Netflix’s Atlas is looking more and more like a buddy cop movie about working with AI

At first glance, Netflix’s upcoming action thriller Atlas, starring Jennifer Lopez, seemed like it was going to be a rather serious movie about a mech pilot fighting to survive on an inhospitable planet. That could still be the case, but the movie’s latest trailer makes it out to be a bit more of a sci-fi buddy cop affair with an emphasis on human / robot alliances.

Though a maniacal machine (Simu Liu) dead-set on eradicating humanity presents the biggest threat in Atlas, the movie’s new...