The Creator review. Impressive But Not a Flawless Film

After the first trailers, I knew I wanted to go to the cinema to see The Creator. The story of the war between humans and machines, as well as the audiovisual setting, made this the film I've been interested in for the last few months. Finally, I went to the cinema, and the show I witnessed made up for the waiting.

The Creator is a really good film and I can confidently recommend Gareth Edwards' production right from the start. The presented story is, in a way, a visualization of fear that may prevail in people's minds. The topic of the development of AI and the threats resulting from it is currently very popular. Thus, The Creator joins the conversation, showing his vision of the future.

And it's a future ruled by fear, destruction and ruthlessness. The sad, and at times terrifying, story would not have had such strength if it were not for the actors' effort. They gave almost all they got, and without them, The Creator would be a much worse film. Sadness, grief, anger, and even joy are so powerful that many people in the room simply broke down. The emotional charge is very high.

The Creator is one of the best sci-fi movies of recent years

This is quite a strong opinion, but it's hard for me to find words that better describe what this production is. The creator clearly wants to present a story. The film is divided into several chapters, each subtly emphasizing a different character or aspect of the plot. It's not something big, but this small detail distinguishes The Creator from other great hits.

The story itself begins by showing how artificial intelligence has become increasingly involved in our daily lives. Machines became family members, where they took care of children, helped with chores and worked. Everything changed when the atomic bomb exploded in LA, which led to a complete ban on the use of AI.

The Creator, dir. Gareth Edwards; 20th Century Studios; 2023

But only in the broadly understood West. Technology was still being developed in Asia, which led to open conflict. The United States has entered another war, where taking prisoners is not an option and the desire to destroy the enemy at all costs is incredibly strong. The hatred and brutality of war are very well exposed, even in the first half of the film.

Then I had the impression that I was witnessing a war in Vietnam in the future, and American soldiers were ready for anything just to force local residents to provide the necessary information. It wasn't shown in a bloody way in the film, but the amount of emotion shown by both sides is very large. The explosion of an atomic bomb, the death of millions of people, and therefore a military intervention on a global scale also remind us of one of the events that really changed the world. This makes the beginning of The Creator the rawest and, in a sense, grimy.

The film plays out its entire narrative through emotions. I didn't need to witness dismemberment or bloodbaths. If such scenes appeared, they only involved robots (probably to maintain a lower age restriction). In my opinion, The Creator didn't need such images, but the director probably wanted to better illustrate the entire conflict.

People vs. robots

After all, it's through war that The Creator's story is told. No issue is left out, and I learned the perspective of people and machines and the representatives of humanity on their side. Additionally, the context of the atomic bomb explosion is presented, which was the flashpoint for the war declared by the West and the banning of artificial intelligence.

The Creator, dir. Gareth Edwards; 20th Century Studios; 2023

No thread is left unanswered, although it's the relationship between people and machines that I see as the biggest problem of the film. Several times, people fighting robots mention that their opponents are just programmed machines that don't really feel anything. All emotions are false because robots cannot feel. Even their deaths are not taken seriously. It's just a shutdown – nothing more.

It's easy to see this as a metaphor for real conflicts, in which the opponent is firstly dehumanized. Showing that killing them isn't really killing. Dehumanization makes it easier to fight the enemy. But if the behavior of artificial intelligence machines is not real (because it's the result of programming), then why all the war? Did humans program their own atomic bomb detonation, only to condemn themselves to a long-lasting conflict on the brink of defeat, as suggested by one of the military leaders?

The Creator, dir. Gareth Edwards; 20th Century Studios; 2023

On the one hand, in The Creator we are dealing with robots that constitute individual units, and an integral part of society, because they're able to think thanks to AI. On the other hand, it is theoretically only a program that some people are very afraid of. This aspect of the story, in my opinion, was not fully considered, and certain philosophies and answers were forced into The Creator just to connect with the story. Unfortunately, the effect is the opposite – there's a lack of coherence.

The Creator was made by actors

As I mentioned earlier, Gareth Edwards' production is characterized by acting in which sheer emotions are incredibly strong. In the cinema, I was very impressed by how convincingly the entire cast was able to show a wide range of feelings and behaviors: from positive to very negative ones. I was especially admiring the 9-year-old Madeleine Yuna Voyles, who plays a machine that can change the fate of the entire war. The way she acted, especially at the very end of the film, impressed everyone in the audience. If it weren't for her, there wouldn't have been so many tears in the audience.

But she's just part of The Creator's success. Allison Janney showed the determination of a mother whose children were killed by the ongoing war and she feels responsible for their deaths. Ken Watanabe proves that artificial intelligence robots can feel betrayed, forgive and fight for the idea until the very end, which contradicts the programming theories.

The Creator, dir. Gareth Edwards; 20th Century Studios; 2023

However, the character played by John David Washington finds the motivation to fight in a completely different place. Joshua, played by an actor, realizes that the bond between humans and artificial intelligence can be natural and real, without any programming. The relationship with Alphie is becoming stronger, eventually resembling a father and child. Although I still wonder whether the hero would have behaved the same way if the machine accompanying him did not have a human face.

The acting is complemented by special effects, without which no science-fiction show can be complete. The flying Nomad, huge tanks and robots fighting or just trying to live were all done in an exceptionally impressive way. At no point did I notice any computer-generated artificiality that would spoil the immersion of the entire experience. The story broke the coherence of the world at times, but the visual effects were definitely something else. The subsequent fights, the destruction of forests by huge tanks, explosions and Nomad himself made a very good impression on me. Even the mechanical elements of Alpha and similar machines did not look artificial. The future is now, although The Creator takes place in 2070.

I recommend going to see The Creator. I'm sure no one will be disappointed. The story is engaging, characters and presentation of a possible future scenario. Fear drives powerful people, and we can expect serious consequences. In The Creator, it seems there's no room for peace and the only option is to exterminate the enemy. Joshua finds himself back in the thick of things because of love, and while it may sound very shallow, in the end, it's feelings like these that motivate everyone the most. It's worth checking it out for yourself!

OUR SCORE: 8,5/10

Zbigniew Woznicki

Zbigniew Woznicki

He began his adventure with journalism and writing on the Allegro website, where he published news related to games, technology, and social media. He soon appeared on Gamepressure and Filmomaniak, writing about news related to the film industry. Despite being a huge fan of various TV series, his heart belongs to games of all kinds. He isn't afraid of any genre, and the adventure with Tibia taught him that sky and music in games are completely unnecessary. Years ago, he shared his experiences, moderating the forum of mmorpg.org.pl. Loves to complain, but of course constructively and in moderation.