This May 24, Jennifer Lopez has landed again on Netflix after Mother to try a genre quite foreign to his figure. Atlas It is a space odyssey halfway between Terminator, The Creator and Pacific Rim. There are robot fights, there are killer evolved AIs and there are AIs capable of softening the heart of the unfriendly (rightly) protagonist. A mix of influences and successful ingredients that, although it will not win any Oscars (at the Razzies, yes, it has a chance), works as B-series entertainment full of things as entertaining as explosions, robots with laser swords and the hidden traumas that are confessed at the end of two hours of film.
But you have already taken Atlas As what it wants to be, an epic and emotional sci-fi space adventure, or what it is, a trashy B-series comedy, you may have had quite a few doubts along the way. Ultimately, the story of Atlas It is a bit like that of a gender companion of similar quality, Rebel Moon, covers many things but does not delve into anything. But that’s what Esquire is for, to explain all the paths of Atlaseither so you can say goodbye permanently or just in case it continues in a sequel to which it leaves the door open.
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The plot of Atlas It’s pretty packed with elements, but at its core, it’s pretty simple. An AI changed the programming of other AIs and led a revolt in which they dedicated themselves to killing humans. Afterwards, he fled the planet towards unknown territory, promising to return. Atlas She is the girl, now a woman, who grew up with this AI named Harlan. Now an analyst at the intelligence center that fights against AI, she will be sent to definitively kill Harlan on a distant planet along with a team of rangers who move in robots synchronized with her mind.
Things go pretty badly for everyone except Atlas. All the other rangers die and she is in charge, together with her robot friend, of also ending Harlan’s plans by exploding nuclear missiles and other explosive acts. Atlas recover Harlan’s CPU and return to Earth with the mission accomplished. That is, at least, the basis of the matter.
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Harlan’s goal and motives are first-rate robotic science fiction. Basically, he decided to wipe out almost all of humanity by deducing that this was the only way for humans not to destroy themselves and their planet. Atlas It does not give another alternative or solution to the eco genocide, nor does it deny its reasons, it only prevents it from carrying out its plans, period. The key to everything is that we discover that Harlan deduced this because Atlas synchronized with him and his human mind contaminated him. His thoughts and his idea of synchronizing with Harlan to get his mother’s attention were the cause of millions of deaths. They also caused Atlas to grow up antisocial, driven into depression by guilt, and isolate herself from the world.
Therefore, the true narrative path of Atlas It’s not fighting Harlan but learning to trust Smith, the AI in his robot suit. Unlike Harlan, Smith understands her, empathizes with her, and always puts her safety first. Atlas It does not have the ability to give us any reflection on why this AI suddenly does not see that the human being is self-destructing himself. His reflections simply point to the fact that what made Harlan an ecological genocide makes Smith a friend who supports you without palliatives. This relationship causes Atlas to join the rangers, fulfilling his childhood dream, and begins to trust people more. Also, without going into too many technological explanations, we see that they have managed to resurrect Smith’s AI in the new Arc of Atlas. Come on, they ate partridges.
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Another loose end Atlas is that of Mark Strong’s character, a general who has always been the only one to trust Atlas. A General more concerned about one of his analysts overcoming his trauma than about preventing a planetary genocide. A man, clearly, in love. Possibly JLo did not want to fall into the cheesy ending and opted for a more independent reading of her character, saying goodbye to her in the ranger hangar with a new Smith. However, that penultimate scene in which General Boothe goes to Atlas’ house is very close to being a declaration of love, one that would undoubtedly have said goodbye with a smile to a film whose main failure is, despite everything, that it takes oh really.
