netflix
Redemption and an empathy with artificial intelligence was always on the cards for Atlas Sheperd, but one thing which will consistently astonish audiences is just how good Atlas is despite all those people saying otherwise. Against all odds this Netflix sci-fi really produces the goods and deserves a bigger audience and higher critical score than it will ever see. For everyone else who is just after a good time go and check this out now.
Atlas is available to stream on Netflix now.