Movies…with a little bit of obscure culture and sports mixed in
“Described as a post-apocalyptic thriller involving a future impacted by a war between humans and AI.” Director: Gareth EdwardsWriters: Gareth Edwards, Chris WeitzCast: John David Washington, Gemma Chan, Allison Janney, […]
“Described as a post-apocalyptic thriller involving a future impacted by a war between humans and AI.”
Director: Gareth Edwards
Writers: Gareth Edwards, Chris Weitz
Cast: John David Washington, Gemma Chan, Allison Janney, Ralph Ineson, Marc Menchaca, Madeleine Yuna Voyles
Release Date: September 23, 2023
IMDB
Gareth Edwards has only directed three movies, but all three are interesting. Monsters (2010) was a small budget but intriguing science fiction suspense adventure. After a small monster movie, Edwards was handed the keys with Godzilla (2014) which was a well made movie but has not aged great in many people’s eyes. Upon rewatch, it does take a long time for Godzilla to get in the story.
Then in 2016 there was Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The stories surrounding this movie are plentiful and, at this point, confusing. The bottom line is that Rogue One is one of the best Star Wars movies. Hands down. Bare none. Edwards was a part of it. Sure, Tony Gilroy came in and saved the day, but Edwards was there at the start.
After a seven year absence, we are getting a new Edwards science-fiction adventure.
The Creator is an original post-apocalyptic adventure where a major event is a war between humans and artificial intelligence. It would be insane to think that The Creator is going to match anything Terminator-esq, but the trailer for this new science fiction story does make it seem like there will be cool tech and explosions galore.
Joshua, played by John David Washington, is a soldier sent on a mission to infiltrate AI territory and find its secret weapon. The trailer makes it known that humanity is within grasp of victory (which is a change-up in itself), but this secret the machines have could change everything.
The major plot point of The Creator is an AI child-like human, and its name is Alphie (Madeleine Yuna Voyles).
The heaven and hell conversation tells us that Joshua is not the best guy in the world, and it also shows us that Alphie is no binary thinking being.
Besides a molding of human and AI traits, Alphie has an added degree of depth because she is growing. Literally. Alphie is progressing like a normal child would, and that makes the task Joshua has very difficult. What is he going to do with Alphie?
Here’s the thing. The Creator is not a wholly original idea, but good lord does this trailer do a fantastic job at selling the movie.
Edwards and fellow screenwriter Chris Weitz are embarking on some moral quandaries with this story. Nowadays the youth is growing up with electronics, and as more machines become more prevalent in everyday life, this symbiotic relationship is only going to evolve. The Creator is putting that societal trait in character form, and Joshua is caught in the middle of a fight he becomes increasingly conflicted about.
And don’t think it’s a coincidence that the main human POV is Joshua. A biblical name, the character in the scripture was the assistant to Moses and helped facilitate the Exodus from egypt. Reading between the lines, one could point at Alphie as the unassuming Moses figure, and Joshua is the escort. There is something to the name, and the lines one can draw will be illuminated as The Creator’s plot and theme unfold.
Let’s move past the plot and the themes.
The Creator looks like science fiction porn. From the robot army look, to the sleek air crafts, to the grand scale of different landscapes. It is easy to be most excited for what Edwards and cinematographers Greig Fraser and Oren Soffer cook up with one another. Oh, does the name Greg Fraser sound familiar? Yea, he is the two-time Oscar nominee and winner for Dune (2021). He also is the man behind the look of The Batman (2022).
Yes please, and thank you. I will have more Fraser, please and thank you.
On a personal level, the aspect of a good science fiction movie that I look forward to most is the world building. The sense of scale. The grandiose frontiers and intrinsic detail-oriented close-quarters snippets unfamiliar to our common everyday eyes. Show me something I haven’t seen before. The Creator has a story that is familiar, so while I still have faith that the movie can surprise in that department, I am way more excited to be plunged into a new and unfamiliar world.
The Creator releases into theaters soon on September 29.
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