Summary
Lopez’s character Atlas saves the world from an AI terrorist in Netflix’s Atlas.
Atlas forms a deep connection with AI Smith, leading to a heartbreaking sacrifice.
The ending hints at Smith’s survival and a potential sequel, setting up for Atlas 2.
Netflix’s Atlas sees Jennifer Lopez’s titular character save the world, with a twist ending that could even leave room for a future sequel. The 2024 movie follows Atlas Shepherd (Lopez), whose only goal in life is to take down the world’s first AI terrorist, Harlan. The highly intelligent robot once belonged to her genius scientist mother, leading Atlas to distrust any AI. After the International Coalition of Nations (ICN) led a strike to stop Harlan and his robot followers, the terrorists left Earth to regroup on another planet, but for decades, no one knew where.
This changes when one of Harlan’s subordinates is caught, and Atlas, who is an analyst for ICN, manages to hustle the AI into giving away Harlan’s location. Lopez’s character gets herself on the team that will head off-world to retrieve the terrorist, but Harlan is ready for them. The villain of Atlas ambushes their ship, and Atlas has just enough time to hop in a mech suit and escape onto the strange planet before the spacecraft goes down. This leaves only her and the AI powering the suit, Smith, to stop Harlan’s plan. They are ultimately successful at the end of Atlas, but it costs Smith everything.
Related Atlas Trailer: Jennifer Lopez Is On A Mission To Capture A Villainous Robot In Epic Sci-Fi Movie
The new trailer for Atlas shows Jennifer Lopez trying to ward off a vicious AI robot in an upcoming epic sci-fi movie produced by Netflix.
Is Smith Alive At The End Of Netflix’s Atlas?
Smith Sacrificed Himself to Save Atlas, But That Isn’t The End Of His Story
Though Atlas is reluctant to trust Smith in Atlas, she eventually begins to come around. To survive, it is imperative that she use Neural Link to fully connect her mind with the AI, and this terrifies her. However, as the intelligent mech suit begins to bring down Atlas’ walls, a close bond develops between them. Of course, this makes Smith’s decision to divert the rest of his power to provide Atlas with enough oxygen to survive long enough to be rescued all the more heartbreaking. After finally learning to trust someone, Atlas returns to Earth without Smith.
However, the final scene of Atlas sees Lopez’s character in another mech suit on Earth, and when she asks the AI to give his name, he says only “Guess.” Atlas gives a knowing smile at this, and it’s heavily implied that, somehow, Smith has survived and that his code is now living within this new suit. Though this is a little confusing, hints throughout Atlas reveal how it’s possible.
When Smith’s “body” died, his mind lived on in Atlas’ until it could be transferred to a new home.
Earlier in the film, Smith and Atlas have a conversation about death. The analyst states that she believes humans and AI alike are simply gone once they die. Smith disagrees. He explains that everything is connected, and this undefinable network ensures that no one ever truly dies. Leading up to the final climactic battle in Atlas, Atlas and Smith finally manage to fully sync through the Neural Link, which means their consciousness becomes one. Atlas knew Smith inside and out and vice versa. So, when Smith’s “body” died, his mind lived on in Atlas’ until it could be transferred to a new home.
How Smith & Atlas Stopped Harlan’s Plan Explained
Atlas & Smith Had To Be Fully Synced To Save The Day
Image via Netflix
Before Smith sacrificed himself to save Atlas, the pair had to work together to stop Harlan. The AI ultimately revealed that he had allowed the analyst, who he thought of as a sister, to discover his location on purpose, knowing she would bring a ship to take him out. Harlan planned to arm this ship with a carbon warhead and send it back to an Earth that would welcome it back with open arms. In classic sci-fi fashion, the AI believed this to be helping humanity since the species had to be thinned out to save the planet and ensure its future. Of course, Atlas couldn’t allow this to happen.
Harlan knew Atlas would come to his hideout planet because their minds had once been synched through the two-way Neural Link. Both characters knew each others’ minds inside and out.
After their brief time apart, Atlas and Smith were reunited and began working on a plan to escape Harlan’s fortress and stop the ship that was headed back to attack humanity. The pair had successfully connected their minds with Neural Link and worked as a single unit, fighting their way out in a blaze of glory. However, Smith warned Atlas that if she shot at the armed ship, she would risk hitting the carbon warhead and decimating the entire planet. Before she could shoot, Smith would have to hack into the ship and deactivate the warhead, but they only had about five seconds to do this between them.
Though Smith warned Atlas that he wasn’t ready for her to shoot, she took the chance. Her missile made an impact at the precise second that Smith successfully deactivated the carbon warhead. Lopez’s character explained that she had trusted Smith to get it done, and their link meant she knew exactly the right moment to fire. If it hadn’t been for their connection and trust, Harlan’s plan would have succeeded. Of course, it was for these same reasons that Smith and Atlas successfully destroyed Harlan and that Atlas survived to return to Earth.
