The Creator (2023) | REVIEW

Directed by Gareth Edwards — Screenplay by Gareth Edwards and Chris Weitz.

Gareth Edwards’ The Creator was originally released back in late September of 2023, but, in spite of it once being one of my most anticipated films of 2023, I didn’t end up seeing it until January of 2024. In fact, it was the very first film that I saw in 2024. Why did I wait for the VOD release? Well, frankly, the marketing controversy rubbed me the wrong way (one of the trailers used footage from a real-life tragedy as a visual effects plate shot). The film’s director later revealed that the shot wasn’t actually in the film, and, when I eventually sat down to watch the film, I will admit that I actually really liked what I saw. Ultimately, I am firmly in the ‘The Creator is good actually’ club. Frankly, it might be my favorite film that director Gareth Edwards has made thus far, despite the fact that his oeuvre also includes two fairly well-received sci-fi franchise films from universes that I generally enjoy.

Set several decades into the future, The Creator takes place in a world, and at a time, when total war has broken out between humanity and AI following a traumatic and devastating nuclear detonation. In the film, we follow a US Army Sergeant (played by John David Washington) as he is sent on a mission to neutralize a mysterious weapon or power. However, when he finds out that the so-called weapon is actually a robotic young girl (played by Madeleine Yuna Voyles), he starts to question everything he knows and brings her along with him to investigate further.

One might say that there are three types of great science-fiction filmmaking: 1) the films that are expertly written, 2) the visually stunning ones, and 3) the ones that succeed both visually and with their ideas. Edwards’ The Creator definitely belongs in the second category. It is arguably one of the best-looking sci-fi epics of the century especially given its much lower budget than, say, most superhero movies. In the film, the visuals give off a texture and a lived-in quality that is off-the-charts good. Visually, it is very Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 meets Joseph Kosinski’s Oblivion with a sprinkling of Edwards’ Rogue One. 

However, the narrative is very derivative and ordinary, despite its modern focus on AI. It makes use of the overused Lone Wolf and Cub-trope and its narrative borrows from things like Blade Runner 2049, Apocalypse Now, and Terminator-franchise. It also clearly evokes certain real-life events through history and comments on America’s imprint on world warfare. Also, in the final act, it felt a little bit to me like the film was rushing through plot beats without actually letting pivotal moments have the weight and seriousness that they merit (and that are a prerequisite for scenes being surprising).

Despite its well-trodden narrative elements and its overall predictability, Gareth Edwards’ The Creator succeeds thanks to touching character moments, a capable cast (with Madeleine Yuna Voyles being a true standout), great sci-fi action filmmaking (complete with humorous action movie beats, like how a certain dog and a certain monkey interact with the chaotic world), and jaw-droppingly good visuals. 

7.9 out of 10

– Review Written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.