At this point in his career, it is time to accept that filmmaker Gareth Edwards is better at creating captivating worlds than he is at populating them with well-written characters. In 2010, he made his feature debut with the scrappy science-fiction horror film Monsters, which thrived on atmosphere and remains his best work to date by a fairly wide margin. His next two films, 2014's Godzilla and 2016's Rogue One, were each technical achievements that saw him building off of existing genre stories still looming large over the modern movie landscape. Both had some interesting ideas, but the latter was especially hamstrung by a persistently pandering approach.
One would then think that a film like The Creator would free Edwards up to explore without being boxed in by an existing franchise. An original sci-fi story, when done well, is something that has the potential to be refreshing in how it stands apart from the malaise of sequels and reboots. Working from a script he co-wrote with Rogue One scribe Chris Weitz, Edwards squanders this promise with a story that is defined by superficial characters and empty emotions. The basics of this involve the former soldier Joshua, played by a stiff John David Washington of Tenet, who is drawn back into a near-future war between the U.S. military and AI beings living in what is called "New Asia." This will be further complicated by the relationship he forms with the robot who becomes known as Alphie. Played by a debuting Madeleine Yuna Voyles, the character is believed to be a miracle who could turn the tide of the conflict.
Thus, Joshua and Alphie set out on a journey to escape the long reach of the government that used to employ him. This isn't so easy as they have a superweapon that they use ruthlessly, killing freedom fighters and civilians alike. One such attack seemed to kill Joshua's pregnant wife, Maya, played by a wasted Gemma Chan (Don't Worry Darling), though he now believes she survived. While a bit derivative, all of this sounds like it could be compelling on paper.
In execution, the entire thing falls flat.
Once Joshua and Alphie unite, the film settles into a repetitive pattern where they will go to a place, get attacked, then escape to the next one. Rinse and repeat. Rather than chart a new path, it is painfully familiar to Rogue One. Both had plenty of incredible visuals, but their plodding narratives are utterly devoid of emotional depth. The Creator brings a darker humor at times, but these moments are too fleeting to leave a mark.
That Edwards seems to be trying to confront the destructive forces of American militarism is potentially interesting, but he remains hesitant to take us further into these ideas. For all the deeper readings to be made, there is very little actually there on screen. Science-fiction cinema has a rich history of such confrontations from James Cameron's recent Avatar: The Way of Water tackling colonialism and environmental destruction to George Lucas' Star Wars stealthily being an allusion to the Vietnam War. That doesn't mean these works are above criticism in how they do so, but at least there is something deeper to them that opens up rigorous discussion.
The Creator doesn't carry this conceptual torch forward as much as it drags it along the ground. By the end, it feels like a hollow echo of director Neill Blomkamp's ouvre. Where Blomkamp's more incisive and bold work on 2009's District 9 ensures it remains a memorable film, The Creator only lightly touches on that movie's most promising aspects before diving into a painfully contrived spectacle. Even while Blomkamp's subsequent sci-fi films — 2013's profoundly underrated Elysium and 2015's deeply flawed Chappie — are considered to be lesser works, they're still more enthralling than anything taking place in this world that Edwards has crafted. By the time we get through hours of drudgery and arrive at The Creator's explosive end, the characters, be they AI or human, are themselves only lifeless approximations. Even with all the action playing out, the greatest battle is between the ideas Edwards gestures toward and the lip service he ultimately gives them. In the end, we all lose. ♦
THE CREATOR
