The Creator is certainly a visual feast to look at. With just an eighty-million dollar budget, it looks better than most recent Marvel films made for three times the money. If you loved the brutal visceral look of Rogue One, with futuristic industry as far as the eye can see, then this will be right up your alley. That said, the film wouldn’t look half this good without amazing cinematography to back it up, and for this Edwards used the skills of two people: Greig Fraser, who’s been busy in the last few years shooting gorgeous blockbusters such as Dune and The Batman, and Oren Soffer, who is fairly new to the scene but an undeniable talent. Every single shot of this film is just beautiful.
So I think I’ve made it clear that we’re in safe hands for a dazzling time at the cinema. What about an engaging one, an engrossing one?
Well, the script is chock-full of great ideas, exploring the very relevant concept of AI and delivering a surprisingly positive outlook on it, in a year that’s been dominated by news stories detailing the dangers of this tech. It’s an interesting take on the subject matter, but sadly it’s lost in a story that becomes more and more muddled as we progress through the film.
All of the plot points established in the film start tumbling over themselves by the end
Some people have criticised The Creator for not being as original as it claims to be, and indeed there are many comparisons that you can make to Blade Runner, The Terminator, Apocalypse Now, and more recent science-fiction films like District 9 and WALL.E. However, it’s very hard to come up with a completely original concept now, so I don’t really think that’s the problem. The actual problem is that the pacing and structure of The Creator are severely flawed. After a really strong first half, The Creator devolves into a series of action setpieces that start bleeding into one, making the second half of the film feel much longer than it should. It doesn’t help that all of the plot points established in the film start tumbling over themselves by the end, with the amount of sudden twists and revelations becoming tiresome.
The best part of The Creator is the friendship that blossoms between John David Washington’s character Joshua Taylor, and the superpowered simulant child Alphie. The child actor is really great here, and the sweet friendship struck a chord with me to the point where I was genuinely concerned for both characters’ safety. Yet, towards the end we don’t get enough of this dynamic and the film can lose some of its heart and soul.
I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed with The Creator. I am really glad I saw it despite my problems with it, since it’s great to see a science-fiction film like this being made and supported by big studios, and I do hope that we get to see more films like this. However, I think The Creator would have benefited from a tighter script, and a greater depth to its themes.
