The year is 2070, and as a war rages between man and artificial intelligence, a special forces operative is recruited to hunt down and eliminate the AI’s elusive creator and their mysterious new war-ending weapon.
After rising to prominence with his acclaimed debut Monsters in 2010, British director Gareth Edwards was quickly swept up by big budget franchises and went on to helm both the 2014 Godzilla reboot and 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars story. A difficult time on the latter resulted in an 8 year break from our screens, but now the filmmaker returns, re-teaming with Rogue One cinematographer Grieg Fraser and Co-writer Chris Weitz for this original sci-fi adventure.
John David Washington takes on the lead role of Joshua, a soldier, still coming to terms with the loss of his pregnant wife Maya (Gemma Chan), who is tasked with travelling to the AI friendly super-continent of new Asia, to find and destroy their powerful new weapon.
When he discovers the so-called weapon in the form of an android child (Madeleine Yuna Voyles) he has a crisis of conscience, setting him on a collision course with his superior, Allison Janey’s Colonel Howell.
The film draws upon many classic sci-fi influences, such as Terminator, Blade Runner and District 9, as well as taking inspiration from Apocalypse now and Dances with Wolves. Despite this, Edwards still manages to put his own stamp on things by creating a visually striking and distinctive world, setting the film apart from your average run of the mill sci-fi fare.
Washington, who has in the past, come across as overly stoic, shows much more emotion here and seems completely invested in the material. Janey and Chan lend sterling support alongside Marc Menchaca and the always reliable Ken Wanatabe.
Meanwhile newcomer Madeleine Yuna Voyles, who plays the sought after droid weapon Alphie is an absolute revelation. For an actress so young, she delivers an astoundingly nuanced performance full of emotion, setting the bar incredibly high for her next role.
During press for the film, the director stated that he felt this project was a happy medium between his ultra low budget debut and the big franchise blockbusters he helmed since, and it’s clear the film has been crafted with a deep love of science fiction.
From the floating human command station NOMAD, which provides a foreboding presence in the sky, to the android monks and running bomb droids, all soundtracked by a restrained Hans Zimmer score, it’s clear Edwards had a vision for this film which he successfully transfers to the screen.
Original films as inventive as this are hard to find. The Creator is a soulful Man vs Machine story which flips the evil robot narrative on its head. With spectacular visuals, this is an inspired return for a director who’s been away from our screens for far too long.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Paul Steward
@grittster
01/10/23