MOVIE REVIEW: The Creator Is a Basic Story Dressed in Awesome Sci-Fi

(SPOT.ph) Hollywood’s war on artificial intelligence, or AI, is a battle that has become a major talking point in the industry as of late, what with the Writers’ Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild going on strike due to major film and television studios using AI to replace actual human workers. These strikes have basically frozen Hollywood. So it’s a bit awkward (or just funny timing) that a film distributed by one of those major studios is all about the evils of man and that AI is harmless and should be embraced.

Whatever your thoughts are on the AI issue, the world that director Gareth Edwards has built in his latest film is excellent, with some memorable sci-fi visuals and a terrific cast to back it up. However, the film has some spotty Asian representation and generic sci-fi themes that may be more problematic than its seemingly pro-AI theme.

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The Creator makes up for a basic story with great visuals

The Creator is set in the near future where AI and robots have become members of society until a massive explosion blamed on AI occurs in the U.S. The western world then launches an all-out war against AI, which includes creating a massive flying space station called NOMAD that is capable of tracking AI strongholds and dropping bombs from the sky. The AI robots though have found peace and quiet in the generic blanket term for Eastern and Southeast Asia called “New Asia”, a place where the humans have embraced AI and live alongside them. Former special agent Joshua (John David Washington) is recruited by the American army to infiltrate New Asia and find a weapon created by the so-called Nirmata or Creator, a god to the AI and the maker of the robots. This weapon is said to be so powerful that it can destroy NOMAD and potentially change the course of the war in the AI’s favor.

The best thing about The Creator, besides being an original work that is not based directly on any intellectual property, is the audio-visual spectacle that it is right from the get-go. Edwards, the director of the 2014 reboot of Godzilla and Star Wars prequel Rogue One, has once again delivered a visually stunning and inventive sci-fi epic. Like his previous films, Edwards just knows how to make things look cool and beautiful but also lived-in and terrifying. The size of Godzilla in the 2014 film for example made the kaiju monster look more massive than ever before, and we can’t forget the image of the Stormtroopers and AT-ACTs storming the beach or Darth Vader destroying a hallway of rebels in Rogue One. This is no difference in The Creator, a world where AI and robots are seamlessly added into the world with only headgear to differentiate them from humans. We also get to see some cool new technology that’s part of the world, as well as some cool space sci-fi action.

This movie was supposedly made for $80 million, and yet looks better and also more expensive than recent superhero blockbusters like The Flash and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, both of which hold a supposed budget upwards of $200 million. The cinematography works perfectly hand-in-hand with the stunning visual effects, especially when we get into those big battles. The visual effect of the flying space station NOMAD for example pretty much works like Godzilla here, looming over everybody with a sense of danger and dread, and the effect is magnificently done. Then you have the smaller touches of VFX, like the aforementioned headgear of the robots, that is so simple and small but incredibly effective.

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Visuals aside, The Creator struggles more in its story. Underneath the visual effects is a fairly generic sci-fi story about robots and humans that we’ve seen in properties like Blade Runner before. The theme of war and infiltration of peaceful countries is also a story we’ve seen done before, and better. As “original” as this film is in the way that it’s not based off of previous IP, the themes and story just feel like we’ve seen it all before. There’s not much new or exciting in where the story goes. Even the vaguely religious subtext doesn’t go anywhere. The script also doesn’t do much to provide a compelling story, good characterization, or memorable dialogue. There is a great story built inside here, but it doesn’t quite come out by the end of the runtime.

There is also a bigger conversation to be had about its depiction of Asians, specifically Eastern and Southeastern Asians. The intention was probably never meant to be negative, and this is something that is up to the viewer, but there might be some issues with the Asian depiction. As mentioned before, everyone on this side of the planet falls under a blanket term of New Asia (Asians have seemingly banded together to support AI). New Asia is an amalgam of various Asian cultures blended into one including bits of Vietnam, Thailand, Tibet, and more—no distinctions whatsoever. There are almost no Asian-Americans in sight as part of the Western world, and all Asians/robots with Asian faces are pretty much peaceful, quiet and found in bamboo huts, rice paddies, fishing villages, or pretty temples high in the mountains or jungles. There is a definite appreciation for the beauty of these Asian countries, but only seconds later we also see the disturbing and massive destruction of them and the people there. It’s just some weird choices that make for some odd results.

Outside of those issues though, The Creator gives a lot to be happy about. The visuals, mentioned earlier, are absolutely stunning, and the crafts are also solid. Besides the visual effects, we also have the previously mentioned cinematography being good, we have Hans Zimmer doing the score and it’s pretty solid work from him, and then there’s the costumes and production design that really just help build this world and make for some strong visuals overall. There is also overall great work from the cast including Washington proving again that he is a likable leading man, Allison Janney having fun as a brutal villain, and a terrific debut performance from Madeleine Yuna Voyles who plays Alphie, an AI robot child that Washington’s character takes care of throughout the film. However, Gemma Chan and Ken Watanabe feel wasted.

The Creator does have more pros than cons, and it’s overall a fun time at the movies especially for those looking to spend a couple hours in a different sci-fi world. It may not have the most inspired ideas or sci-fi stories, but the filmmaking is top notch and the visual effects are truly some of the best of the year. AI might supposedly be killing Hollywood, but in this film, it’s saving the world in style.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Spots.

The Creator premieres in cinemas October 4. Photos and video credit: 20th Century Studios.