A new trailer has been released for the upcoming science-fiction film Atlas. Starring Jennifer Lopez as the titular Atlas Shepherd, the Netflix film follows the story of an apocalyptic future wherein humanity must stop an evil AI robot from destroying it. In addition to Lopez, Atlas features a leading cast of Simu Liu, Sterling K. Brown, Gregory James Cohan, Abraham Popoola, Mark Strong, and Lana Parrilla.
Netflix has now released the trailer for Atlas.
The trailer begins with the establishment of Lopez’s protagonist, Atlas Shepherd, who has reportedly spent years trying to hunt down an AI robot named Harlan (Liu). Atlas then, despite being suspicious at first, teams up with a computer program named Smith to try to hunt down Harlan. Throughout the intense Atlas trailer, Earth is seen in disarray, coated in impenetrable ice and erupting in fires as Lopez’s character attempts to save the world.
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Lopez looks to deliver an intriguing performance in Atlas, whose plot seems like an intense and epic take on AI. Lopez's film career has experienced a high variation in quality, with some of her work being poorly received. Last year’s The Mother, for example, was critically panned, receiving a 43% on Rotten Tomatoes. The Mother did, however, do incredibly well in terms of Netflix viewership numbers. The Mother’s success proves that Lopez’s name is a big draw — even when a film is a critical flop — which bodes well for the streaming potential of Atlas.
Atlas will take on a hot-button topic in examining a future in which AI is trying to destroy the planet. AI is of increasing interest in film and media in general, depicted in the 2020s films such as M3GAN and After Yang. This plot element was key in last year’s sci-fi epic The Creator, which also saw a war between AI robots and humanity. Because of its plot similarity and proximity to The Creator’s release, Atlas will undoubtedly be subject to comparisons with the film, if not other recent AI works as well.
Based on the trailer for Atlas, it does look like the film will make a concerted effort to discuss themes of distrust in AI. Because Atlas is so determined to stop the human-destroying AI, Harlan, she at first does not trust Smith, even though this computer system can likely help her. Hopefully, this duality in relying on and mistrusting technology can lead to some nuanced themes in Atlas.
Source: Netflix
