The Creator [Film Review]
THE CREATOR
Released: September 28, 2023
Director, co-writer, co-producer: Gareth Edwards
Starring: John David Washington, Gemma Chan, Ken Watanabe, Sturgill Simpson, Allison Janney & Madeleine Voyles.
Artificial Intelligence is a tool. A tool that’s only as "good" or "evil" as the parameters placed upon it; you get out of what you put in. That’s how A.I. works currently, by being guided by human hands and ripping off pre-existing works. Feed one a shitty Star Wars fan-fic and ask it to write something, it'll regurgitate said crappy fan-fic concepts, tone, iconography and arcs. For companies like OpenAI, it’s a tool for their future: either their claim to fame if they weasel through (necessary) government regulation or an eventual “told you so!” grift if A.I. goes awry. For creatives, it can be an inspiration. I know at least one Melbourne band that uses A.I. to generate artwork to use as a reference when they later pay a human being to make their new release's art. It can also be a tool to make odd Spongebob covers of popular songs. For game developers, it's a tool that can upscale and improve graphics and post-processing effects. For massive billion-dollar companies, it’s a cost-cutting tool. Within the next decade, don't be surprised if we're solely dealing with computer screen receptionists, servers, I.T., and customer support. Let’s all look to the bleak future of arguing with a Qantas website bot because the plane ticket we bought is for a seat that doesn’t exist. Classic Qantas, now with robots!
For writers and directors, A.I. is a tool that can help them craft the premise and settings of their own sci-fi stories. James Cameron’s Terminator, the fun Will-Smith-starring I, Robot, or more recently, Alex Garland’s excellent Ex-Machina; amongst countless others, these films centre around some form of A.I. tech turning against humanity. (Though it's fair to say that that last example is probably the most justified - love that for her!) Throwing his hat into this crowded ring is Gareth Edwards. Edwards' first film in seven years, and first original work since the low-budget debut Monsters that’s not tied to an existing IP – his previous two were the truly awesome 2014 Godzilla and one of the best Star Wars entries, Rogue One - comes in the spectacular form of The Creator, his take on man-vs-machine.
[gallery type="columns" columns="2" ids="https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/V1-0048_frm_pull.047.jpg|Madeline Voyles as Alphie in 20th Century Studios' THE CREATOR. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/V1-0036_frm_pull.035.jpg|John David Washington as Joshua in 20th Century Studios' THE CREATOR. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved."]
In short, it's great science fiction and one of my favourite films of the year. It's one you'll love or disregard based on how you answer this question: do predictability and familiarity ruin movies for you? For me, no, but this will be used as a slant against The Creator. Ultimately, one could pull from much worse than Akira, Apocalypse Now, Blade Runner, The Last Of Us and various road movies, but really, any art can be reduced to "it's X plus Y".
Truthfully, this has obvious comparisons, and you can confidently guess most of the ending simply by watching the trailers. Before the first act of four concludes, you’ll likely have formed a decent idea in your head of how it’ll wrap up. Aside from one moment that audibly shocked everyone in my cinema, this was my experience, mostly guessing the ending. Yet I’m still going to bat for this, as tropes themselves aren’t the issue, it’s about how they’re implemented. There's a mighty gap between outright plagiarism, paying homage, and merely containing familiar ideas. Thankfully, The Creator is the latter, landing most of its interesting, if indeed seen-before themes, all with incredible visuals, solid world-building and breathtaking action sequences.
Okay, plot! Set in 2065, we begin with an alt-history compilation of A.I. inventions that have advanced humanity in the 20th and early 21st century years beyond what we have today IRL. But in 2055, as we’re told very early on without any evidence, Los Angeles was suddenly nuked by A.I. via NOMAD (North American Orbital Mobile Aerial Defence). Like an AT-AT bearing down upon Rebel scum or a Kaiju stomping in the distance, NOMAD always feels like a looming threat throughout; an untouchable, trillion-dollar killing machine that rains death. Due to this nuking, the West and its allies declare war on all A.I. across the globe. Yet in the East, in a future territory known as New Asia, they fully embrace A.I. and allow robots and simulants alike to live free and peacefully. Those fiends!
Enter John David Washington's solid performance as the surprisingly complex protagonist, Joshua. For reasons I’ll leave out, he's tasked with helping an elite, shady American squad infiltrate New Asia to recover a secret weapon, Alpha O, that could destroy NOMAD. Turns out, this weapon is a young child A.I. simulant, later nicknamed Alphie, played by Madeleine Yuna Voyles, in what is a show-stealing movie debut. Things don't go to plan and Joshua and Alphie are on the run for other reasons I also won't spoil. What follows is interesting subject matter around A.I. and being, yet never fearmongers and is more nuanced about war, propaganda and existence than you’d likely expect. Conflict makes monsters of us all, but the A.I. aren't the real villains here. Allison Janney's job-done-at-all-costs antagonist Howell and Ralph Innerson's cold General Andrews, whose voice is like delicious gravelly butter, showcase this part of the film brilliantly, elevating the writing and tension. (Across a strong cast, everyone offers a decent performance, whether a small or big role.)
