Well, I finally caught up to “The Creator.” I can’t remember a movie campaign that wants to be perceived as the “game changer” as hard since the first “Avatar.” Speaking of James Cameron, his style of action set-piecing is all over this project. So are all the themes of “Blade Runner” (a never-topped masterpiece), with hints of “Apocalypse Now,” and a healthy dollop of Neill Blomkamp’s junk-punk style.
If you visited the theater during the time of this release, you would not forget the deluge of ads calling this the movie that will change the way we see movies; A bold claim for the relatively smaller production and for director Gareth Edwards (“Star Wars: Rogue One,” “Godzilla — 2014). Now that the film is available on the HULU streaming service, audiences who missed its theatrical run can finally judge for themselves.
The story begins with a prologue describing that in the year 2055 AI has become so powerful and self-sufficient that it no longer distinguishes itself from human life. After a freak accident with the new replicant soldiers, a nuke destroys Los Angeles. This them prompts the U.S. to outlaw all use of AI and decry war on all countries complicit with its use. John David Washington stars as espionage investigator Joshua, and along with a military operation in the jungle, they plan to infiltrate a secret base called NOMAD.
Oopsie, Joshua falls in love with his informant Maya (Gemma Chan), and they eventually conceive a child not yet born before their plan upends during a particularly violent raid that left Joshua alone with a mechanical arm. After some searching, Joshua finds a chosen-one child (Madaline Yuna Voyles) who possesses powers out-matched by any other form of replicant and who desperately wants to be treated as human.
It’s at this point in the picture the logic gets wobbly. At first, we are to believe that Joshua only wants to use the powers of this child to find his ex-lover and convince her to join the rebellion, but not long after, his allegiances suddenly change with less than a chapter change in the story. The character arc is undoubtedly rushed, and the movie suffers for it.
Gareth Edwards is a big-picture guy. He loves world-building, creating visually stunning set pieces, and evoking a tone. His weaknesses come from stoicism that sometimes ices the audience out. I will say, so far this is his strongest attempt at emotional storytelling, but it can’t account for the weaker elements of the storytelling.
Unfortunately, “The Creator” is quite derivative, and seemingly wants to be an everything for everyone unchallenging film. Do we trust AI? Are humans the baddies? Will love conquer all? I will say there are several terrific set pieces, and for the budget, it’s a handsome movie. I commend Gareth Edwards’ for his sincere attempt at emotional, character-based storytelling. But it’s easily 35 minutes too long, the various action set-ups and book chapter conceit make for a needlessly episodic watch, and, dare I say it, video-gamey in its structure.
Grade: B-
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