Review: Gareth Edwards' THE CREATOR Is a Brilliantly Crafted Sci-Fi Film
After a seven-year break from making movies, Rogue One and Godzilla director Gareth Edwards is back with a new sci-fi film titled The Creator. This is a film that I’ve been that I’ve been pretty excited about seeing. That first trailer that was released blew me away, and that set my expectations for the film at a high bar. I finally had the opportunity to watch the film over the weekend, and I’m happy to say the movie met those expectations. This is one of the best sci-fi films that has been made in years.
The movie is great cinematic storytelling on a grand and epic scale and it takes viewers on a familiar journey, but with a unique vision. You can definitely see the films and the filmmakers that influenced this movie especially those of James Cameron and Neill Blomkamp. But, Edwards takes this story of a man protecting a young child-like A.I. robot and makes it his own. The movie felt very much like a Vietnam War film, but set in the distant future in an alternate sci-fi universe.
This sci-fi story has a heart and soul to it, and while the film is visually stunning, The Creator goes beyond the visual marvel of it. The story’s foundation is its richly layered characters, whose personal journeys beautifully interweave with the setting of the film. It's the synthesis of an adventurous philosophical quest and raw human emotion.
The filmmaker tells a story that explores some big life, social, and political questions and he lets the audience marinate in them, making the viewing experience more of a personal one. It was really interesting watching this story play out, and it’s one of the few sci-fi movies that hit me emotionally.
The film is set in the future at a time when there’s a war between the human race and artificial intelligence. An ex-special forces agent Joshua is recruited to hunt down and kill an elusive architect of advanced AI that is believed to be a major threat to the world. When Joshua finds the weapon, he learns that it’s actually an A.I. in the form of a young child, and he ends up forming a strong bond and relationship with it. There’s a lot more depth the the story, but I’ll let you watch the film and experience the full story for yourself.
The creator also has an incredibly strong cast and their performances breathe life into the narrative, making the story and the relationships between the characters real and deeply emotional. Especially the bond between Joshua and the A.I. child. The movie stars John David Washington, Gemma Chan (Eternals), Ken Watanabe (Inception), Sturgill Simpson (Dog), Madeleine Yuna Voyles and Allison Janney (I, Tonya).
The Creator is easily Gareth Edwards’ best film to date and I hope that he continues telling great stories with the movies that he makes!
