Gareth Edwards serves up a visually ambitious story of war between humans and A.I. beings in this heartfelt sci-fi spectacle.
To root for your species’ survival is both logical and biologically imperative. It makes perfect sense to want your fellow men, women and children to live well and have continued dominion over the planet, but it’s not hard to persuade people to think otherwise. You only have to look to all the people (I’m people) who spent the summer vocally supporting the orcas when they started teaming up against the human race (Justice For Tilikum). So while Gareth Edwards’ The Creator may not have the most fabulous timing with its pro-A.I. message, it’s not so far beyond the boundaries of imagination to picture a near future where you get better vibes from the great-grandchild of ChatGPT than politicians and leaders of humanity’s military-industrial complex.
The year is 2065, and following a nuclear warhead that A.I. dropped on Los Angeles 10 years prior, the US has banned all A.I. and seeks to wipe it off the face of the planet. American Sergeant Joshua Taylor (John David Washington) has been sent to East Asia, where its citizens have taken the opposite approach and live in harmony with “simulants”, humanoid robots distinguished by the exposed tech where their ears and necks should be. His undercover mission is to locate Nirmata, the architect of the most advanced A.I. whom the simulants worship, but his wife Maya (Gemma Chan) was raised by A.I. and believes they have every right to live and be free as their fleshy counterparts. Needless to say, this relationship ends very badly within the film’s first few minutes, at which point we flash forward another five years to 2070 when Joshua is recruited back into the army for one last mission. He’s tasked with destroying an advanced weapon that comes in the form of an adorable simulant called Alphie (an utterly charming Madeleine Yuna Voyles).
The film is not reinventing the wheel. We’ve seen similar action sci-fi who place humans as the bad guys in Blade Runner, Avatar and District 9, to name but a few. The allegories for the wars in Vietnam and “against terror” are solid, if not a little played out. But what makes Edwards, the director behind Monsters, Godzilla and Rogue One, one of the best populist filmmakers out there is his stunning world-building and knack for creating inventive, exciting action sequences which give weight to the lives and communities being massacred. The film reportedly cost $80 million to make, which is not exactly loose change, but Edwards turns it into a grand feast, actually shooting on location and having details in the urban sprawls and remote temples that speak to a well-considered history and complex culture that evolved where man and machine could find common ground.
The craft and care taken and the seamless integration of CGI into the landscapes are a joy to behold and make the hideous green screen monstrosities that Feige et al. have churned out on $300 million budgets all the more of an abomination. Not only does The Creator work as a good time at the movies, but it is also a reminder that mid-budget, (somewhat) original, crowd-pleasing stories can be told with aplomb. Even if the world faces an AI apocalypse in a few decades (or possibly sooner), Hollywood still has plenty of time to course-correct and embrace some visually exhilarating cinematic spectacle.
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Published 27 Sep 2023
Loved Rogue One but fearful of being propaganda’d into embracing our future A.I. overlords.
We are the bad guys, but these are the good visuals.
I look forward to embracing my future A.I. overlords!
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Little White Lies was established in 2005 as a bi-monthly print magazine committed to championing great movies and the talented people who make them. Combining cutting-edge design, illustration and journalism, we’ve been described as being “at the vanguard of the independent publishing movement.” Our reviews feature a unique tripartite ranking system that captures the different aspects of the movie-going experience. We believe in Truth & Movies.
