We’ve seen a great number of bad movies so far in the year of our lord 2024, but Atlas – coming to Netflix on Friday – makes a strong case for being the worst. The streamer gets a lot of flack for putting forth forgettable, derivative dreck every month, so some tempering of expectations should come with the territory. Director Brad Payton, who’s made similarly blockbuster-lite fare like San Andreas and Rampage seems to understand the assignment well enough by leaning into the B-movie schlock, but that doesn’t excuse the miserable experience of watching the film.

I will give points to first-time screenwriters Leo Sardarian and Aron Eli Coleite for crafting an original sci-fi adventure, but neither the story nor any of the characters feel like more than the beta versions of tried-and-true archetypes of the genre. Consider Atlas Shepherd (Jennifer Lopez), the hardened analyst who makes it clear early and often how distrustful she is of artificial intelligence – despite her reliance on playing chess with a computer and voice-ordering her coffees. Consider Harlan (Simu Liu), a rogue AI which leads a robot rebellion and causes the deaths of millions. Consider Atlas’s eventual bonding with Smith (voiced by Gregory James Cohan), an AI inside a mech suit which leads her through her mission to destroy Harlan after he escapes to an inhospitable planet.

All of this is lame enough on its own, but what sets Atlas apart in an unfortunate way is its ultimate, tone deaf message that perhaps there is a good way to use AI, you just have to give it a chance to know you on a deeply personal level. The war against AI has never been hotter, with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes of 2023 placing the issue near the top of the union’s lists. But Atlas sees AI as a useful means to an end, and suggests that, perhaps it can be put to good use. The bulk of the film’s second act sees Atlas and Smith essentially marooned in a sink hole together, and she has to accept their bond in order to make it out alive. Lopez does fine enough in these scenes, and we know after her long career that she can kick ass.

I can’t fault her, or any of the overly qualified actors like Liu, Sterling K. Brown, or Mark Strong for collecting an easy paycheck for what must have been a quick couple weeks in front of a green screen. It seems that Netflix has simply become the go-to place for Oscar-caliber actors to appear in genre nonsense. Much like AI itself, it’s simply something we must come to accept and, perhaps one day, love.

In a year with borderline cynical theatrical garbage like Madame Web and Argylle, and streaming “films” like Unfrosted and Rebel Moon Part Two: The Scargiver, it’s hard to believe a Netflix nothingburger like Atlas would sink lower. Madame Web had camp and endless meme potential. Argylle had bits of comedy and a few well-executed set pieces. Even Unfrosted featured funny people doing occasionally funny bits. But I simply cannot find a single redeeming feature within Payton’s film that doesn’t land as a backhanded compliment.

Atlas will be available to stream on Netflix on May 24.

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