Atlas movie review: Jennifer Lopez stars in sci-fi flop

Jennifer Lopez’s multi-year deal with Netflix has not started well. After the poorly received thriller The Mother, her autobiographical drama This Is Me…Now was mocked for a scene when she talks at length about her hair. Both parties will no doubt hope for more success with Atlas, the latest sci-fi examining our fear of being replaced by Artificial Intelligence.

She plays Atlas Shepherd, a data analyst living in a future that was rocked by an AI uprising that killed millions. With a close link to the rebellion’s exiled  leader, Harland (Simu Liu), she is recruited by the military to be part of a mission to capture him. However, the mission goes wrong, and Atlas must trust the tech she despises to survive. With a reported budget of $100million, one can only hope the star was paid well for this disaster.

The story borrows heavily from sci-fi classics, but it’s as far from classic as you’ll ever find. The effects are impressive, if overbearing, and any hope for topical debate about our reliance on technology is dashed by tired genre tropes and minimal character development. The cast is let down by a script that sounds like it was quickly spat out by an AI app.

It’s tough not to wince at lines like “big talk coming from a head in a suitcase”. The Golden Globe nominee is passionate, giving spirited speeches about the worst case scenarios of AI, but is often limited to looking concerned in flawless lighting. Sterling K Brown and Mark Strong take the cheque in roles that are well beneath them, while Marvel star Liu is like a more sinister Vulcan as the antagonist.

Less I, Robot, and more Why, Robot? Atlas is a comically bad endeavour that mistakes a big budget for vision.