The Creator has assumed the position of Fall 2023’s big science-fiction blockbuster, taking the spot previously held by Dune: Part Two. Through no fault of its own, Gareth Edwards’ follow-up to Rogue One now has very big shoes to fill and, as an original science-fiction blockbuster, it serves as a refreshing balm to the constant deluge of sequels, franchise offshoots, and reboots. The Creator is a visually stunning epic and a feat of original storytelling on a massive scale no matter which way you look at it. Its story, from a screenplay by Edwards and his Rogue One collaborator Chris Weitz, falls short of its philosophical aspirations and ends up feeling overstuffed, but it’s an easy thing to forgive when an original film is made on this scale. The Creator deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible and with two heart-wrenching performances at its center, it’s an emotional ride enveloped in an engrossing world that feels a bit too close to home.
John David Washington stars as Joshua, who, at the beginning of the film, is in a relationship with Gemma Chan’s Maya. We find out he’s living in New Asia in deep cover, seeking out “Nirmata” AKA The Creator, the architect of the Artificial Intelligence that the United States military is waging war against. Humanity and AI once lived in harmony, but after a devastating tragedy led to the loss of millions of lives on American soil, the US government committed itself to robot genocide. Much of AI has sought refuge in New Asia, where the majority of the film takes place, and with the people of New Asia firmly on the side of the robots, The Creator becomes an all-out war film as the United States forces, led by a deliciously villainous Allison Janney, search for a super-weapon they fear could bring about the end of humanity.
Eventually, after a somewhat convoluted setup, Joshua ends up behind enemy lines with the super-weapon in tow. This weapon just so happens to be a young robot who he names Alfie. Played by newcomer Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Alfie is the beating heart of The Creator and Voyles eats up every second she is onscreen. The movie is transparent in its efforts to pull at audiences’ heartstrings with this character, but it mostly works thanks to Voyles and her chemistry with Washington. Naturally, this relationship and Alfie’s existence raise questions about consciousness and what it means to kill an intelligent being made of machinery. None of these questions are new to the genre, but Washington and Voyles sell them with an urgency that allays some of the heavy-handedness of the metaphors at play, including a hovering, physical embodiment of the US military’s global power.
That military power is on full display in The Creator‘s bombastic action sequences. Edwards proved with Rogue One that he knows how to work on a massive scale and the director depicts New Asia with a lush grandeur that is simply breathtaking. The continent’s mountains and rivers are punctuated with gargantuan buildings and intrusive highways that futuristic vehicles glide over and Edwards often switches between these wider angles and a claustrophobic perspective that makes you feel the weight of each moment. The brutality of the US military is on full display here, but, at a certain point, the military formations and police raids become repetitive as the film drags its feet to a third-act stunner. Once that sequence rolls around, it will make you wish the film had taken more risks with its sci-fi conceit. Ironically, though there is plenty of world-building, The Creator feels limited in scope due to this. It’s clear that Edwards was saving a chunk of the film’s impressive $80 million budget for that climax, and it is certainly worth it. It’s just a shame it takes as long as it does to get there.
The Creator is the kind of original filmmaking we deserve to see more of. It’s a big swing for 20th Century and its $80 million budget should serve as a lesson for studios who are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into franchise reboots and tired sequels that end up looking half as good. In one of the most depressing eras for blockbusters in memory, it almost doesn’t matter that the story at the center of The Creator is nothing special. The film presents a bold vision of what movies can and should be and, ultimately, it’s a more exhilarating experience to watch a movie of this scale take risks and fall short than it is to see a blockbuster play it safe and deliver mediocre results.
The Creator will release in theaters on September 29. The film is 133 minutes long and rated PG-13 for violence, some bloody images and strong language.
Key Release Date
The Creator
Release Date:2023-09-29
