Gareth Edwards.
By now, many movie geeks the world over are familiar with this writer / director’s name, even if it’s just by virtue of having gifted us with the ONLY Disney era Star Wars film that has ANYTHING resembling redeeming qualities.
Personally, I REALLY enjoyed 2016’s Rogue One and think it deserves to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the original trilogy (bold words, I know). But going back to Edward’s first film, 2010’s highly impressive, micro-budgeted science fiction adventure Monsters, I’ve been finding myself more and more impressed by the man’s sci-fi output and was curious to see what he would land after the debacle that the Rogue One production was rumored to be (with credible reporting that Rogue One writer Tony Gilroy was brought in to retool Edward’s completed 3rd Act). Luckily, despite being creatively usurped at the 11th hour (to satisfying results, if I’m honest, though I’d be VERY curious to see GE’s director’s cut…which will never happen), Edward’s vision shone through and Disney (through subsidiary 20th Century Studios) agreed to pony up an estimated (and comparatively modest, all things considered) $80 million for his next project, the ambitious, oddly prophetic AI-centric thriller that is The Creator.
One of the things I REALLY appreciate is Edward’s grasp on scale and perspective. I LOVE the grandeur of his science fiction trappings, whether it be Monsters, 2014’s Godzilla (which I also like a lot of), or Rogue One and that’s what instantly had my attention when I saw the first trailer for The Creator. It looked like pure, hard science fiction in the vein of works by Neill Blomkamp (think 2013’s Elysium) or Joseph Kosinski (think 2013’s Oblivion), two director’s who also embrace that gritty, lived-in aesthetic that I love, where the portrayed universes feel like logical extrapolations of the world we live in now, which I will freely admit was greatly influenced by the early works of James Cameron (Aliens) and Ridley Scott (Blade Runner).
Added to which, the central concept of this film is strangely and eerily relevant:
Sometime in the very near future, Artificial Intelligence, which was initially deemed an incredible achievement that permeated all aspects of ‘modern’ life, seemingly rebels against its creators (doesn’t it always?) and ends up nuking Los Angeles (whoops!). As a result, the governments of North America pull the plug on AI, declaring it illegal and legitimately The Enemy. Unfortunately, a new Asian superpower has emerged, encapsulating all of South East Asia, and it’s ruling government has embraced AI, granting citizenship to the multitude of artificial ‘personalities’ that exist among the human population. So ingratiated is AI into the population, people have the chance to donate their likenesses, gifting an AI with a ‘human’ face, an artificial doppelganger, if you will. While North America has stated that there is no conflict with New Asia’s human residents, the same cannot be said about the AI. A covert war is being waged, with human spy agencies and special forces teams conducting raids and bombings of AI-centric targets, bolstered by the omni-present threat of NOMAD, a massive, high-altitude battle station that scans the land below with vast swathes of laser light (an eerie and trippy visual), before bombarding its targets with near-nuclear missiles. Into this environment, we meet undercover human agent ‘Joshua’ (John David Washington), who has fallen in love with his surveillance target, an AI / human hybrid named ‘Maya’ (Gemma Chan), who may be key to finding the ultimate control of the AI, someone or something named ‘Nirmata’. Incidentally, ‘Maya’ is pregnant. Into this domestic bliss comes a deadly raid by ‘Joshua’s military brethren, led by near-zealot ‘Colonel Howell’ (Allison Janney) and his life is promptly turned upside down. He and ‘Maya’ are separated when his betrayal is revealed and she is seemingly killed in a catastrophic attack by the NOMAD station. Several years later, word gets to ‘Joshua’ that ‘Maya’ MAY not actually be dead and that she may still be key to locating and destroying ‘Nirmata’. ‘Colonel Howell’ comes calling and recruits him for an upcoming operation, in hopes that he can use his past relationship with ‘Maya’ to get in close. Despite a strong launch, the mission goes awry, leaving ‘Joshua’ stranded behind enemy lines, where he encounters the raid’s target – an oddly sophisticated AI / human hybrid in the form of an adorable little girl, whom he names ‘Alphie’ (Medeleine Yuna Voyles). This is significant as AI children have never been seen and she boasts frightening abilities that could throw off the balance of power, if abused. After a shocking revelation, ‘Joshua’ and ‘Alphie’ embark on a perilous journey through the jungles and mountains of South East Asia, with ‘Howell’ and her agents nipping at their heels, while NOMAD always lurks in the distance.
I really liked The Creator and from a visual stand-point, I got almost exactly what I hoped for. That being said, narratively, the story is good…but not great, with at least one major plotting issue standing out for me, but we’ll get to that in a bit.
Right off the bat, I again have to praise Gareth Edwards’ science fiction ‘vision’, especially in his sets and cinematography. As I mentioned earlier, the two contemporary directors I can make easy comparisons to, where Edward’s work is concerned, are Neill Blomkamp and Joseph Kosinski. They’ve both portrayed futuristic worlds that feel believable, embracing real-world elements and dialing them up in service of their stories. Those two directors also have a strong grasp on scale, visually giving the worlds they crafted in District 9 (2009), Elysium (2013), Tron Legacy (2010), and Oblivion (2013) BIG canvases, worlds that feel expansive, lived-in and gritty.
