After a 7 year absence, Gareth Edwards returns to the director chair – crafting a new AI-driven story that’s timely and resonant, even if there’s a few moments near the end that don’t completely come together or feel earned.
The Creator
Directed by Gareth Edwards
Starring John David Washington, Gemma Chan, Ken Watanabe
Runtime: 2 hours, 13 minutes
Synopsis
After a devastating attack by sentient AI, western military power NOMAD pursues AI-forces hiding in Southeast Asia, ultimately hoping to destroy the AI creator and a weapon they’ve developed that could mean the end of human civilization. Retired soldier Joshua Taylor (Washington), is thrust back into the conflict due to his past with the mysterious AI creator, wrestling with his own pursuits and the weapon: a young, child-like AI adolescent that holds more secrets than even Taylor himself truly realizes.
Washington Expands His Range
Credit: 20th Century Studios. © 2023
John David Washington is certainly a chip off the old block talent-wise from his father Denzel, but what’s striking is his range inside the major projects he’s already been a part of. Whether it’s his take as the literal Protagonist in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet (2020), playing a mourning boyfriend escaping police in Beckett (2021), or the tension filled drama in Malcolm and Marie (2021), he’s starting to craft an interesting space for himself even it’s not quite as meteoric as his father’s trajectory. While The Creator won’t launch his stardom to new heights, it does serve as another feather in his cap and shows how versatile he can be.
A Story Of Redemption
When I was initially writing this review after my first viewing, I had sort of middling thoughts on Taylor’s story arc. He seemed aloof and ineffective in many of the things he wanted or stuck on his past relationships. Fast-forward to the finale, and his ending didn’t seem earned, especially as other contrived plots try to weave together. It feels so messy that the cathartic moment didn’t resonate for me, despite Hans Zimmer’s impression score reaching its climax. On my second viewing however, I found this arc particularly compelling even as those same issues hamper the experience. Without spoiling the last moments of the film, it’s really a journey of a character thinking they need or want one outcome but changing their mind as they reconcile with their guilt. It’s the guilt or shame of what he’s done that doesn’t always come through strongly and hence why his ending felt a bit unearned.
Credit: 20th Century Studios. © 2023
So really, the story is him actively wrestling with his selfishness and inability to take accountability for his actions / culpability in what’s transpired. By the time he recognizes this, it’s late into the affair which may be why the last act feels the way it does. But the seeds for that change had been planted if you pay attention to both what he’s stated he wants (reuniting with his wife) and what his actions are saying (“I feel guilty for betraying her”). Once you square those two factors, the ending resonates much better and may even get you a bit teary-eyed.
Western vs Eastern Philosophy on Artificial Intelligence
One of my favorite things about the Cyberpunk genre is that it tackles multiple philosophies regarding machines and humanity. Western movies like Terminator (1984) or I, Robot (2004) tend to only focus on the fear aspect, highlighting why machines are dangerous and should be eliminated. There’s little chance of co-existence in these type of universes and zero chance if the robots refuse to be subservient to mankind.
Japanese anime films like Ghost in the Shell (1995) have a much-more positive outlook on how humanity and AI can co-exist, even if there are still problems (like having your mind hijacked or various cyber related crimes). Rarely, however do we ever see these styles clash. Blade Runner (1982) or The Matrix (1999) may be the closest we get in cinema and it’s still heavily biased towards western thinking. Creator represents a rare opportunity to see these two sides decidedly marked out and placed against each other as the futuristic US military forces want to stamp out AI for a prior attack on American soil whereas various Southeast Asia countries live in harmony with the machines and grant them safe harbor.
Credit: 20th Century Studios. © 2023
This unfortunately leads to one major failing of the film: the eastern philosophies aren’t given enough time to shine. They are expressed thematically as we see the machines react to Alphie (played by Madeleine Yuna Voyles) and how they want to help with the greater mission. But we don’t actually know what they want, other than survival … how do they want to live and exist in the world? While the experience is certainly better than other outings where it’s completed one-sided, it still shows there’s plenty of room to grow and develop past the idea of simply killing one another.
Cyber Fresh
Much like Gareth Edward’ take on Godzilla (2014) gave us a new way to look at the titular monster, Creator gives us some new flourishes on how the future Earth could look, as machines and humanity battle one another trying to exist. One concept that we’re introduced to midway through is the idea that human consciousness can be temporarily accessed after death. It makes for a scene that isn’t visually horrific, but mentally devastating as you contemplate the idea that someone can bring you back against your will, forcing you to relive your death just to gain information. It’s not lost on me how similar this scene is with an earlier film this year: Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Credit: Paramount
There, Chris Pine’s character needs information from deceased people and his warlock (Justice Smith) obliges by reanimating them which works to hilarious effect. In Creator, one of the NOMAD generals (played by West Wing alum Allison Janney) tries to extract information from a recently deceased man before his brain activity completely ceases. The man’s horror as he realizes what’s happening to him still sits with me as I write this. Science fiction’s focus on thought-provoking concepts is nothing new to the genre, but it’s great to have moments that stay with you after the credits roll, especially when big budget cinema has been particular desperate and devoid of those opportunities.
Third / Fourth Act Issues
As mentioned before, the final act feels a bit disjointed even if it’s thematically accurate. That is to say, looking at Taylor’s arc, his ending makes a lot of sense, but sometimes the plot can contrive incidents that cheapen the impact Edwards was going for. Unfortunately, some of these moments are grafted onto Alphie’s characters in the final moments, weakening an otherwise solid performance. Additional weak-points occur with NOMAD characters and their decision-making, pushing the brutish nature of western military power into even more buffoonish areas. Together, these drag down a visually interesting and thematically resonant finale that would have fired on all cylinders without such issues.
Conclusion / Recommendation
While it’s not a perfect or wholly original fare from Gareth Edwards, The Creator offers enough fresh ideas in the spaces of AI to warrant exploring its themes on redemption and how society can coexist with its own creation.
Highly recommend catching this before it leaves theaters if you want to support more big-budget sci-fi getting green-lit. Edwards’ eye for action makes the big screen experience worth it, though I will say IMAX didn’t necessarily improve the experience for the big format purists.
Score: 7 out of 10
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