The Creator

Starring: John David Washington, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Gemma Chan, Allison Janney, Ken Watanabe, Veronica Ngo, Sturgill Simpson, Amar Chadha-Patel, Marc Menchaca, Robbie Tann, Ralph Ineson, Michael Esper
Directed by: Gareth Edwards
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Drama, Science Fiction
2023

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A former soldier (John David Washington) reluctantly gets dragged back into the war between humans and robots powered by A.I. He discovers a child (Madeleine Yuna Voyles) who may have the power to win the war for one side.

Review:

Tim: I'd heard such praise for Gareth Edwards' The Creator, while also hearing quite a few laments that the box office wasn't aligned with how great of a film it was. People decried the seeming impossibility of original science fiction films- audiences just wouldn't turn out for those kinds of movies, apparently. All this created some high expectations for the film. When I did see it (and I admit, I didn't go to the theaters), I had a slightly different take. Oh, I really enjoyed The Creator. The film has some of the more stunning visuals I've ever seen. It's exciting, solid cast, agree- Edwards crafted a thoroughly enjoyable film. However, the movie still follows a well-trodden path. Beyond the stylistic trappings of the film, the heart of the story is one we've seen numerous times before. I don't think the film is great, even though I liked it so much.

The story itself has been done so many times before- basically, a cynical, world-weary man is reluctantly thrust into protecting a special child. This is fine, but we've seen this so, so many times. The bar is high for this kind of film. That's truly what lives at the heart of the story and there's nothing new about that. True, everything around it feels unique and cool- we see a lot of the war between humans and robots- this is a theme that has been tackled before, but I suspect we'll see much more of as real-life artificial intelligence continues to stay in the news. That's frightening in our world at this point, but thoroughly exciting on screen. I really enjoyed how the battle was depicted here. The film approaches this with a (admittedly, not truly original) twist- in the story, the humans (specially, the U.S. military) definitely seem to be the villains and the artificial intelligence robots come across as significantly more sympathetic. I was okay with that- it's healthy to consider that the military industrialization complex may not actually be a good thing for the world.

This whole conflict comes to life because of the stunning visuals and designs throughout this film. I have to praise Edwards' film here. If there is one outstanding aspect of The Creator, it's this. The robot designs were brilliant- human faces (for many of them), but visible robotics at the back of their heads. It was brilliantly done- we never forget they are human, but are able to connect with them because of their facial features. I absolutely loved the depiction of the NOMAD station- an enormous, frighteningly powerful battle station sweeping the globe. The views of it approaching in the distance were truly chilling. The visual effects of that were astounding. Edwards delivers a lot of great action, too. The highlight for me had to be the scary running bombs- what a frightening consideration- nearly indestructible robots whose body is comprised of a bomb, running through gunfire to detonate their targets. Sadly, it wouldn't surprise me to see those in real-life some day. The battle scene with the enormous tanks was cool, but a bit too abridged. Still, the explosions, the depictions of human vs. robot warfare- it's all ingeniously shown on screen. The visuals of this film are A+. As you might expect, the film was nominated for Best Visual Effects at the Academy Award (along with Best Sound, which was also very deserved). This is just further proof that the technical aspects of this movie are pretty fantastic.

The cast is definitely solid. I'm a big fan of John David Washington. I love his dad and I love that he's been emerging as a powerhouse actor in his own right. I didn't quite love his performance here- Washington is always good in the role, but it never quite blew me away. I'm not exactly sure why. He's good in every scene, but it felt a bit too emotionally disconnected. Perhaps the script didn't do him enough favors. I think about how much better he appeared in Tenet, for example. I'm not faulting his performance- it works, he delivers some stirring emotional moments. I still don't think it's his best work. Madeleine Yuna Voyles was outstanding. You never quite know what you'll get with child actors, but she delivers an emotionally powerful, unforgettable performance. I wish she was restrained a bit less- she seems to have some real talent. The few scenes were she got emotional (like laughing, for example) were powerful and memorable. I hope we see more of her in the future.

I always love seeing Gemma Chan, but it never feels like we get enough of her. Her role here is limited and she's off screen for much of the film. Her scenes are definitely among the most engaging of the film. I was so happy to see Allison Janney step into this challenging, antagonistic role. Janney's performance is wonderful because she's playing a "bad guy" who truly believes what she is doing is right. Her performance has nuance and conviction. It helps paint the picture that this character isn't black/white. She is fighting hard for what she believes in, even though her tactics become increasingly unsympathetic as the film goes on. Ken Watanabe is someone else I always appreciate seeing. He only has a few worthwhile scenes, but I smiled each time he got screen time. The rest of the supporting cast was impressive- Amar Chadha-Patel did some nice things, Marc Menchaca made more of an impact than I would have expected. Edwards really gets a good deal from this cast.

I do want to talk for a few minutes about Gareth Edwards. The guy has quickly become a director I feel great loyalty towards. He simply delivers impressive film after impressive film. He burst onto my radar with the surprisingly powerful Monsters back in 2010. He delivered a surprisingly good Godzilla film in 2014. He delivered one of the best Star Wars movies outside of the Skywalker films with Rogue One in 2016. And now, after back-to-back franchise films, he delivers a memorable, entertaining original sci-fi film. I'm a big fan of all four of his feature films. Now, I don't believe Edwards has quite delivered a great movie yet. However, he's been close on 4/4 movies. That is an impressive start to a career, and I cannot wait to see where he goes from here.

The Creator is definitely a good movie. To be fair, outside of the stylish exterior, it does feel a tad more generic than I'd have liked. The heart of the story is too familiar. The movie doesn't quite capture the emotional intensity it needed to have. I liked the characters, but I never cared deeply about any of them. This is a very good movie, but it's not close to my top 10 of 2023. I want to be clear that while I enjoyed it, it does have some flaws. Still, let's celebrate good original sci-fi when we can. This movie is a success and it further cements Edwards as one of the most exciting directors working today.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Tenet, Godzilla (2014), Rogue One, Eternals, Midnight Special, Man on Fire