Edwards does exactly that here, and I thought it was great. I loved how he handled the marriage of high-tech with low-tech, a bulky sci-fi aesthetic backed by the lush jungle and mountain backdrops. Like his two peers, Edwards also has a solid grip on action scenes, of which there were more than I went in expecting.
I deliberately went in with very little information about the plot, as I just wanted to go along with the story as it unfolded but I will admit to being pleasantly surprised by just how much action there actually was, both small and large scale. If you like BIG explosions, you will be well-served here.
When it comes to the cast, I have no complaints. Denzel’s kid John David is really starting to make a name for himself in Hollywood (no surprise there) and you can tell the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Hell, there were a few times where I could’ve closed my eyes and I’d SWEAR I was hearing Denzel Washington, both in voice and vocal characteristics. I thought the younger Washinton presented a character that, while being somewhat one-dimensional on the page, still garnered sympathy, while also being a capable badass. He and Madeleine Yuna Voyles have some effective scenes (that actually reminded me alot of Denzel’s cute sequences with tiny Dakota Fanning in Man on Fire (2004)) that yielded strong emotional performances from both, especially in Act 3. Allison Janney (Juno), whose character easily could’ve been a simple cardboard cut-out of Bad Villain Lady, brought some dimension to the antagonistic character early on, which lent reasoning to her ruthless actions later in the film, a writing and directing choice I appreciated. We also get the great Ken Watanabe (Godzilla) as AI rebel leader ‘Harun’, bringing his expected dramatic stoicism to the thin role. The rest is rounded out by largely Asian nobodies (no offence intended), which again gave a cool exotic flavor to everything.
As Negatives go, I don’t have much…but I do have some, and they’re largely narrative. The one that immediately leaps to mind is a sequence in Act 3, where ‘Joshua’ and ‘Alphie’ are hiding out in a rustic village and the passage of time is very poorly conveyed. It APPEARS, given ‘Joshua’s hair, that they’d been there for months, but then things happen, narratively, that should’ve went down within days of them arriving (if not hours) and there’s simply no discernable telling of the passage of time. It felt like material was missing, which speaks to the larger issue I have with The Creator.
When the credits finally rolled after an entertaining 2 hours and 13 minutes, I found myself feeling somewhat…incomplete, where my overall cinematic satisfaction was concerned. I felt like a certain overall emotional connection, while there, was not as strong as it could’ve been, like I had only WATCHED the movie, instead of EXPERIENCING it. As much as the medley of often-gorgeous visuals pulled me in, emotionally I felt largely held at arm’s length (a couple key scenes aside) and it felt like ‘connective tissue’ was missing. I’d say another 15 or so minutes of character / world development would’ve benefited this title, especially in the last half. Who knows…maybe it was all there to begin with but for the sake of a more inviting run-time, Disney had Edwards chop it out.
A director’s cut of The Creator, I would be curious to see.
All in all, I got pretty much what I expected, and hoped for, and am really glad I opted to check it out on the BIG screen (more people should, as this worthy ‘little’ title is currently floundering undeservedly at the Box Office).
The concept is eerily relevant and disconcerting (especially now), the acting is solid, the action is big and plentiful, and the world depicted is rich and vibrant, with lots of grime and grit rounding it out.
It does fall somewhat short in the characterization department and some of the narrative tissue could’ve been tightened and / or expanded upon. Admittedly, parts of the story we have seen before, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Here, they’re executed well and in a way that’s often stunning to look at, bolstered onscreen by the numerous clever (to me, at least) science fiction ideas (loved the infiltrator bombs!) and visuals (EVERYTHING with NOMAD is awesome!) peppered throughout.
I hope Word of Mouth is kind to The Creator and it garners recognition for what it is – a modestly budgeted ‘original’ title based on no known or established IP done well, with a clever story that doesn’t insult the audience and actually places the odd challenging question into the more discerning viewers minds.
Plus, so much of it just looks / sounds fucking cool!
We NEED more content like THIS. Not every release needs to come with a ridiculous $200 million price-tag (double, if you include advertising), and in the right hands, a modest budget can force some pretty cool bouts of creativity, which I believe is squarely on display here.
While it doesn’t quite stick the landing on ALL the ambitious themes and questions it poses, it cannot be faulted for trying, for shooting a little higher than just ‘popcorn’. Gareth Edwards seemingly made the most he could, with what he had to work with and, in my opinion, he largely succeeded.
Even where the story falls short, if you’re a fan of hard sci-fi that aims to tickle your intellect, while also showing you effective thrills and clever ideas in a well imagined ‘universe’, you will be well-served by The Creator.
*IF Hollywood continues to pursue its ill-advised ‘Murican live-action adaptation of the 1988’s absolutely classic Manga Akira, I would be a wee bit more accepting if they handed the keys to Gareth Edwards. Or Joseph Kosinski. Or Neill Blomkamp.
Just saying.
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