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Atlas (2024 film)

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Atlas
Release poster
Directed byBrad Peyton
Written by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJohn Schwartzman
Edited byBob Ducsay
Music byAndrew Lockington
Production
companies
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • May 24, 2024 (2024-05-24)
Running time
120 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$100 million[2]

Atlas is a 2024 American science fiction action film starring Jennifer Lopez as a skilled counterterrorism analyst, who harbors a profound distrust of artificial intelligence, and who comes to realize that it may be her sole recourse following the failure of a mission aimed at apprehending a rogue robot. The film is directed by Brad Peyton and written by Leo Sardarian and Aron Eli Coleite. The film also stars Simu Liu, Sterling K. Brown, and Mark Strong.[3][4]

A co-production of ASAP Entertainment, Safehouse Pictures, Nuyorican Productions and Berlanti-Schechter Films, Atlas was released by Netflix on May 24, 2024. It was not well received by critics, but was successful on Netflix, reaching the platform's Top 10 list in 93 countries,[5] including the number one spot in 71 of them.

Plot

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In the year 2043, humanoid artificial intelligence terrorist Harlan leads a war of machines against humans, which leaves 3 million people dead. The military forces of a new International Coalition of Nations (ICN) win a string of victories against Harlan and force him to flee into outer space.

Twenty-eight years later, Atlas Shepherd, an analyst with a deep distrust of artificial intelligence and the daughter of Harlan's designer, searches for the fugitive. After one of Harlan's AI agents is captured and interrogated, Atlas discovers that Harlan has escaped to a planet in the Andromeda Galaxy, and insists that she accompanies the military mission to find and capture it, using AI-assisted mecha known as ARCs.

Moments before the ARC-equipped ICN Rangers descend to the planet, Harlan's drones attack their orbiting ship. In order to survive, Atlas is forced to enter an ARC herself and falls to the planet as the ship crash-lands on the planet. Atlas manages to gain basic control of the ARC despite her distrust of the onboard AI, who introduces itself as Smith. Atlas orders Smith to head to the planned drop point, where she finds the rest of the rangers dead. She reluctantly agrees to directly interface her mind with Smith, allowing for greater control of the ARC. As they journey towards a rescue pod, Atlas and Smith begin to bond, and she reveals to it that her mother was the one who created Harlan.

Although running low on power, Atlas convinces Smith to head to Harlan's base in order to tag it for a long-range strike. However, after placing a beacon at the base, Smith is hacked and disabled. Atlas is captured and brought to Harlan, who plans to destroy most of humanity and give the chosen survivors a chance to thrive under AI guidance. To do so, Harlan had lured the military to the planet in order to steal the ship—and its carbon bombs, which will burn Earth's atmosphere.

Harlan extracts security codes from Atlas's brain to get past Earth's defenses, then leaves her to die with Colonel Banks, the only other survivor of the mission. After Banks gives her his ARC neural interface device, Atlas remotely reactivates Smith, who comes to their rescue. Using salvaged parts from the other destroyed ARCs Atlas upgrades Smith to stand a chance against the assembled AI forces. Atlas further reveals to Smith that Harlan killed her mother after the young Atlas—jealous of the attention her mother gave Harlan—gave Harlan an unfettered interface with her mind. Harlan, programmed to save humanity from risk, then saw that humanity's history of destructive behavior made it a risk to itself. Smith helps Atlas overcome her guilt for her actions, and with Banks sacrificing himself to clear their path, Atlas and Smith fight their way out and destroy the repaired ICN ship before defeating Harlan in hand-to-hand combat although Atlas herself is badly injured in the fight. A heavily damaged Smith shuts down before Atlas is rescued after repeated defibrillation.

Back on Earth, Atlas is informed that Harlan's complicated CPU will take years to analyze. Atlas, now a ranger, tests the newest model of ARC, created with her suggested modifications reminiscent of Smith. As she boots up the new ARC, its AI repeats a specific phrase Atlas made during the final moments of the mission, then jokingly tells her to guess its name, suggesting that the Smith sentience has survived.

