A director uniquely skilled at capturing scale and creating lived-in worlds, Gareth Edwards has infused new visual energy into such iconic franchises as Godzilla and Star Wars. With The Creator, he tops himself in terms of world-building and generating a sense of awe.
The sci-fi epic begins in 2065, shortly after a prologue explains that artificial intelligence has advanced to the point that it’s been integrated into nearly every facet of human existence. This has largely been a boon to humanity, as they take over the jobs no one wants to do, with a competence that exceeds human intellect. It proves to have its problems, however, when the AI denotes a nuclear bomb in Los Angeles, prompting a war between the United States, which is seeking to wipe out all AI, and the country of New Asia, which protects and harbors them.
Joshua (John David Washington) is an agent sent undercover to find the AI’s leader, Nimata. While undercover, his wife (Gemma Chan) is killed by overzealous soldiers. Five years later, the no-nonsense Col. Howell (Allison Janney) finds Joshua and breaks the news that the AI has developed a weapon that could bring about the end of humanity – and that his wife might still be alive and provide the key to finding the weapon. But when Joshua storms the AI base, he finds that the weapon is actually a robot child named Alphie (Madeleine Yuna Voyeles) that the robots have somehow created. With the child in tow, Joshua sets out to bring the weapon back to headquarters and find some answers.
The focus on The Creator will, rightly, be on its visuals, which are some of the most amazing the big screen has given us in a long time (and for a budget of $80 million, it feels like a rebuke to the mega-budgeted Marvel films, whose special effects have been increasingly underwhelming). Filmed largely on location in Thailand, Edwards and cinematographers Greig Fraser and Oren Soffer create a lush and tactile world in which real-world locations exist seamlessly with futuristic technology that looks real, lived-in and worn. The robots come in a variety of appearances; several have human faces (we’re told humans are encouraged to submit their likenesses to achieve some sort of immortality) while others look like more traditional, gears-and-tubes creations. The military technology is advanced, but stays within the bounds of reality, including a two-legged robot bomb that leads to one of the film’s most unnerving sequences.
Edwards creates a sprawling world and is adept at dwarfing his characters in the shadows of large military craft and other creations. He takes Joshua and Alphie to vast farmlands, sprawling neon cities and a giant battleship in the sky. At times, the film calls to mind Blade Runner, District 9, and – in some of its more tranquil sequences – the work of Terrence Malick. It’s a big, sprawling, gorgeous movie, peppered with concussive action sequences. It is the most visually arresting film of the year.
Alas, we have to talk about the story.
While Edwards has always delivered from a visual perspective, his films are too often hampered by shallow scripts with one-dimensional characters. Working with Chris Weitz on the screenplay, Edwards delivers a movie that has more on its mind than his previous films. Joshua’s a compelling character, and Washington imbues him with sorrow and rage, but also enough curiosity and compassion to keep him from becoming too dour. He has a gentle chemistry with Voyeles, and the film’s sequences where the two of them bond are touching. And the film is full of interesting ideas, particularly concerning ideas of death, goodness and heaven, as well as requisite musings on humanity. The AI aren’t all depicted as bad guys, and have developed their own senses of honor, compassion and loyalty. Meanwhile, what are Col. Howell and her cohorts but merciless order-takers? It’s worth noting that the script for The Creator was finished well before AI became a cultural hot topic, and the robots here are less a stand-in for the current conundrum so much as a metaphor for how we depersonalize and dehumanize anything that is “other” or perceived as our enemy.
Madeleine Yuna Voyles in “The Creator.” © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
It’s full of interesting ideas, and Weitz, the writer of About a Boy and Rogue One understands how to structure the requisite emotional beats. And The Creator’s cast is more than capable of holding our interest. But the story never engages its ideas on any deeper level or explores their implications. Instead of following the lead of its visuals to be something new and stirring, it settles for a derivative story that cribs from Lone Wolf and Cub and several other drifter-with-a-kid stories (including Star Wars’ own The Mandalorian). A story about humanity and sacrifice ends up leading to yet another drawn-out finale where the hero tries to blow up an army base. Sure, we feel something in the emotional moments because Weitz is good at writing these scenes and Edwards understands the power of a crying kid. But where the film looks fresh and breathtaking, the story is too reheated and familiar.
It’s a shame, because The Creator, on the surface, has moments of greatness, and it’s absolutely worth a look on the biggest screen in the loudest theater. But for those looking for a new sci-fi masterpiece that dares to dream big and challenge its audience – especially with Dennis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two moved to next year – it just feels a bit too thin.
