TL;DR – A phenomenal work of art that touches on all the emotions.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

The Creator Review –

There are many ways you can get me into a cinema, and chief among them is bringing a new Science Fiction film into the world. A new movie not attached to any existing IP. Do you know how rare that is today? But then also have it be the first significant follow-up of Gareth Edwards after Rogue One. Well, you have already sold me, but sure, add a cherry on the top. However, even then, I was unprepared for the beauty and ugliness I was about to watch.

So to set the scene, in the near future, AI, robotics, and synths will be a part of every facet of society. That is until that same AI launched a nuclear missile attack on Los Angeles in 2055. Millions died, and much of the world banned AI, but not New Asia. Ten years after LA and the war across New Asia rages, America tries to destroy the robotic resistance. Amongst all of this, Joshua (John David Washington) and Maya (Gemma Chan) live in a house on the beach and are expecting their first child when an American raid reveals Joshua to be a double agent. It is a disaster for Joshua, but five years later, as the last threat to the looming spaceship USS Nomad is identified, he is given a choice: Help a team find this weapon and maybe save his love. But no one was expecting what they found in that lab.

There is a lot to dive into regarding this film, but the first thing I want to champion is the visuals. The Creator is a stunningly beautiful film at almost every level. They have built a world that feels futuristic and grounded in reality. Part of this is from filming a lot of this film on location, so you experience the varied textures, sites, peoples, and environments of Asia while still having an overarching design vibe that draws it all together. This choice added so much worldbuilding before a single digital effect was added, as we experienced the islands of Indonesia, the coastlines of Thailand, the farmlands of Cambodia, the highlands of Nepal, the countryside of Vietnam, and the cities of Japan.

While this location shooting provided the visual bedrock for the film, the visual effects they added on top of this should also be championed. These effects were seamlessly integrated at every level of the film. At no point was I taken out because something looked off. This is especially true of the many synth characters that have a new, unique visual style combining actor performances and digital extensions. They are so effective your suspension of disbelief is wholly earned. When Wētā Workshop and Industrial Light and Magic team up, you know something special is about to happen, and it is no different here. Also, you have Hans Zimmer here with the musical score to round everything out.

From a narrative perspective, I have to respect just how much heavy lifting that first act does, but you would barely recognise it, given how effective it is at bringing you into this world. They must introduce a whole new world, an existing conflict and its flash points, and grounding us in all the major characters. That is such a tall ask, and The Creator almost makes that look easy. Part of this is because they don’t skimp on the small details that give context. How things react when the nuclear bomb goes off, the last words of a robot reawakening in the rubble, these moments provide every moment context.

As we get deeper into the film, its themes and inspirations become clear to see, but The Creator does this deliberately. This is a film that has a lot to say about American power projection across the world. The looming Nomad serves as a stand-in for the terror-from-above that came from planes and their napalm in the Vietnam War and from drones and their inhuman payloads worldwide today. The technology might be different, but the conversation is just the same. This means that it is explicitly uncomfortable at times and is better for it. It was also fascinating to watch the film engage with other films from this genre. You can see the weight of his experiences from Star Wars here, and its dialogue with Independence Day is interesting to process for me, given it is one of my favourite films of all time.   

However, you can have all the visual effects in the world, but if you don’t connect with the characters, then what is the point? This is not a problem because you will become instantly attached to Alpha (Madeleine Yuna Voyles) as Joshua does. A lot of this comes down to the performances of the cast, and while BlacKkKlansman put John David Washington on my radar, his work here is nothing short of phenomenal. I was shocked to discover that this is Madeleine Yuna Voyles’ first significant role because she captivates every moment that she is in. Ken Watanabe and Gemma Chan are fundamentally solid actors who bring strength to every scene they are in. The big shock for me was Allison Janney, who I had no idea would be in this film. Her character is nothing like any role I have seen her in before, like if that guidance counsellor from 10 Things I Hate About You lost everything and then funnelled all that radicalising grief into the military. On paper, it does not work, yet goodness was it compelling.

All of this leads to the one thing that separates The Creator from many other films I have watched working in this space, and that is the emotion. We run the whole spectrum of emotions during this film. There are moments of kindness, grief, wonder, defiance, fear, camaraderie, lamentation, joy, concern, callousness, wonder, stubbornness, and serenity. You feel all these emotions because you connect with the characters and their journey. You feel their desperation and the hope that remains firm even when fire rains down from above. There have been times when we wondered if androids dreamt of electric sheep, but does an AI go to heaven? That emotion is heightened in places because The Creator does not shy away from the fact that there are children everywhere. But as much as the emotion can strike you like a blow to the head, it also sneaks up on you at other times, overwhelming you before you know it is there. I must admit that there were not just tears in this film, but ugly crying as well.

In the end, do we recommend The Creator? Absolutely. This is one of the best films I have seen all year, and I highly recommend not sleeping on it when it releases. If you liked The Creator, we would highly recommend Aftersun or After Yang.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you watched The Creator?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 


Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of The Creator
Directed by – Gareth Edwards
Screenplay by – Gareth Edwards & Chris Weitz
Story by – Gareth Edwards
Music by – Hans Zimmer
Cinematography by – Greig Fraser & Oren Soffer
Edited by – Hank Corwin, Joe Walker & Scott Morris
Production/Distribution Companies – Regency Enterprises, eOne, New Regency, Bad Dreams & 20th Century Studios
Starring – John David Washington, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Gemma Chan, Ken Watanabe, Allison Janney, Sturgill Simpson, Ralph Ineson, Marc Menchaca & Veronica Ngo with Amar Chadha-Patel, Robbie Tann, Michael Esper, Ian Verdun, Daniel Ray Rodriguez, Rad Pereira, Syd Skidmore, Karen Aldridge, Teerawat Mulvilai, Leanna Chea & Sahatchai ‘Stop’ Chumrum
Rating – Australia: M; Canada: PG; Germany: na; New Zealand: M; United Kingdom: 12A; United States: PG-13