Netflix's Atlas trailer breakdown: 3 key takeaways from Jennifer Lopez's sci-fi drama

Jennifer Lopez is launching into orbit this summer with her new movie, Atlas, which is coming to Netflix this May. The singer-turned-actor plays the titular role of Atlas Shepherd, a brilliant but misanthropic government data analyst who is sent on a dangerous quest to defeat and capture her oldest enemy, with the help of a renegade robot with whom she shares a mysterious past.

However, when her plans go haywire, she is left to depend on something that she deeply mistrusts, artificial intelligence, in order to save herself and the world. The movie is coming to Netflix on May 24, 2024, and the streaming platform has already released a trailer.

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Trailer breakdown of Atlas: Our takeaways from the recently launched trailer

1) The importance of trust

Atlas follows the story of a woman who is learning to trust after undergoing something traumatic that shook her to the core. The story follows Lopez as a seasoned data analyst who harbors a deep apathy toward artificial intelligence and avoids it at all costs.

However, as we see in the trailer, when push comes to shove, she must learn to trust a robot or be left alone and helpless on an inhospitable planet. Director Brad Peyton told Netflix:

“The heart of Atlas is really about trust and how difficult it is to trust people. Atlas is told through the lens of a woman who’s learning to trust after undergoing a trauma that’s upended her life. It’s a reminder of how we have to have deep, meaningful relationships in our lives, in one way, shape, or form. That you can’t do everything by yourself; you have to choose to trust people at a certain point and let them in.”

Working together with the robot whose protocol is to protect her life, she continues her mission to hunt down her one true enemy.

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2) Exploring the human-AI relationship

Atlas is a heartwarming story of the results of the judicious and moral utilization of artificial intelligence. It is not only about how humans can control AI for their own ends but also a story of how non-human friendships can also develop, as we see between a human and an AI in the movie. Jennifer Lopez has told Netflix:

“Atlas is someone who has basically shut out the world around her. She doesn’t trust anybody and doesn’t want anything to do with AI.....I loved that this is a big sci-fi action movie, but at its core, it’s a story of friendship — and a love story, in a way. I always see everything as a love story, but this is a different kind of love between two beings who connect in disastrous circumstances, and teach each other how to be more human.”

When stranded in a high-powered armor suit, she is forced to confront her fear of technology and learn to work with the AI assisting her in order to get out of the mission alive and successful.

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3) The movie will prove to be one of the biggest sci-fi movies of the year

Brad Peyton, who is acclaimed for his work on Rampage and San Andreas, brings his signature style to Atlas. The trailer gives us a glimpse of the breathtaking visuals that the movie offers.

From deserted icy wastelands to high-tech futuristic cities, the mind-blowing scenes set the stage for an explosive battle of epic scale. The trailer promises a thrilling and action-packed adventure starring the versatile Jennifer Lopez in the role of the protagonist and Simu Liu as Harlan, the villain in the movie.

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Written by Aron Eli Coleite and Leo Sardarian, the Netflix movie also stars Sterling K. Brown, Abraham Popoola, Lana Parrilla, Mark Strong, and Gregory James Cohan in supporting roles. Watch this space for more updates on the upcoming sci-fi movie.