Against the backdrop of a war between humans and robots with artificial intelligence, a former soldier finds the secret weapon, a robot in the form of a young child.
Gareth Edwards is no stranger to science fiction. His last two features, “Godzilla” and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” were big hits, and “Rogue One” is considered by many to be the best Star Wars movie this side of the original trilogy and the prequels and I would have to agree with that assessment. The last two Skywalker films were, in my opinion, complete and utter garbage so it was refreshing when Edwards helmed “Rogue One,” infusing it with the ambiance that the original trilogy possessed.
In “The Creator,” it is the near future, and a war between mankind and the forces of artificial intelligence rages on. Joshua (John David Washington), a special forces agent deep undercover in New Asia, is trying to track down a mysterious being known as the Creator, the architect of advanced AI who has reportedly constructed a secret weapon with the power to end the war. Mixing with the locals, his mission is to penetrate AI-occupied territory where the Creator purportedly resides. He lives with his pregnant wife, Maya (Gemma Chan), on the beach but when American military forces invade one evening, killing everyone and everything in their path, Joshua and Maya become separated. While Maya tries to escape in a boat, Joshua watches in terror as the Americans blow it up, and his whole life crumbles.
Five years later, Joshua is living in the United States when his old commanding officer approaches him with new intel that says Maya survived the explosion. He is asked to go back to New Asia to track her down because further details have emerged that she might be connected to the Creator, but he refuses to believe them. After watching video footage of Maya alive, he agrees, but when he reaches his destination, he discovers that the secret weapon they’ve been looking for is actually a little girl named Alphie (Madeleine Yuna Voyles), who is part human, part robot. When he learns that the Americans want the weapon for their own nefarious needs, he takes Alphie with him, and they set out to track down Maya and finally comprehend precisely what is going on.
In many ways, “The Creator” is similar to Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner,” asking the question, should a constructed being count as a person? Visually, both movies are polar opposites. “Blade Runner” introduced us to a futuristic world cloaked in darkness and constant rain, while “The Creator” basks in the sunshine of the Far East. Both protagonists uncover a larger conspiracy behind the scenes, but both end up in the same place, asking the same question mentioned above.
“The Creator” delivers spectacular visual effects, but they never take away from the film’s emotional core, that of Joshua and his journey of transformation and enlightenment. The more time he spends with Alphie, the more he realizes that even though she is a humanoid, she and others like her think they are human. Unlike the Terminator, who looks human but knows it is a machine, the roles are reversed here, making it more difficult to see these characters succumb to death, even though they are not human.
Director Gareth Edwards excels in the field of science fiction, and like “Godzilla” and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” he creates authentic drama within the realm of this particular genre that never feels hackneyed or banal, the dialogue and character interactions all feel tangible and never misplaced. John David Washington, who I thoroughly enjoyed in Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet,” delivers another enthralling and emotional performance, aided by Madeleine Yuna Voyles in her big-screen acting debut. She infuses the movie with an inquisitive yet fearless performance, curious about the world and how everything and everyone operates within it.
“The Creator” gives you a glimpse into a world where humans and humanoids share space together, a world where most want to co-exist peacefully, but naturally, we need bad guys to upset that equilibrium and a reason for decimating the Earth’s AI, and the movie successfully accomplishes this objective. Allison Janney, the film’s antagonist, chews up the scenery with relish, obliterating anything that gets in her way, human or otherwise.
While “The Creator” is very much science fiction, it comes out at a time when AI is making headlines in the real world. Many applaud the range of scenarios of an AI-generated future, but maybe we should take a step back and remember this line from “The Terminator”; “The future is not set. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves.” Just a little something to ponder.
Now available on Digital HD, and on
4K Ultra HD™, Blu-ray™, and DVD December 12th
