Example of how very dumb this big Netflix sci-fi film is… it introduces the International Coalition of Nations in the first few minutes. But a Coalition of Nations would be, by definition, international. So wouldn’t it just be a Coalition of Nations? Did anyone think this through? Did anyone think ANY of this movie through?
Atlas is a big sci-fi flick that begins decades after an attempted Robot Apocalypse where the evilest robot eventually fled Earth. Now the <chortle> International Coalition of Nations is trying to find him. Jennifer Lopez (?!!) digs up the info and she, along with a squad of Not-Titans from Titanfall have to go intergalactic to get him back. Or kill him. Or whatever.
This is a big idea sci-fi flick that borrows all its big ideas from much better movies, books, and video games. The only thing it brings to the table is the fact that not many movies of these get made. Too bad its so bad, boring, dumb, and ugly that it embezzles all its good will and leaves us with an under-baked pie.
The most glaring thing is the unremarkable, undercooked CGI. It’s like 90% where it needs to be but that remaining 10% is permanently stuck in the uncanny valley. Any big CGI scene or sequence (of which there are many) looks off enough to ruin the immersion. It’s probably on the level of CGI from 15-20 years ago where it might have looked acceptable for a minute but they were smart enough (or lacked the tech) so they pulled back to avoid the overkill this film goes for.
It’s remarkable to think that J. Lo’s goofy music video experience This is Me… Now from earlier this year looks better than her big, brash sci-fi film.
And speaking of J. Lo, she has the honor of playing one of the more irritating and annoyingly WHINY characters I’ve seen in a long time. I think she’s going for relatable and average as she tools around in her space mech suit… but news flash… she’s tooling around in a space mech suit. Not sure average and whiny are the words you want describing your sci-fi hero (even if she learns Valuable Life Lessons along the way).
The dumb script and plot do it no favors. It barely matters what’s going on when half the movie is Lopez staring at a mech HUD while talking to an invisible AI companion. Is she in danger on this alien world? Is Simu Liu an actual threat? Hell, I’m convince Liu wasn’t actually in the movie… just maybe he filmed for a day against a blue screen and they CGI’d literally everything else.
<SCI-FI NERD TANGENT>To be honest, a lot of my low rating is sci-fi nerd tax. I like my big sci-fi epics and love when someone tries while making. Which means I demand more… not just a pandering to the lowest common denominator pile like this. One of the things that bugged me most was that the evil robot escapes and travels to Alpha Centauri. Did the writers really know the incomprehensibly vast distances between the two galaxies? I doubt it… it’s like saying you went out for pizza in New York and flew to Hawaii. </SCI-FI NERD TANGENT>
This is a big bloated bust of a sci-fi flick. A great big waste of money that makes me respect other bad sci-fi films so much more (looking at you, The Creator). There’s no value in wasting your time with this turgid, incompetent bore.
Score: 57