Now with The Creator film lovers once again get to see Edwards works on an original story and premise that he has created himself. If Edwards is to announce himself as a filmmaker that deserves to be mentioned alongside the likes of the greats like Spielberg, Lucas etc then it is films like this that must stand the test of time.
With The Creator, Edwards takes us into the future and shows what life on Earth looks like in 2065. The USA has been left devastated after an atomic bomb was detonated in Los Angeles by the AIs that were created to help humanity.
That sees the world at war as the US tries to hunt down every living AI, including those in New Asia – an area of the world that refuses to end its relationship with AI technology. In retaliation, the US have developed ‘Nomad’ – a specially designed missile launching ship that has been decimating AI bases across the globe.
Finding himself in the middle of the war is Joshua (John David Washington – Tenet) who went undercover in New Asia to find a man who is considered to be the leader of the AIs – a man rumoured to have built what many refer to as ‘The Creator’.
While on that mission Joshua met and fell in love with an AI creator, Maya (Gemma Chan – Eternals), whom he believes was killed alongside their unborn child in a US Army-led raid. Five years later however he is told by Colonel Howell (Allison Janney – The Way, Way Back) that Maya is still alive and is at ‘the Base’, where it is believed that The Creator is held. Once again Joshua is pulled into a war where neither side seems ready to yield.
As we have come to expect from Edwards as a filmmaker, The Creator looks like a blockbuster but still manages to bring compassion and emotion to both the plot and the characters. Normally a character like Joshua would be portrayed as a gung-ho action hero ready to blow up the enemy at a moment’s notice, but here Edwards has created a hero that is not only emotionally damaged by the past, but because he has lost a loved one is also divided as he tries to work out what side he wants to be on now.
The fact that The Creator can go from being an all-out battlefield war film, with the look and feel of Rogue One, in one moment to a scene in which there are touching moments between Joshua and Alphie (newcomer Madeleine Yuna Voyles) attests to just how far Edwards has come has a filmmaker ‒ but The Creator also has a couple of weaknesses that show there is still room for improvement.
While the film does touch on some deep themes and there are moments when some strong messages are delivered, such as soldiers running out of a ship and gunning down monks without hesitation, there are other moments when it feels like this film lacks the hard edge that it needed to really deliver its message about humanity during war. Things like the suicide bomber robots are creative and a nice touch but most audience members will feel like there could have been a better way to show the consequences of such gruesome inventions.
Likewise while there are so many things to love about this film, the characterisation and the cinematography of Greig Fraser (Dune) and Oren Soffer (Fixation) to name just two, the one thing that will keep hitting you while watching the film is just how similar this film feels to Avatar at times. Not just because it shares similar themes but also some of the characters at hand feel very familiar.
While Allison Janney plays against type brilliantly well with her portrayal of Colonel Howell it does feel very similar to the character that Stephan Lang played in Avatar – Colonel Miles Quaritich.
When it comes to the acting stakes however, in The Creator it is John David Washington and Madeline Yuna Voyles. Voyles has a sneaky chance of receiving an Oscar nomination, as her role of Alphie would be challenging for actors of any age… and she delivers in what is her first film.
Washington also gets his chance to shine here. While he has shown his acting ability in films such as BlacKkKlasman and Macolm & Marie, his chance to show the world his action credibility in Tenet was thwarted by the film’s technical issues. This time around though Washington shows that he is more than capable of delivering both action and heartfelt drama in the same film.
The Creator may not be the perfect film, but its plot is thought-provoking and engaging. The film also looks slick as it calls upon the look of films like The Killing Fields and Good Morning Vietnam while bringing in a strong science-fiction element. Once again Gareth Edwards shows why nobody can film a ‘war’ film the way he does and he continues the magical journey that he is taking film lovers on with him.
The Creator is currently screening in Phuket and is rated 15.
3.5/5 Stars
David Griffiths has been working as a film and music reviewer for over 20 years. That time has seen him work in radio, television and in print. He is also an accredited reviewer for Rotten Tomatoes. You can follow him at www.facebook.com/subcultureentertainmentaus