THE CREATOR Props Up Hyper-Optimism with Gorgeous Visuals: But Does It Succeed?
Images Courtesy Disney+Less than a day ago, META debuted its chat AI, bringing AI to social media in an entirely new way. The database “books3” used to train AI recently had its list of books revealed, leading to loaded discussions online about AI and plagiarism. US funding for AI hit 3.3 billion in 2022 alone. These are just a few of the news items surrounding the controversial topic of AI — the center theme in Gareth Edwards’ (Rogue One) new film.
It took Edwards seven years to make his first original film after the sleeper hit of Rogue One, which I don’t think anyone expected to become the beloved classic it has. So, it’s no surprise that the film’s take on AI is going to be different, considering how much the landscape has changed.
The Creator is told in chapters and follows the story of Joshua (John David Washington), who is undercover in a war of humans vs. AI, searching for the Creator, the supposed architect of AI. While on a mission, his wife (Gemma Chan) disappears. Years later, Joshua is conscripted to find a secret weapon the Creator built that has the power to change the future. The weapon turns out to be a child (Madelein Yuna Voyles).
Most of the film takes place in the future Southeast Asia, which is a satisfying change of scenery when most sci-fi films take place in the US or UK. The setting lends itself to metaphor, giving the conflict of the film the opportunity to be compared to the Vietnam War. And like most Vietnam War films, the US soldiers are decidedly horrific in their actions.
There’s no doubt that the film is a visual delight to watch. Production designer James Clyne (Avatar, Solo, Star Trek 2009) does a fantastic job dreaming up a believable cinematic universe that feels real. It’s part Blade Runner, part Apocalypse Now.
The Creator was filmed in the same way as Gareth Edwards’ first film, Monsters, reverse-engineered by shooting scenes without a set and letting production design work happen after the shooting was done. The film was shot using a Sony FX3 camera, which runs for just under $4k.
On a storytelling level, the film doesn’t cover much new ground in terms of sci-fi tropes. The father and daughter escape plot works well to build emotional resonance. Gemma Chan makes a lovely love interest but is criminally underutilized (more on that later). Americans are bad. War is bad. Survival is violence.
What surprises is the story’s optimism about AI, skating over any potential problems therein by envisioning AI who are cuddly teddy bears who just want to protect humans, be Buddhist monks, and live in peace. Humanity (well, the non-US Part) even rallies around the AI in the end.
This “AI is all-good” approach lands awkwardly in today’s landscape. The film casts all of the AI as Asian characters, which will probably induce not a small amount of discomfort in viewers. In an interview with HeyUGuys on YouTube, Gareth Edwards talks about this choice:
“Originally, AI was used as a metaphor in science fiction for people who were different. It was more like a fairy tale. But then, when you research AI there are fascinating philosophical questions that come up that really start to worry you about them being real and turning them off and what if they don’t do what you want. The movie became more about that. Now watching it…I was like, Oh my god, this is really on the money with what’s happening right now in terms of this fear of AI, and is it bad, and should we get rid of it. I’m actually quite optimistic. I think we’re going to have some bumps in the road but I think AI is going to be an incredible tool.” (Gareth Edwards Interview, HeyUGuys)
This isn’t to say the film’s positive message is bad — it just comes across unclear — and that may be simply due to the current landscape surrounding AI. It was difficult to discern how to feel about the AI in the film. Without a K-2SO style robot for audiences to latch onto and love, the message gets muddled.
One last irk is that the film’s emotional journey centers heavily on the death of Joshua’s wife. Her death serves as a catalyst for the character, and it’s a shame we don’t get to see her have more agency. Most of the women in the film die, are villains, or are emotional pawns for the main male character.
The Creator is a delight to watch, but for me, it didn’t live up to Rogue One. And I’m fine with that because I want more movies like this. Give me more sci-fi — of all kinds — with unique, diverse settings, and phenomenal visual design.
This article is part of Interstellar Flight Magazine’s coverage of Fantastic Fest , taking place in Austin, TX, 9/21–9/28, 2023. We thank Fantastic Fest and Alamo Drafthouse for providing access to these films!
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