Current:Home > Finance'The Creator' review: Gareth Edwards' innovative sci-fi spectacular is something special-DB Wealth Institute B2 Reviews & Ratings
'The Creator' review: Gareth Edwards' innovative sci-fi spectacular is something special
lotradecoin trading pairs availability View Date:2024-12-25 15:43:47
A movie that makes you think about existence and the world around you, explodes your brain with cool visuals and sufficiently blows stuff up? “The Creator” being a sci-fi fan's dream is just science.
Most known for a “Godzilla” movie and the “Star Wars” prequel “Rogue One,” British writer/director Gareth Edwards' best effort was the dynamite 2010 debut “Monsters," a politically themed creature feature/relationship drama. The filmmaker again takes a thought-provoking look at humanity, this time through a futuristic lens with “The Creator” (★★★½ out of four; rated PG-13; in theaters Friday). The moving and eye-popping thriller, starring a never-better John David Washington, dives into the hot-button topic of artificial intelligence but more importantly mankind's tendency toward war and how we treat those different than us.
The film begins with a history lesson about AI in this fictional world, which evolves from being created to help mankind to being blamed for a nuke going off in Los Angeles. In the aftermath, America wants to wipe out all AI and humanoid robots (called “simulants”) while in places like New Asia, man and machine still live side by side in harmony. Conflict breaks out between factions, and the government uses a winged ship of mass destruction called the USS Nomad to seek out and destroy AI bases and allies.
Joshua (Washington) is an undercover special forces agent embedded in an AI-friendly group who watches his pregnant wife Maya (Gemma Chan) seemingly die in an explosion as he was being extracted. Ten years later, he’s on clean-up duty at ground zero of the LA disaster site when he’s recruited by a couple of no-nonsense military types (Allison Janney and Ralph Ineson) for a new mission. A mysterious human scientist nicknamed “Nimrata” is working on an AI superweapon in New Asia that could take out the Nomad and win the war, so eliminating that is the most significant task, yet more intriguing to Joshua is evidence that Maya might actually still be alive.
After his team is dropped in enemy territory, Joshua finds that the target for destruction is actually a little AI girl named Alphie (Madeleine Yuna Voyles). Unable to kill her, he goes rogue with her in tow, and as they end up bonding on an epic journey to meet the enigmatic Nimrata, Joshua discovers Alphie’s power to control and affect mechanical devices and he sees how the other machines view her as a messianic figure.
2023's best movies (so far):The 10 top films, ranked (including 'Barbie' and 'Cassandro')
“The Creator” wears its influences on its sleeve, everything from “Star Wars” to “Akira” to “Apocalypse Now.” At the same time, it also feels extraordinarily original – like the first time you saw “Blade Runner” and when not being wowed by how cool it was, you wondered if Harrison Ford was human or android.
Edwards’ spectacle feels similar: He’s exquisitely crafted a mostly Asian-infused landscape that feels sort of alien, a little familiar and completely immersive, featuring soldiers with boxy machine heads and bizarre walking bombs with mechanical arms and legs. All of that stunning novelty exists alongside Washington and Voyles' strong chemistry together as a man and a robotic child growing closer, navigating hostiles and obstacles, and having deep discussions about life, like who goes to heaven and who doesn’t.
Religion is very much another human theme that Edwards explores in “The Creator.” While the movie touches on modern concerns about robots replacing us, it’s more a metaphor here for outsiders and differing belief systems in an ambitious narrative that hurls a lot at its audience in two hours and 13 minutes. A flurry of flashbacks doesn't always help momentum, some twists lean predictable and a few narrative threads are wrapped up a little too neatly, though nothing too heinous distracts from the film's more emotional and rousing moments.
This is a tale that could only be written by flesh and blood, not ChatGPT, and Edwards is all about reaching the hearts and minds of those who love next-level sci-fi.
AI in Hollywood:Can it really replace actors? It already has.
veryGood! (58)
Related
- Biden to designate 1908 Springfield race riot site as national monument
- Wisconsin Senate to pass $2 billion income tax cut, reject Evers’ $1 billion workforce package
- A Tonga surgeon to lead WHO’s Western Pacific after previous director fired for racism, misconduct
- Ford and Mercedes-Benz among nearly 250,000 vehicles recalled: Check car recalls here
- Gena Rowlands, acting powerhouse and star of movies by her director-husband, John Cassavetes, dies
- Jim Jordan says he feels really good going into speaker's race
- FDA faces pressure to act nationwide on red dye in food
- Why Kelly Clarkson Feels a “Weight Has Lifted” After Moving Her Show to NYC
- Usher concert postponed hours before tour opener in Atlanta
- Georgia agency investigating fatal shoot by a deputy during a traffic stop
Ranking
- US unemployment claims fall 7,000 to 227,000 in sign of resiliency in job market
- Rite Aid files for bankruptcy amid opioid-related lawsuits and falling sales
- President Biden condemns killing of 6-year-old Muslim boy as suspect faces federal hate crime investigation
- Wisconsin Senate poised to give final approval to bill banning gender-affirming surgery
- Pro-Palestinian protesters who blocked road near Sea-Tac Airport to have charges dropped
- A Florida man turned $10 into $4 million after winning $250k for life scratch-off game
- 'Specter of death' hangs over Gaza as aid groups wait for access, UN official says
- Schumer, Romney rush into Tel Aviv shelter during Hamas rocket attack
Recommendation
-
Get 70% Off Kate Spade, 70% Off Coach, 40% Off Banana Republic, 40% Off Disney & Today's Top Deals
-
Soccer match between Belgium and Sweden suspended after deadly shooting in Brussels
-
We couldn't get back: Americans arrive in U.S. from Israel after days of travel challenges
-
Putin begins visit in China underscoring ties amid Ukraine war and Israeli-Palestinian conflict
-
How you can get a free scoop of ice cream at Baskin Robbins Wednesday
-
Pink Cancels Concerts Due to Family Medical Issues
-
Cowboys vs. Chargers Monday Night Football highlights: Dallas gets rebound win in LA
-
Medicare enrollees can switch coverage now. Here's what's new and what to consider.
Tags
-
lotradecoin cashback program overview
lotradecoin wallet
lotradecoin mobile app features
lotradecoin customer service support
lotradecoin API integration guide
lotradecoin social trading platform
lotradecoin deposit and withdrawal fees
lotradecoin customer service support
best strategies for lotradecoin trading