Do Critics Want to Put Atlas on the Map?

Jennifer Lopez stars in Brad Peyton's new sci-fi film, Atlas, now streaming on Netflix. Featuring Simu Liu and Sterling K. Brown, the movie centers on Lopez's character, Atlas, and her sentient mecha suit, voiced by Gregory James Cohan. While the film aims to deliver a positive message about AI, it appears to be struggling with critics.

Critical Reception

Alison Willmore, Vulture: Willmore notes the film's lack of human touch, suggesting that it resembles AI-generated content. She critiques its attempt to portray AI as a benign force, despite its destructive tendencies.

Todd Gilchrist, Variety: Gilchrist describes Atlas as an underwhelming addition to Lopez's filmography, failing to reach the heights of her earlier, more successful projects.

Coleman Spilde, Daily Beast: Spilde criticizes the film for its shallow exploration of AI, calling it a waste of resources and time.

Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter: Han finds the film's scale disappointingly small for a futuristic adventure and notes its failure to break new emotional ground, though she appreciates its hopeful message.

Valerie Complex, Deadline: Complex highlights the film's sluggish pacing and lack of character depth, despite a promising premise.

Alissa Wilkinson, The New York Times: Wilkinson remarks on the film's cheap and unoriginal aesthetics, likening it to a pastiche of better sci-fi works.

Mikey Walsh, Nerdist: Walsh believes the film needed to be either smarter or dumber to succeed and criticizes its portrayal of AI at a time of widespread skepticism about the technology.

Kate Erbland, IndieWire: Erbland compares Atlas to a video game cut scene, critiquing its weak narrative and lack of entertainment value.

Ed Power, The Telegraph: Power finds some enjoyment in the film's cheesy fun and praises Lopez's action-hero performance, despite the movie's overall shortcomings.

Alex Harrison, Screen Rant: Harrison laments the film's inability to engage viewers emotionally, despite Lopez's presence.

Johnny Oleksinski, The New York Post: Oleksinski argues that Lopez's charisma isn't enough to save the poorly written character she portrays.

Benjamin Lee, The Guardian: Lee critiques the film for failing to inspire awe and argues that it inadvertently reinforces skepticism about big tech.