‘Atlas’ Ending Explained: Is Smith Alive At the End of Jennifer Lopez’s Netflix Movie?

Atlas, the new Jennifer Lopez movie now streaming on Netflix, argues that, sometimes, AI is good, actually. And what better time to make a pro-AI argument, am I right? Google just launched its new AI-function that is riddled with inaccuracies, and threatens to change the internet as we know it for the worse! “Let’s hear AI out,” is definitely the sentiment people want to hear right now.

In case you couldn’t detect the sarcasm, Atlas‘s pro-robot thesis isn’t very persuasive. It’s also not a great movie. It’s just yet another bloated, expensive, big-budge sci-fi action flick from Netflix. But, hey, at least Jennifer Lopez’s hair looks good.

Atlas was directed by Brad Peyton (known for his collabs with Dwayne Johnson, Rampage and San Andres), with a script by Leo Sardarian and Aron Eli Coleite. In addition to Lopez, the movie features a supporting cast that includes Simu Liu, Sterling K. Brown, and Mark Strong. And, in a signature move by Netflix, the plot is murky with a confusing ending.

But don’t worry, because Decider is here to help. Read on for a full breakdown of the Atlas plot summary and Atlas ending explained, including what happens to the AI robot named Smith.

Warning: Spoilers ahead. Duh!

Atlas movie plot summary:

The movie takes place some time in the distant future. Atlas Shepherd (Jennifer Lopez) is a prickly data analyst who doesn’t trust artificial intelligence. She has a good reason: Evil AI robots have waged war on humanity, led by the evil-ist AI robot of them all, Harlan (Simu Liu). It’s been 28 years since Harlan led the attack against humans, the humans fought back, and Harlan fled the planet. But now Harlan is sending his evil AI bots back to Earth to finish what he started.

The military manages to capture one of those evil AI bots, Casca (Abraham Popoola), and they bring in Atlas to interrogate him. General Jake Boothe (Mark Strong) insists Atlas is the best person to find out where Harlan is hiding, even though Colonel Elias Banks (Sterling K. Brown) warns the general that Atlas’s psych evaluation said she doesn’t play well with others. But Boothe insists Atlas is an expert in Harlan.

He’s right. Atlas successfully interrogate Casca, and determines Harlan’s location, on an alien planet. At her request, Boothe authorizes Atlas to join Banks and his team on their mission to take Harlan down. Unfortunately, the team is attacked by evil AI soon after they launch. Atlas ends up stranded by herself on the alien planet, trapped in a robot suit that is powered by a “good” AI named Smith (voiced by Gregory James Cohan).

At first, Atlas is very mistrustful of Smith, and refuses to do the “neural link” that would allow human and machine to work seamlessly together. But when she ends up in a tight spot, she agrees to let Smith inside of her mind, and vice versa. But for some reason, the neural link doesn’t work. Why? Because Atlas needs to truly make herself vulnerable to Smith. A few tight spots later, she finally does this by revealing her true history to Harlan.

As it turns out, Atlas’s mother is the one who made Harlan. Harlan was something of an adoptive, older brother to Atlas. One day, when Atlas was young, Harlan manipulated her into altering his “neural link” to their shared Mother. Atlas provided the human command that Harlan needed to override his own neural link with Mom, which allowed Harlan to exert complete control over their mother. By controlling the mother, he was able to access the technology he needed to control her other AI bots, and take over the world. Oops!

After she shares her sob story, Atlas and Smith complete the neural link. Together, they kick some evil AI robo-butt. They manage to shoot down the “carbon warhead” that Harlan was sending toward Earth. But in the big, final, CGI-heavy battle, Atlas is injured. Smith manages to save her, but by doing so, he makes himself vulnerable to Harlan’s attacks, and his robot suit is severely damaged. Atlas comes to and destroys Harlan for good. But Smith is dying.

Atlas movie ending explained:

Smith disengages the neural link and uses the last of his suit’s “fusion” to give Atlas enough oxygen to last until the rescue team arrives to take her safely home to Earth. (Wait, she’s needed oxygen this whole time? Then how the hell is she traipsing around this alien planet with no mask?) They have a touching goodbye, and then Smith sacrifices himself to save Atlas. He then deactivates himself.

Back on Earth, the general pays a visit to Atlas. He tells her that they are “mapping Harlan’s CPU, but there’s a lot of code, so it will take a few years.”

Does Smith come back to life in Atlas?

In the last scene of the movie, it’s revealed that Atlas is now a ranger. She has been gifted a brand-new robot suit, with special modifications requested by Atlas herself. Atlas climbs in the suit and begins the neural link. The voice that greets her sounds just like Smith. It’s revealed that this AI already knows who Atlas is, and knows she likes her coffee “with three goddamn sugars,” but it’s not clear whether this is because of the neural link, or if it’s because this is the same old Smith. Then Atlas asks the AI his name, and the AI replies, “Guess.”

So what gives? Did Smith come back to life, or is this a new AI? It’s ambiguous. But it seems like the implication is that yes, the old Smith came back to life. How else would he know about the swearing already? Plus, there was that throw away line from the general about “mapping Harlan’s CPU,” which suggests that AIs can be brought back to life. Finally, it’s specifically mentioned that Atlas requested modifications. We can assume these modifications included uploading the original Smith’s software to the suit.

But hey, that’s just what I think. If you have a different theory about whether Smith came back to life at the end of Atlas, let us know in the comments.