Review by Nicholas Porteous for Mr. Will Wong
On an alternate timeline in the not-too-distant-future, robots powered by artificial intelligence have become nearly indistinguishable from humans–aside from large hollow motors constantly whirring in the middle of their heads. Humankind attempts to destroy any and all AI they no longer control, and Joshua (John David Washington) is sent on a mission to recover AI’s ultimate weapon–a little girl robot, Alphie (Madeleine Yuna Voyles), that functions as a universal remote. She can turn off any machine, potentially paralyzing humanity and opening the door for total robot dominance.
After Godzilla (2014) and Rogue One, The Creator is Gareth Edwards‘ big swing at crafting a deep sci-fi world of his own. Is he successful? On one level–absolutely. The Creator is thick with technological texture. Every robot, every device, every whirring gear feels weighted, three-dimensional, and built from the ground up. The gorgeously grimey gizmo aesthetic owes a lot to District 9, and it’s exactly the kind of large-scale successor I wish Neill Blomkamp had cooked up after such an inspired first movie. Unfortunately, the Film’s success mostly begins and ends with its visuals.
I can’t say The Creator has a lot going on in terms of characters, which is particularly unfortunate for a movie that theoretically wants its audience to be rooting for humanity’s survival. Of all the humans and robots we come to know over its 2-hour-plus runtime, only Allison Janney (as Colonel Howell) feels like a dynamic being. John David Washington does his best, but it can be difficult to distinguish his single-minded soldier from any of the robots. Alphie, the universal remote who would make sense as an ironic contrast to Washington, personality-wise, is even flatter. It’s mostly very unclear where Alphie’s allegiances lie, how smart or dumb Alphie is in any given situation, why Alphie does or doesn’t do anything, etc. For an ultimate weapon (designed by the titular AI Creator), she’s very easily manipulated by humans. The whole man-machine conflict feels poorly-motivated as well, and without getting too spoilery, it’s clear early on that these robots can’t be ALL bad.
Despite an abundance of stunning imagery, The Creator goes down like dreary, AI-generated robot propaganda, written with the intent to make us all feel more comfortable as our new overlords tighten their grip on every facet of human civilization.
Walt Disney Studios Canada release THE CREATOR September 31, 2023.
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