Most surprising to me was how The Creator is quite a radical film at times with a lot to say through its visuals and lore. This includes: tackling and criticising West vs. East division, military imperialism, the cost of human and A.I. collateral, and the immoral lengths that superpowers like America will go to to maintain global hegemonic power. Which is all extremely my shit in terms of political thought. Ya love to see it, and in big new films like this, no less!
The best thing that Edwards does, second to his strong sense of direction, is scope. His sense of scale - whether in Monsters, Godzilla, or Rogue One - is almost unappalled, and it’s what pushes The Creator up to the higher echelons of this calendar year's releases. This movie made me feel so tiny and insignificant at times. Thanks to some giant, terrifying explosions at numerous points. Cinematographers Oren Soffer, in one of his first big studio productions, and Australia's own Greig Fraser (Zero Dark Thirty, The Batman, Vice) should also be highly applauded for their work here. If we aren't getting Dune Part Two (feel like shit, just want my spices now), I’ll greedily take this.
[gallery type="columns" columns="2" ids="https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/V1-0044_frm_pull.043.jpg|A scene still from 20th Century Studios' THE CREATOR. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/tlov_trl_F_int_ov_v19_txt_scp_709_e02_cc01_20230630_00000-copy-29.jpg|John David Washington as Joshua in 20th Century Studios' THE CREATOR. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved."]
The sheer scale and the movie's great aesthetic aside, the effects are insane. Right away, I knew I was in for a real spectacle, so much I regret not seeing this in IMAX. Edwards and his VFX teams went all out here! You can see it up on the screen: the simulants designs, the slick hardware and weaponry, and futuristic vehicles and cities all look so real, so tactile. The CGI here is just on another level. 'Cutting-edge' seems somewhat hyperbolic but it isn't far off from such a description. How this film looks, sounds and feels is its greatest strength. And thank Christ, it doesn't use that VFX'd over 2020 Beruit explosion footage in the final cut that was seen in trailers. In a recent Reddit AMA, Edwards addressed this, saying it was just a reference point but was never intended to be used in films, let alone in the trailers. To which I say - that's fine, but it should never have slipped through into the marketing.
Want to know the craziest part about this film? All this visual magic was done on a frugal $80 million budget. Yet it looks like it costs twice, if not three times that amount, easily. It's such an impressive, expensive-looking film, completely outclassing the effects of a dominating franchise like Marvel with mere ease. Proving that when a director has a clear vision, knows what they’re looking to shoot well in advance, and there’s adequate money and time in the pipeline to bring it all to life, you get something jaw-dropping like The Creator.
The film's audio goes a long way in aiding these incredible sights. For instance, a well-timed cut to silence to emphasise impact is my biggest movie kink, and The Creator utilises this trick well. Hans Zimmer turns in a solid score that does what good movie scores should do: increase the drama and action with the audience subconsciously feeling it, but not outright noticing it. Elsewhere with the music, there’s a great needle-drop of Radiohead’s ‘Everything In Its Right Place’ that plays over a tension-building, fly-over sequence early on. Debussy’s ‘Clair de Lune’ also appears numerous times, an instantly recognisable piano piece that’s been doing the rounds ever since Everything Everywhere All At Once featured it heavily. (I heard it again when watching Welcome To Wrexham during the same weekend I wrote this review. Guys, I'm scared. Is this my Number 23 moment?.)
While this isn't the instant classic I and others wished for, it came close. Close enough to prove that Edwards can do his own thing without a baked-in audience and have it work. And I'd love to see it do well at the box office. Edwards’ profile won’t take a hit if it underperforms – he’s already done Godzilla and Star Wars, his career is set – but because it’s an original sci-fi flick that doesn’t belong to any pre-existing source material. Some might scoff at the word ‘original’ in this review, given how The Creator doesn’t hold back on wearing its various influences on its metallic sleeve, as mentioned. This I cannot deny, but the film holds everything together nicely.
Crucially, when watching a film – regardless of genre or financial scope – what matters is how engaged you are with it. The question is: did it successfully sweep you up? Off my feet I was swept before the movie's title card even dropped. Sure, it's not the most compelling screenplay of 2023, and certainly not up there with Villeneuve's Triple Threat of Arrival, Bladerunner 2049 and Dune Part One. However, it fits comfortably and proudly alongside other solid, memorable sci-fi films like Edge Of Tomorrow, Elysium, Oblivion, District 9 and I Am Mother. I was emotionally riveted by most of its plot, believable tech, classy action, and thought-provoking ideas that The Creator barreled through in its visually stunning two hours.
As I've loved posing questions in this review of a movie that asks some big questions itself, I'll leave you with a final one: do you want more original movies, whether they're weird and creative or just simply brand new IP? If yes, go see The Creator. Money and audience presence is the only way new things can get greenlit, so please show up for one such film when it matters most.
Rating: 4/5
Review by Alex Sievers.
The Creator landed in cinemas across Australia on September 28th.
You can grab your tickets online now via 20th Century Studios.
[videopress C3ML2l2n]