Cast

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Production

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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,[6] and Lana Parrilla was confirmed to star in September 2022.[7] Principal photography began on August 26, 2022, in Los Angeles and New Zealand, and wrapped on November 26.[8]

Release

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Atlas was released by Netflix on May 24, 2024.[9] The film debuted at number one on Netflix's most popular English films list with 28.2 million views (or 56.3 million viewing hours), making it the most watched title for the week (May 20–26).[5][10] Atlas reached Netflix's Top 10 list in 93 countries[11] and was placed at number one in 71 countries.[12]

By June 5, 2024, Atlas accumulated 60 million global views (or 119.4 million viewing hours), making it the fourth film that stars Lopez to top the streaming charts in two years, after Shotgun Wedding (2022), The Mother (2023), and This Is Me... Now: A Love Story (2024), and the second-most-watched title of Lopez's on Netflix. The streamer reported the viewer completion rate for Atlas to be 80%.[11]

Reception

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The film was not well received by critics.[a] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 19% of 110 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Jennifer Lopez admirably does her best to shoulder Atlas's seismic scope, but this sci-fi spectacle buckles under the weight of a script whose intelligence is merely artificial."[18] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 37 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[19]

The New York Times wrote in a review, "It's an intriguing concept, since an open question both onscreen and in real life is whether A.I. is inherently good, or bad, or neutral, or some other fourth thing we haven't quite put words to yet."[20] The New York Times also praised Lopez's performance in the film, writing, "Lopez, who was also a producer on the movie, flings herself into the role with abandon, the kind of performance that's especially impressive given that she's largely by herself throughout."[20] Space.com wrote in a favorable review, "It boasts impressive performances by its likable cast, inspired action sequences, and breathtaking visual effects, confidently led by a spirited director who understands the bulletproof mechanics of traditional three-act structure."[21] In a mixed review, The Guardian wrote that Atlas "plays like it was made two decades ago."[22]

Notes

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  1. ^ Some publications reported that the critical reception was mixed,[13][14][15] while others stated that it was more negative.[16][17]

References

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  1. ^ "Atlas (12)". BBFC. May 23, 2024. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  2. ^ "Netflix's $100 Million JLo Blockbuster is Reviewing Worse Than 'Rebel Moon'". Forbes.
  3. ^ Kroll, Justin (June 15, 2021). "Jennifer Lopez To Star In Netflix's Sci-Fi Thriller Atlas With Brad Peyton Directing". Deadline. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  4. ^ Lang, Brent (June 15, 2021). "Jennifer Lopez Starring in Sci-Fi Thriller Atlas for Netflix". Variety. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Mitovich, Matt Webb (May 29, 2024). "J.Lo's Atlas Racks Up 28.2 Million Views on Netflix, as Actual Memorial Day Weekend Box Office Struggles". TVLine. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  6. ^ Kroll, Justin (August 24, 2022). "From Marvel Superhero To Jennifer Lopez's Adversary, Simu Liu Lands First Villain Role In Netflix's Atlas; Sterling K. Brown and Lana Parrilla Also Join The Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation.
  7. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 27, 2022). "Lana Parrilla Signs With APA & Boards Jennifer Lopez's Netflix Sci-Fi Pic Atlas". Deadline. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  8. ^ Rajput, Priyanca (September 1, 2022). "2022 Film and high-end TV productions shooting globally: latest updates". Kemps Film and TV Production Services Handbook. Archived from the original on September 1, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  9. ^ Gomez, Dessi (March 13, 2024). "Jennifer Lopez Commands an AI Robot in Netflix's Atlas Trailer". TheWrap. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  10. ^ Lammers, Tim. "Jennifer Lopez's Atlas Defies Bad Reviews To Debut Big On Netflix Movie Chart". Forbes. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  11. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 5, 2024). "Jennifer Lopez Dominates On Streaming For A Fourth Time Over Two Years As Netflix's Atlas Reaches Near 60M Global Views". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  12. ^ "Netflix has a new number one movie - just don't read the reviews". Shortlist. May 27, 2024. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  13. ^ Art, Pop Culture & (May 30, 2024). "Jennifer Lopez's Atlas tops Netflix despite critics' mixed reviews". The Express Tribune. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  14. ^ Donnellan, Sara (May 29, 2024). "Jennifer Lopez's Atlas Is Netflix's No. 1 Movie Despite Mixed Reviews". Us Weekly. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  15. ^ "Jennifer Lopez's Atlas Braves Mixed Reviews to Become the Top Movie on Netflix; Here Is How". News18. May 31, 2024. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  16. ^ "This Critical Flop Is The Top Movie On Netflix Right Now". HuffPost. May 28, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  17. ^ Northrup, Ryan (May 24, 2024). "Atlas Rotten Tomatoes Score Debuts As One Of Jennifer Lopez's Worst-Rated Movies Ever". ScreenRant. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  18. ^ "Atlas". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved June 21, 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  19. ^ "Atlas". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  20. ^ a b Wilkinson, Alissa (May 24, 2024). "Atlas Review: A.I. Shrugged". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  21. ^ Jeff Spry (May 28, 2024). "Netflix's new sci-fi flick Atlas charms with old-school heroics and rousing mech fights (review)". Space.com. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  22. ^ Lee, Benjamin (May 24, 2024). "Atlas review – Jennifer Lopez learns to love AI in silly Netflix mockbuster". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
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