DVD Review: The Creator, written and directed by Gareth Edwads

The Creator
(DVD Creator)

The Creator was a spectacular original science fiction concept — refreshing to see when so many SF/F films are franchise entries. Director Gareth Edwards (he also co-wrote this with Chris Weitz) gives us a world in which Artificial Intelligences have struck back at humans in the United States, detonating a nuclear bomb in Los Angeles. When the action picks up years later, U.S. special forces are actively seeking out and destroying AIs around the world — but in New Asia, AIs are still valued and American intervention is opposed. Deep cover special U.S. special forces agent Joshua is married to an Asian woman and expecting a child, while still working on his mission to find the chief scientist creating new AIs. A strike force blows his cover, kills his wife and badly injures him…but when a mission to infiltrate and destroy a super weapon (that will take out the orbiting defense platform that is the primary U.S. weapon against AIs), Joshua is forced back into active service.

 

Joshua’s team is inserted into New Asia to try to find Nirmata, the creator of the ultimate weapon, and destroy both the weapon and Nirmata themself. The missions goes awry, and Joshua finds himself on the run with “the weapon”…which has been designed as a six-year-old little girl (who’s learning how to manipulate the technology around herself). Joshua believes his wife, Maya, may still be alive and he’s determined to use “the weapon” to find his wife and reclaim part of the life that was stolen from him. But he starts to bond with the little girl…and there’s still people out to destroy her.

 

John David Washington does a terrific job as the tortured Joshua, and there are some excellent supporting performances by Allison Janney, Ken Watanabe, Gemma Chan and several other adult actors. But the film is literally stolen by Madeleine Yuna Voyles, in her film debut, as the young weapon, “Alphie”. The Creator is complex and fast moving, and a lot of it is set in darkness. It is far from perfect, but it is still an excellent movie, and I highly recommend it. Particularly for the Hans Zimmer score.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Gareth Edwards’ other films, including Rogue One – A Star Wars Movie, Godzilla (2014) or Monsters.)

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this 2023 film )

 

See Kristen A.’s review of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (directed by Gareth Edwards) in the September 2017 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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