The art of teaser trailers seem to be making a comeback, if recent examples like “The First Omen” and “Longlegs” are anything to go by. “Atlas” is no exception, delivering a bunch of gorgeous, Michael Bay-esque robot wars mayhem without revealing much as to what the film is actually about. Fear not, dear reader, for as the official press release goes:
“Atlas Shepherd (Jennifer Lopez), a brilliant but misanthropic data analyst with a deep distrust of artificial intelligence, joins a mission to capture a renegade robot with whom she shares a mysterious past. But when plans go awry, her only hope of saving the future of humanity from AI is to trust it.”
Right away, it’s apparent that Lopez’s character joins the pantheon of genre film protagonists with on-the-nose monikers in the tradition of Castor (and Pollux) Troy, Cruella De Vil, and Jericho Cane. There’s no word yet on who any of her castmates are portraying, but let’s hope they all have similarly evocative names, too.
In terms of the film itself, it looks to be a melange of elements ranging from the “Transformers” movies to “Pacific Rim” and “Edge of Tomorrow,” with perhaps a dash of “Neon Genesis Evangelion” in the mix. We have until Friday, May 24th to wonder whether “Atlas” will deliver the sci-fi action goods while bringing in some compelling moral and ethical dilemmas, or if audiences will merely shrug it off. In any case, get ready, folks: Lopez is going from “This Is Me…Now” to “I, JLo.” Buckle up!
