The Creator – Review

Cert – 12, Run-time – 2 hours 13 minutes, Director – Gareth Edwards

A US sergeant (John David Washington) is tasked with destroying an AI superweapon, only to find it takes the form of a child (Madeline Yuna Voyles)

For much of The Creator’s opening stages we’re told by John David Washington’s Sergeant Joshua, and the opening news reel, that no matter how life-like the enemy AI might be they have no proper emotions. They don’t die, they just get turned off (or put on standby). So why should we care about them? Even with how much we see and hear about them, the focus certainly seems to be on AI over the human characters leading the story, it’s hard in the first half of the film to form a connection with such figures.

The same goes for the humans who, aside from Washington, are often posed as the villains in the futuristic war against AI. Allison Janney leads the chase trying to track Joshua down as he attempts to find the creator of a childlike AI superweapon, eventually named Alphie (Madeline Yuna Voyles), instead of destroying it. The villains turn up frequently to scupper any chance of the pair catching even the briefest of breaks leading to a series of explosive shootouts on increasingly grand scales.

There’s no denying the effort that has gone into the visual design of the piece. The cinematography, production design and visual effects in particular create a striking world, yet this isn’t always enough to properly engage and create connection within the slowly building story. Co-writer (alongside Chris Weltz) and director Gareth Edwards fills the world and narrative with a number of good ideas, with a handful of sci-fi influences dotted throughout – Blade Runner particularly cropping up here and there as the emotions of the AI comes more into frame, especially in the second half where such points come more into frame before the big-scale finale.

While much of the film makes for something a slow-burn the final 15 minutes feels like a rushed job with events that could almost be an entire act all to themselves – especially with the way the film shifts into them. The events still work, but feel as if they could be given more time over some of the occasionally drawn-out build-up. It’s a point which runs throughout The Creator. While the action is good and there are a number of good ideas on display, they don’t always create the emotional connection you need, or want, especially during the first half of the film when everything is still coming together before the closer battles and chases begin. As a whole The Creator is a solid film, but it sometimes stumbles over its events and build-up to allow for a proper connection with the characters to be formed, despite some gradual growth over time.

The world of The Creator is well-formed with its own ideas and sci-fi influences, however sometimes the focus feels to be on this over forming a connection with the characters, which sometimes trips the narrative.