Related Jennifer Lopez’s 10 Best Movies, Ranked
Jennifer Lopez has dominated all aspects of the entertainment industry and that includes starring in memorable movies.
Atlas’ Connection To Harlan & Her Mother’s Fate Explained
Atlas’ Big Twist Revolved Around The Secret Reason Harlan Became The First AI Terrorist
Throughout Atlas, it’s made evident that Atlas and Harlan have a connection. The Netflix sci-fi movie’s opening scene reveals that Atlas’ mother had created Harlan and that he was something of a big brother to Atlas growing up. The big question throughout Atlas is why Harlan turned against his programming to destroy humans rather than protect them. As Atlas and Smith develop their connection and the former begins to let down her walls, the answer is revealed—it was all because of her.
When Atlas was a child, she became jealous of the attention her mother showed Harlan, so she asked the robot to help her be more intelligent so she would be more like him and her mother would love her as much too. Harlan explained that he could only do this if Atlas permitted him to alter the Neural Link to go both ways so his consciousness could be transferred to her and vice versa. When they were fully linked, Harlan suddenly became aware of humanity’s impact on the environment. This caused him to turn on his “mother,” forcing her through the Neural Link to take her own life.
Is Harlan Really Dead In Netflix’s Atlas?
Atlas Implies That Harlan Isn’t Gone For Good
Image via Netflix
At the end of Atlas, Atlas killed Harlan and took his CPU back to Earth for study. Everyone certainly seemed to believe that the villainous terrorist was gone for good, but there are hints throughout the movie that this might not be the case. At the very beginning of the Netflix sci-fi, Harlan’s associate, Casca Vix, stated that he couldn’t die, and this was proven correct when Atlas killed the robot, only for him to turn up again later on. Then, there is Smith’s survival. He might have been killed, but his neural connection with Atlas meant he could be brought back.
As long as Atlas or anyone else who Harlan might have connected with (human or AI) is alive, then there is a chance that the AI terrorist could return.
Smith wasn’t the only AI that Atlas had connected with through a two-way Neural Link. She had linked her mind with Harlan the night her mother died, which means that they both maintain pieces of each other within their own minds. As long as Atlas or anyone else who Harlan might have connected with (human or AI) is alive, then there is a chance that the AI terrorist could return.
Related 10 Scariest Sci-Fi Movies With AI That Becomes Self Aware
Sci-fi movies about AI have been speculating about its advancement for years, imagining the horrors that could come to life as a result of it.
The Real Meaning Of Atlas’ Ending
Netflix’s Atlas Is All About Connection & Trust
Netflix’s Atlas was full of sci-fi action and fun, but there was a deeper meaning behind the story. Atlas’ entire character arc was about trust and connection. Her trauma made her shut out the entire world, which meant she had no connections after Harlan’s betrayal and her mother’s death. Even when her life depended on it, Atlas struggled to allow her Neural Link to synch her mind with Smith. She had been burned this way before and wasn’t willing to let this happen again.
However, as Atlas revealed her darkest secret and deepest shame, she was able to sync with Smith fully, and this saved not only her life but also his. The robot mentioned earlier in Atlas that the connections between beings, whether AI or human, kept them alive even after death. This was both figurative and literal in the sci-fi movie. Atlas’ connection with Smith made her truly alive for the first time since she had been a child, and it brought the robot back even after he had technically been killed.
How The Ending Sets Up Atlas 2
Smith’s Survival & The Potential Return Of Harlan Leaves The Door Open For A Sequel
Ultimately, it’s the theme of connection in Atlas that makes a sequel possible. Atlas’ link with AI made it possible for Smith to come back to life, but the same is technically true for Harlan. What’s more, Atlas never really explained why this connection made the villain decide that humanity should no longer exist, but it doesn’t do the same to bots like Smith. There’s a lot more to explore in this fictional sci-fi world, and the Netflix movie set itself up perfectly to do so. Given the dynamic pair that Atlas and Smith made, Atlas 2 could certainly be an exciting adventure.
Atlas (2024)
Atlas is a 2024 Netflix original movie starring Jennifer Lopez as Atlas Shepherd. Atlas, a data analyst who doesn’t trust AI, who sets out to recover a rogue robot. But when things don’t go according to plan, she is forced to trust AI in order to save humanity.
Director Brad Peyton
Release Date May 24, 2024
Studio(s) Safehouse Pictures , ASAP Entertainment , Nuyorican Productions , Berlanti-Schechter Films
Distributor(s) Netflix
Writers Leo Sardarian , Aron Eli Coleite
Main Genre Sci-Fi
Expand