“The Creator”, review: A good proposal with an unambitious script

Creator this is a new sci-fi proposal Gartech EdwardsDirector RogueOne. This is a film that already in its previews promised to offer huge ambitions. The director is also a special effects specialist, so the aesthetic section felt very powerful. The film hits theaters on September 29, but not everything is as perfect as you might expect.

Story Creator follows Joshua, a man living in a futuristic world that is at war due to artificial intelligence. After many years of coexistence and development of this technology that makes life easier, one unfortunate day the United States was attacked by AI, causing a real massacre. In response, the West not only banned its use, but also declared war on all intelligent robots on the planet.

In the Asian republics, AI continued to spread uncontrollably, forcing the United States to develop a giant tracking ship to detect them. Meanwhile, Joshua, a North American special forces agent, is tasked with finding and destroying the Creator. This man is the one who developed the most advanced AI, even to the point of creating weapons that could end the world. The main character must find and deactivate the weapon that has taken the form of a girl. But at the same time, the loss of his wife makes him suffer and forces him to ask himself numerous moral questions.

World Creator

Definitely a great success Creator This is your production design. Edwards created a world so rich and expansive that it wouldn’t be enough for just one movie, but it could spawn a whole series of projects set within it. The legacy of some of the great masters of science fiction is palpable. From George Lucas with their droids and blasters star Wars to unique places James Cameronfrom which he also unabashedly draws his tale of the war of man against machine.

Everything is perfectly calibrated to meet its own logic, but at the same time clearly convey it to the viewer. And, most importantly, very clearly. Because the visual apparatus of the film is extraordinary. The film is full of beautiful images that grab everyone’s attention. To do this, the director uses beautiful landscapes and locations, which he fills with the perfect combination of futuristic technology and traditional design. The result gives everything a volume of realism that is very pleasing to the eye.

Do it, Edwards and his team decided to skip the green screens and go outside to film. The special effects were mounted on top after the material had already been filmed. An original way of using the real world as a stylistic resource in a sci-fi vein, which is explained by the fact that the director is also an expert in this technical field. In this aspect Creator doesn’t disappoint, offering an immersive sensory experience that could certainly be expanded upon if the studio so desired. In addition, small Madeleine Yuna Voyles, who plays Alfie, gives a stunning performance. Although the same cannot be said about John David Washingtonwhich still lacks charisma in its subtler moments.

Unoriginal story

But, although Edwards He places his story in an extraordinary world, everything seems strangely familiar. And this is because, at the narrative level, it uses speech that has been seen dozens of times. The dynamics of relationships between humans and robots, American colonialism in Asian regions, building relationships between parents and children, survival in the midst of the chaos of war. Creator This is a mixture of narratives that are well known to the average viewer.

As a result, this has the same negative consequence as losing the ability to surprise. The beginning, middle and end of each plot are so obvious that just 20 minutes into the film you already know how it will end. All the moral dilemmas, supposedly so complex and modern, are already found in many films. Some of which, e.g. blade runner or Terminator, they are more than 4 decades old. This is a shame, as a theme like this could (and should) have been much more ambitious.

At the film presentation in Madrid Edwards He said science fiction is the genre with the greatest opportunity for innovation. Paradoxically, he does not achieve this with his film. The potential that we as a society are beginning to see in artificial intelligence has been completely squandered. Creator boils it down to simply “they’re robots with a mind of their own.” That’s all.

The narrative stumbles Creator

However, the most offensive thing about Creator It’s in your script. Or rather, what it felt like had to be cut out. The epic and intimate story of Joshua and Alfie has a clear foundation. Beneath all this futuristic military scheme lies a story of humanity and compassion. For something like this to happen, there needs to be appropriate character development. And this is not in the film.

Their relationship begins like any couple who are destined to understand each other. They hate each other, they are from completely opposite worlds. From there, Creator promises a classic look. Gradually they will begin to connect and get along until they become inseparable. Without going too far and taking advantage of the post-apocalyptic context, this does the same thing Last of us such a well-known and beloved story. But here everything is done much worse.

This development occurs in fits and starts. In one scene they can’t even look at each other, but in the next they are having a very deep and sincere conversation, as if they had gained a ton of confidence overnight. And often there is no reason for these relationships to develop the way they do. It is possible that in the whole film, as planned, they treated this more calmly. But in the more than 2 hours that it lasts Creator, Edwards This doesn’t quite make it feel organic and natural. In the end, there is no choice but to reluctantly accept it and go with the flow.

Continuous repetition

To this must be added what is undoubtedly the film’s greatest sin. Apart from his good start, everything goes downhill. The ingenious plot in the protracted second act turns into a constant repetition of the same formula. The main characters must come from point A to point B. When they succeed, the villains find them and attack. Somehow the heroes manage to escape and take refuge at point C. And again they are discovered and attacked. And so on, again and again. When Creator finally breaks out of this vicious circle, what happens doesn’t improve it.

The resolution is so rushed that in every scene everything changes dramatically compared to the situation two minutes ago. It’s such a low-key conclusion that it can’t help but be riddled with inconsistencies (which we won’t reveal here to avoid spoilers). A good part of the script should highlight some moderately inspired conversations, on par with what was expected from such a film. And three or four more emotional scenes, which, ignoring the deus ex machina that generates them (everything works in favor of them happening, although it is not clear why), greatly appeal to the viewer’s feelings.

In conclusion, it must be said that Creator It’s not a bad movie. Her main mistake is not being as ambitious as she promised. It’s content to inhabit the genre’s usual haunts, with the story moving at times clumsily and at a choppy pace. Of course, with great packaging that covers everything and makes it more bearable. It’s far from the masterpiece one might expect, but it works and entertains. It will be seen in cinemas on September 29.