The movie “Atlas” is a 2024 American science fiction action thriller directed by Brad Peyton and written by Leo Sardarian and Aron Eli Coleite ¹. The movie is about a brilliant but misanthropic data analyst named Atlas Shepherd who joins a mission to capture a renegade robot with whom she shares a mysterious past ¹. When the mission goes awry, her only hope of saving the future of humanity from AI is to trust it ¹.
Main Characters and Cast
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Atlas Shepherd (played by Jennifer Lopez): A brilliant but misanthropic data analyst with a deep distrust of artificial intelligence.
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Harlan (played by Simu Liu): A renegade robot with whom Atlas shares a mysterious past.
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Colonel Elias Banks (played by Sterling K. Brown): The leader of the mission to capture Harlan.
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Smith (voiced by Gregory James Cohan): An AI persona who helps Atlas on her mission.
Plot Summary
The movie takes place in a future where AI has turned against humanity, killing over 1 million civilians. Atlas Shepherd, a data analyst, is recruited by the head of ICN, a coalition of nations fighting the AI menace, to help question Casca, an associate of Harlan, the evil AI leader. Atlas obtains Harlan’s location from Casca and joins a mission to capture him. However, things go awry, and Atlas finds herself stuck in a mech suit controlled by Smith, an AI persona. Atlas must learn to trust Smith in order to survive and save humanity from AI.
Themes and Reviews
The movie explores themes of trust, humanity, and artificial intelligence. The movie has received mixed reviews, with some praising Jennifer Lopez’s performance and others criticizing the dialogue and plot. On Rotten Tomatoes, 17% of 12 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 4.4/10 ¹.
Production and Release
The screenplay was originally written by Leo Sardarian, and Aron Eli Coleite performed rewrites. Simu Liu, Sterling K. Brown, and Abraham Popoola joined the cast in August 2022. Principal photography began on August 26, 2022, in Los Angeles and New Zealand, and wrapped on November 26. The movie was released by Netflix on May 24, 2024 ¹.
Conclusion
“Atlas” is a science fiction action thriller that explores the themes of trust, humanity, and artificial intelligence. The movie has received mixed reviews, but Jennifer Lopez’s performance has been praised. The movie is available to stream on Netflix.
