The Creator Review
Theatrical Movie Review
Before today’s review (and to avoid absolutely flooding your inbox), I want to let you know that I visited Austin Belzer’s podcast to talk all about Barbie! You can watch the video below, or you can listen to it wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Also, I am going to start doing one minute reviews on my TikTok channel, so if you’re looking for something quick, particularly on movies I may not review here, go give that a follow!
Now, on to the review!
As AI is integrated into life more and more, things seem to be going well. That is, until a nuclear warhead is detonated in Los Angeles, killing millions instantly. At that point, the American government decides enough is enough and seeks to destroy AI wherever it is located, which is primarily in New Asia, with a new weapon, the NOMAD. Joshua (John David Washington) is working undercover, trying to get close to Nimrata by marrying his daughter Maya (Gemma Chan). When a raid goes wrong and Maya is killed, Joshua leaves. Five years later, he is pulled back in by Colonel Howell (Allison Janney) with the promise that Maya is actually alive and he can be with her if he finds and destroys the weapon created to end NOMAD. When Joshua discovers that the weapon is a child he nicknames Alphie (Madeleine Yuna Voyles), he begins to have second thoughts.
If you love sci-fi, I think you will love this movie. Edwards purportedly worked with an $80 million budget, and the visuals in this movie outstrip just about anything I’ve seen from the MCU in a hot second. It reminded me of the seamless look of Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” that had a budget more than twice that. The NOMAD is terrifying and I loved the look of the “simulants” - the humanoid looking AI.
The story is the standard fare, with the basic “who is the real monster” kind of theme, though I think it also does a decent job of touching on the human need to find an enemy and declare war on them. That said, what made this work for me was the performances. Janney turns in a fantastic villain performance, which kind of shocked me. Washington does a stellar job of making the audience believe that he grows to care about Alphie. And Voyles gives one of the best child actor performances I have ever seen. From what I understand, this is her first appearance in front of a camera, and she is just spectacular.
One of the best strengths of science fiction is the ability to explore the interactions between characters from vastly different backgrounds and to show the way that prejudice and fear can drive those relationships if we don’t take the time to get to know the people. Like many before it, “The Creator” does that by reminding us that sometimes the desire for peace can be seen as a weapon if we allow prejudice and fear to control the narrative.
This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on October 1, 2023.