Movie: The Creator
Production Companies: 20th Century Studios, New Regency Productions, Regency Enterprises, Entertainment One
Director: Gareth Edwards
Producers: Gareth Edwards, Chris Weitz, Dave Filoni
Scriptwriters: Gareth Edwards, Chris Weitz
Main Cast: John David Washington, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Gemma Chan
Release Date: September 29th
Running Time: 133 minutes
Certificate: 12A
Introduction: It’s ‘Children of Men’ meets ‘AI: Artificial Intelligence’ – with a very heavy dose of Neil Blomkamp – in Gareth Edward’s sci fi epic.
Synopsis: Set in the future where a war between humans and AI is raging on, a former soldier, portrayed by John David Washington, finds a secret weapon in the form of a robotic child whom he must protect.
Analysis: Gareth Edward’s impressive but brief filmography highlights just how unique he is as a sci fi filmmaker with such titles as ‘Monsters’ (a very well made and interesting alien drama- made for only $500,000) but, most notably, ‘Rogue One’ (one of the best ‘Star Wars’ films). ‘From the director of Rogue One’ has been very heavy utilized in the film’s marketing. A reason for this, I suspect, is perhaps because people have forgotten who he is but will instantly recognize that title. Here, he returns to the big screen for the first time in seven years with ‘The Creator’. An emotionally engaging and breathtaking dystopian thriller that is not quite as remarkable as it should be. Hopefully though, this is the film to bring him back to the directing spotlight after taking a break from Hollywood.
Firstly, you need to see this as big and loud as you can. The grand and broad vistas need to be experienced on the largest screen possible and the sound effects and design is the second best I’ve heard this year, the first place prize going to ‘Oppenheimer’. If you watch the behind the scenes footage of the film, you’ll notice just how small the cameras they used to shoot are which makes the visual sensibility all the more impressive (massive hats off to cinematographers Greig Fraser and Oren Soffer). There is a plethora of inspiration the film has clearly used, whether you find issue with that is up to your own personal taste- I didn’t mind it.
The film is a culmination of the titles I have already mentioned but others also remain clear and obvious. The cityscapes you see cannot be anything else other than ‘Blade Runner’ or ‘Blade Runner 2049’ and some of the robot designs and aesthetics are VERY Neill Blomkamp (‘Chappie’ and ‘Elysium’ jumping out to me the most). This does not deter them from looking fantastic on screen though. If I took a guess as to who directed this without actually knowing, I’d instantly say Blomkamp. Despite all this, the fact that this is an original IP (intellectual property) and concept is impressive, fairly rarely do we get entirely original projects. It is every so slightly flawed though.
Some elements of the plot and story don’t make as much sense when you begin to dissect them nor do they have the impact I thought that it would. I wanted things to be fleshed out more than they were. A bizarre query I had personally was the film’s choice in aspect ratio. The screen felt almost too squashed for the story it was telling. It doesn’t take away from the experience at all, I just wish I could’ve felt the world and the environments more than I did. I’m aware it was a deliberate choice from the director, it just didn’t work as well for me. But that’s it. The performances across the board are incredible, the standouts for me being both John David Washington and debutant Madeleine Yuna Voyles.
The two have great chemistry and are the emotional heartbeat of the film, a couple of heartfelt moments between them were very well executed which caused me to well up. Yet another brilliant Hans Zimmer score adds to this. All in all, this is yet another example of why Gareth Edwards should be directing more films, his version of ‘Godzilla’ being one of my favorite films of all time. His visual approach and sense of spectacle and scale being something I very rarely see in other filmmakers, Denis Villeneuve being another figure to do things similar. Both directors have this sustained style that I love. ‘The Creator’ is a bold, thought provoking and philosophically complex spectacle that more than makes up for it’s slightly weaker elements.
Overall Rating: 9.5/10 – Classic
Target Audience: 12+
Content Warning: Moderate Violence, Threat, Injury Detail, Infrequent Strong Language
Recommendation: Yes
