Written by Andreas Babiolakis

After director Gareth Edwards took off with the latest run of Hollywood Godzilla films with his aptly titled Godzilla, he was set to make the next blockbuster epics (I personally found the film just okay, but it was definitely an effects-based juggernaut). I feel like Edward was maybe held back by what visions he could commit to the big screen, so an original idea would maybe perform better. This is enforced by his entry in the Star Wars universe Rogue One, which is —again — decent but it feels indebted to the ideas of others and tethered creatively. We’re finally at the point where Edwards is attempting his own creation, and it’s coincidentally titled The Creator (as if he’s warming up to the idea of conjuring up his own ideas for once). What pains me is that he’s finally able to go wherever he wants with this film, and yet he still feels like he is being restrained in some way. This time, the only one holding him back is himself. There’s no franchise to blame. We could point fingers at Disney via 20th Century Studios, but I don’t feel that this would be an accurate accusation at this point.

How is The Creator dumbed down? The story feels simplistic despite what it is trying to achieve as a statement on artificial intelligence and a future full of bot-enabled workforces. In The Creator, AI has basically taken over humanity and our species are on the brink of extinction. What transpires is a war between humans and bots, and we follow Sergeant Joshua Taylor (John David Washington), who has lost everything in an AI-planted bomb (two limbs, and his entire family) and is tasked to help find the next secret weapon named Alpha-O. We find out this weapon is actually a child android, who Taylor will dub Alphie (a cute nickname, all things considered). This becomes an allegory for the upcoming generation that is doomed to face the world ahead of them and tasked with taking the next steps, on behalf of those that failed them in the years before. The mission changes for Taylor, obviously, and his place in the war becomes murky. There’s something profound here regarding the post-apocalyptic angle, the highly-modern discussion of artificial intelligence, and the take on generational repercussions. Having said that, The Creator dials all of this back in favour of being fun, popcorn-ingesting material, and it’s actually quite sad to see. There’s the potential for something much larger and impactful here, given the stirring ideas that are present, but we instead get a “turn off your brain” action sci-fi. We should be doing the exact opposite. The Creator has the possibility to provoke our thoughts, challenge us, and get us talking. It does no such thing when it comes to its message.

While the story in *The Creator* falls short of what could have been, the film remains a spectacle that will take your breath away.

While The Creator disappoints as a story, it is perhaps Edwards’ best film as a cinematic spectacle. The visual effects are gorgeous and hyper-real, to the point that there’s an unintentional commentary on AI within them: humans are capable of making this brilliant, CGI art. You can feel the blood, sweat, and tears put into these effects. The sound work is also exhilarating, as we get more life from the sonic and audible palette than we do the scope of the story itself. This film feels massive. I wish the story matched how it feels, but at least we get this. For the two hours and twenty minutes you watch this film, you will feel blown away by what you are experiencing. I wish there was tangible, world-building philosophies to coincide with the exhilaration of the action, aesthetics, and production; these feel limitless, and this is why I feel like Edwards is his own enemy when it comes to the narrative plot holes and shortcomings. If all of this money could be plugged into the post-production of this film (in clear anticipation of a franchise or cinematic lore), why would Edwards and company be stymied by the powers that be when it came to the story structure? Nonetheless, The Creator may not be the genesis of the next major science fiction opus, but it is at least a feast for the eyes and ears.

Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.