Words by Kasey Blondell
The Creator may be an original story, but it’s far from an original take on classic sci-fi tropes.
MILD SPOILERS AHEAD
The Creator is both original and unoriginal at the same time. A sci-fi which has not been adapted from any source material is a rare find in cinemas right now and, because of this, The Creator has many merits. Gareth Edwards creates a visually captivating world with a truly exciting concept, but his reliance on tropes and lack of creativity means the film doesn’t quite hit the mark.
John David Washington plays Joshua, an ex-special forces agent recruited to destroy a weapon. The twist is this: the weapon is actually a child. Crucially, it’s his child. But this is a twist you can see coming from a mile away, a story that’s been told a thousand times before. We’ve seen the human weapon story told many times, in the X-Men franchise, Captain America films, and most recently in Stranger Things. It wouldn’t be a problem if the characters in The Creator didn’t feel so hollow, or it felt like Gareth Edwards had something new to say.
Joshua is a blank slate, a character whose only defining quality is his love for his dead wife. It’s difficult to feel for him, and even more difficult to care about his wife, played by Gemma Chan, who is criminally underused, and pretty much only ever seen in flashbacks (where she prances around with him on a beach). The most interesting aspects of Maya’s character are explained to us by other characters and, when we finally see her in the present timeline, she’s on life support. Because of this, Maya feels more like a symbol than a character.
The stand-out performance has to be the one delivered by child actress, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, who plays Alphie. She delivers a heart-wrenching performance towards the end of the film, which almost makes up for the lack of substance throughout the rest of it. Joshua and Alphie’s relationship is believable, but we don’t quite see it develop as much as we should for the ending to land.
The exploration of AI in this film is something that could be genuinely intriguing, but feels half-baked. The Americans repeatedly use the reasoning that the AI aren’t real to justify their actions, and the fear that AI will take over hangs over them – but there’s no good explanation as to why anyone thinks that will happen. The AI are the victims in this film, but that’s all we know about them. The film doesn’t take the time to examine the world closely enough, or with enough nuance. The Creator misses its opportunity to explore what it means to be a human in a way that is actually interesting or unique.
All in all, the script is The Creator’s biggest downfall – but it’s filled with some genuinely beautiful stuff. The CGI is mind-blowing, the landscapes are gorgeous, and the world is very rich. It’s refreshing to see characters of colour lead a sci-fi, and it’s a joy to watch a non-adapted blockbuster in the cinema. It’s just a shame that the themes aren’t explored more extensively, and the characters aren’t built up quite enough. It’s a stunning film – but one that should really have more to say.
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