The Creator (12A)

Dir: Gareth Edwards

Cast: John David Washington, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Gemma Chan, Ken Watanabe, Sturgill Simpson, Allison Janney, Ralph Ineson

This original and timely sci-fi epic from writer-director Gareth Edwards is a visually stunning and action packed blockbuster, that sees the western world at war with Artificial Intelligence.

Ever since the release of his ingenious debut feature film Monsters in 2010, I have been a big fan of British filmmaker Gareth Edwards. The small budget, romantic adventure following an alien invasion was an emotional and visual treat and fully showcased Edwards’ vision as a filmmaker despite his budgeted limitations. The success of the film saw Edwards snapped up by major franchises, as he would go on to direct Godzilla (2014) and the criminally underrated Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), which I consider to be the one of the best instalments in the iconic franchise.

Whilst I did enjoy Rogue One and also Godzilla to a lesser extent, it was clear that Edwards was limited within the bounds of well established franchises when it came to his creative freedom. Now in 2023, in a world where Chat GPT is making the headlines, Edwards has released his first original film since his excellent debut feature, with the A.I. based sci-fi epic, ‘The Creator’.

Artificial Intelligence is a potential real life threat that has been well documented for decades, both in real life and on film. Way back in 1984, James Cameron’s The Terminator imagined the possible repercussions from A.I. in the future, as we see the world destroyed by nuclear war and mankind other thrown by machines. Even this year, we have seen everyone’s favourite death-defying lunatic, Tom Cruise, take on A.I. in the most recent Mission: Impossible film.

Despite the subject matter of A.I. not being completely original, ‘The Creator’ is part of a dying breed in cinema, in that its a major Hollywood science-fiction blockbuster, that is not based on any other media, whether that be: a television show, video game, film or most notably a comic book. This allows you as the viewer to be transported to a future that you have never seen before, something that has not been done to this effect since Avatar in 2009. The world that Gareth Edwards and his team have managed to create is visually breath-taking, with a sombre, lived-in aesthetic that fully immerses you into this completely original alternate future world, where man and machine struggle to co-exist.

The film opens with a retro 1950’s style television infomercial, promoting the use of robots and A.I. in the ever growing western world. The montage culminates with a nuclear explosion destroying Los Angeles, with A.I. being deemed the culprit. The aftermath of such a cataclysmic event see the western world abolish Artificial Intelligence due to its ever growing threat. A.I. is not outlawed in the fictional super continent of New Asia, however, where humans happily co-exist with humanoid robots and “simulants”, which are almost identical to humans except for the exposed cylindrical mechanisms in the back of the head.

With a potential World War III between the two conflicting parties imminent, US Intelligence gets wind that the A.I.’s mysterious creator, Nirmata, has developed a weapon to end the war. This leads two hard-boiled Army Officers (Ralph Ineson and Alison Janney) to recruit ex-special ops soldier, Joshua (John David Washington), to seek out and destroy the weapon before it is used against the west. The mission gets complicated however, when Joshua discovers the weapon to be a child simulant (Madeleine Yuna Voyles) with rapidly advancing A.I.. After previously spending years undercover in New Asia where he was married to A.I. advocate Maya (Gemma Chan), Joshua begins to question his beliefs as he becomes more attached to the simulant which he calls Alphie.

The first thing I need to say about this movie is that it looks absolutely incredible. I have always been impressed with Edwards as a VFX artist after seeing what he was able to achieve with such a low budget with Monsters back in 2010. His indie debut film consisted of 250 visual effects, all of which were created by Edwards himself on his laptop, whilst working in his bedroom. ‘The Creator’ does have a considerably bigger budget than Monsters, but at $80 million dollars, it is still quite a modest amount given the sheer scope of the film. This year alone we have seen what happens with major Hollywood films when their over reliance on CGI goes array, with films like The Flash and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Both of these films bombed heavily at the box office and despite having budgets of around $300 million, showcased some atrociously ugly visual effects. The VFX team here have put their competition to shame, as the world design and immaculate attention to detail on display in ‘The Creator’ make it hands down the biggest cinematic achievement of the year, and it is to be seen on the biggest screen possible.

Every frame of the films gripping 133 minute runtime is jaw-dropping, full of panoramic vistas of the South-East Asian landscape, which are overlooked by dark, grimy and often gigantic exhibitions of futuristic architecture, to give a bleak insight into this alternate future of 2070. As well as the astonishing visuals and captivating action set pieces, there are some dark and cynical themes running through the films rapid fire plot, akin to other pioneering films of the genre such as Blade Runner (1982) and District 9 (2009).

‘The Creator’ does have a surprising amount of heart considering its topical themes of AI paranoia and colonialism. The emotion of the film mostly stems from the undeniable chemistry between Washington and Voyles as their adoptive relationship grows. Washington puts in his best performance since his breakout role in BlacKkKlansman five years ago, as he manages to bring a degree of vulnerability to his role as the morally conflicted Joshua, as well as a likeable level of charm and charisma that he no doubt inherits from his father, Denzel. As well as some excellent supporting performances from the likes of the consistently reliable Ralph Ineson and Allison Janney, the real standout of the film is Voyles who puts in a performance way beyond her years. Having a major character being so young can always be a risk but Voyles has proven to be a serious find. Without someone capable of producing a performance of this level at 9 years old, the central relationship between Joshua and Alphie would have no doubt fallen flat, depriving the audience of any emotional connection to an otherwise hauntingly bleak film.

It is hard to find too many faults with such a cinematic spectacle, but if I was to have any it would be the pacing and plotting of the film’s final act. As thrilling as it plays out, the final 20 minutes of so does venture a bit too far into the realms of implausibility in what is otherwise a very hard-edged and grounded film.

That being said, there is no doubt that ‘The Creator’ is a major science-fiction action adventure. In a time when we see very few original IPs of this scale hit the big screen, Gareth Edwards has delivered one in a very big way, as he fully immerses you into his rich vision of an A.I. dominated future.