It took some time and a rocky start with the Star Wars series (his Rogue One was beset by rumors of studio influence and lengthy reshoots), but with The Creator, British filmmaker Gareth Edwards finally gets to produce the sci-fi extravaganza he was always intended to undertake. And with this ambitious, idea-driven, expectation-defying, man-versus-machine clash, he co-wrote and directed one of the most creative a science-fiction pictures in recent years.
Whenever it pertains to science fiction, the term "original" might be somewhat deceptive. At its most basic, it simply refers to any image that is not part of an established franchise or derived from a recognized IP, such as a book, video game, or television series. However, occasionally the term is thoroughly deserved, by a film so unique in its world-building, visual, and unusual treatment to well-worn subjects that it becomes a canonical exemplar of the genre. Films like Neill Blomkamp's District 9 (which shares some fundamental circuitry with this film) and Alfonso Cuarón's dystopian classic Children of Men became precedents for following the genre.
If The Creator isn't exactly in the same level - it suffers from a few flaws in a hurried final act - it comes close. The immersive, intricately detailed backdrop has its own distinct visual and conceptual scheme, and the apparently familiar plot teases and bends our perceptions, forcing the audience to confront preconceptions and loyalty. It's an excellent piece of filmmaking.
Former soldier Joshua is played by John David Washington, an actor who has previously battled to establish a balance between overly reined-in restraint (Tenet, Amsterdam) and lavishly shouty exuberance (Malcolm & Marie). In any case, there has been some artificiality, with apparent traces of the acting judgments that went into every scene. Here, in comparison, it feels like Washington has completely dissolved into the persona. He is completely convincing as a deceptively ambiguous individual who is both and isn't what he appears.
A sleek, scene-setting montage describes the origins of human-AI hostility, beginning with cheery, faux-1950s advertisements for robot helpmates and ending with radiation-baked images of an AI-triggered nuclear assault on Los Angeles. But when we first meet Joshua, he looks disconnected from everything. He is a devoted spouse with a very pregnant wife, Maya (Gemma Chan). However, their house, a primitive beachfront cottage in an isolated part of "New Asia" (the location sequences were primarily shot in Thailand), is in immediate danger, trapped in what appears to be the melee of an American assault. Missiles are dropped from an eerie hovering genocidal assault vehicle known as the USS Nomad. Kudos to the sound-design crew for generating the most frightening apocalyptic roar since Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds has an extraterrestrial invasion klaxon.
But as Joshua begs an injured US marine to stop the attack, it is evident to both us and his grieving wife that he understands more than he has shown about the US military campaign and quest to find the Nirmata - the enigmatic creator of a generation of superior AI. A bomb hits a boat from which Maya is fleeing, leaving Joshua alone to deal with his grief and guilt.
While the Nirmata's AI beings, which range from robots to bioengineered humanoid androids, cohabit happily with humanity in New Asia, the United States has declared war on all kinds of AI, taking elements of Blade Runner's human-robot caste system to deadly extremes. Five years after the tragic event, Joshua gets contacted by the US military will assist with an assignment to end all missions: to eliminate a newly constructed AI superweapon capable of destroying America's first line of defense, the Nomad. However, he finds himself challenged in ways he could not have predicted when he realizes that the weapon is in reality a kid, dubbed Alphie.
Writing By Kennedy Lucas Patterson
Head Editor & Chief : Kennedy Lucas Patterson
Presented By "Kennedy Lucas & Associates
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