I really wanted to like “The Creator” a lot more than I did, as there were some promising elements. But despite a compelling atmosphere, weak performances and an unoriginal script keep “The Creator” from becoming a modern sci-fi classic.
20th Century Studios’ “The Creator,” which was released in theaters on Sept. 29, depicts a future in which America is at war with artificial intelligence. Soldier Joshua Taylor (played by John David Washington), is tasked with eliminating a weapon with the potential to change the tide of the conflict, but soon begins to doubt his mission.
One of the most important aspects of a sci-fi film are the performances. Characters like Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and James Kirk became iconic because the actors who played them fully committed to the character.
The same cannot be said for Taylor, a military sergeant whose most interesting traits are that he likes long walks on the beach and has two prosthetic limbs that don’t seem to impede him in any way. Washington, most known for his role in Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet,” plays Taylor with almost none of the charisma he exuded in “Amsterdam.”
The end result is the difficulty of not being invested in its main character.
The real star of the film, surprisingly (or maybe not if you’ve watched even a single episode of “The Mandalorian”), is Madeleine Yuna Voyles. As the young robot known as Alphie, Voyles shows more emotion than most of the human cast.
Alison Janney brings some nuance to her role as a narrow-minded colonel, but she doesn’t have much to do. As Taylor’s wife, Gemma Chan (“Eternals”), Maya gets even less.
The other main problem with “The Creator” is the script. Science fiction is a genre where you can either have the most imaginative premises possible, or go the opposite direction and be extremely realistic.
“The Creator” tries to do the latter; the problem is that it doesn’t present any original ideas. The idea of a military man becoming disillusioned with his country’s genocidal policies against non-humans has been done before and that’s the plot of James Cameron’s “Avatar.”
The idea of a man protecting a young child from a harsh dystopian landscape has also been done before in the acclaimed Max original series “The Last of Us.” It also brings to mind Adam Driver’s dinosaur pic “65” from earlier this year and the aforementioned “Mandalorian.”
The reason why the imperialism allegory works in “Avatar” and not here is because there was a reason that the humans invaded Pandora specifically. There was no specific reason why the setting had to be in Asia.
As I mentioned before, the atmosphere was really well-done. Director Gareth Edwards’ willingness to film on-location results in some visually stunning shots. In addition, famed genre film composer Hans Zimmer’s score does a lot of the emotional heavy lifting.
Humor can be an important asset for a sci-fi film. The sci-fi comedy spoof “Spaceballs” is still beloved to this day, but “The Creator” does not use humor nearly enough.
Overall, “The Creator” has potential, but unoriginality ruins what could have been a great film.
