Photograph: Ana Carballosa/Netflix
That is her … now … on Netflix. Jennifer Lopez is making an attempt to save lots of humanity because the titular character in Brad Peyton’s new sci-fi movie, Atlas. Simu Liu and Sterling Okay. Brown additionally star, however the film’s principal focus is on Atlas and her sentient mecha go well with, which is voiced by Gregory James Cohan. Atlas delivers a fairly constructive message about AI … hmm, how do we expect that can land with a gaggle of critics who probably don’t wish to get replaced by robots? Because it seems, the AI story line is just one of many issues that critics have with the undertaking. Early reactions up to now have usually been a shrug at finest — for instance, a Hollywood Reporter headline politely drags it as “one other Netflix film made to half-watch whereas doing laundry.” Whereas some critiques have provided reward for Lopez’s efficiency, she was additionally concerned as a producer on the movie, so the general response might be nonetheless one thing J.Lo’s PR crew would possibly wish to carry on the lo. Under, what critics are saying about Atlas.
“When, sometime not so lengthy from now, Netflix begins serving up customized AI-generated sludge content material primarily based on every of our viewing histories, it most likely gained’t look all that completely different from Atlas, which barely appears prefer it was made by people anyway. However the level of Atlas isn’t to make its actors look massive — it’s to remind us that AI is our buddy, even when it sometimes tries to exterminate us, and that we must always recover from ourselves and our tetchy objections.” —Alison Willmore, Vulture
“Atlas appears like an underwhelming return to the form of initiatives which have maintained Lopez’ place within the Hollywood firmament, however not those that catapulted her there within the first place.” —Todd Gilchrist, Selection
“In a second when everyone seems to be legitimately involved in regards to the function that AI will play in our lives going ahead, creating such a limp, insecure movie that offers straight with the topic, but says completely nothing about it, isn’t only a waste of cash. It’s a waste of priceless time.” —Coleman Spilde, Every day Beast
“For a futuristic, planet-hopping journey, Atlas feels awfully tiny; as a romance (minus the precise romance), it treads no new emotional terrain. However there’s one thing oddly relatable, even romantic about its hope that therapeutic one’s coronary heart could be step one in saving the world.” —Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter
“The script teeters between high-concept and a showcase for Lopez’s versatility, and regardless of an honest premise for some futuristic thrills, Atlas usually appears like a missed alternative, hampered by sluggish pacing and a scarcity of depth in character improvement for everybody else besides Atlas.”
—Valerie Advanced, Deadline
“At instances Atlas appears like pure pastiche, and it appears, in a trend we’re getting used to seeing on the streamers, form of low-cost, darkish, plasticky and pretend, notably within the massive motion sequences. Science fiction usually earns its place in reminiscence by envisioning one thing new and startling — however with Atlas, we’ve seen all of it earlier than.” —Alissa Wilkinson, the New York Instances
“In the end Atlas both wanted to be a lot dumber or a lot smarter to be good. It additionally wanted to let Jennifer Lopez stroll. However its largest sin could be what it finally says about the opportunity of synthetic intelligence at a time when firms are power feeding ineffective A.I. storage down our throats.”
—Mikey Walsh, Nerdist
“Largely, all of it appears like a online game minimize scene, which isn’t only a ding on its total aesthetics (low-cost), however its basic narrative thrust (weak, foolish). The nearer you take note of these parts, the more durable they’re to disregard, and the much less even vaguely entertaining this all is. The much less price saving, too.”
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire
“[T]he total affair is powered by a B-movie air of tacky enjoyable, and Lopez makes for a convincing high-kicking heroine when she buddies up with the mech robotic snappily voiced by Gregory James Cohan. It’s an motion movie an AI might have scripted however you’d need to have a circuit free to not get caught up within the high-octane silliness.” —Ed Energy, The Telegraph
“In one other world, all it’s actually responsible of is being simply okay. However I felt fully inactivated by this film. I related to nobody, cared about nothing. The emotional tenor of scenes rose and fell with out shifting me within the slightest.” —Alex Harrison, Display Rant
“Whereas Lopez’s star energy and uncooked enchantment are palpable as ever, that’s not sufficient to flesh out a guilt-ridden, self-loathing genius whose mind is essential to humanity’s survival. The dismal writing does her no favors, true, however she’s the type of actress who can save The Wedding ceremony Planner — not Earth.”
—Johnny Oleksinski, the New York Publish
“There’s simply not one of the awe we must always get from a movie akin to this, director Brad Peyton […] by no means capable of edge his movie away from being simply one other streaming simulation of an actual blockbuster. For a movie that desires us to cease worrying and love massive tech, Atlas does an awfully good job of displaying us why we must always nonetheless be cautious of it.” —Benjamin Lee, The Guardian