The art of world-building: A review of 'The Creator'
At A Glance
- On an $80 million budget, it’s already being touted as the film that achieves world-building of blockbuster scale at a fraction of the usual cost.
Director Gareth Edwards may be best known for Rogue One, and the 2014 Godzilla and The Creator is only his fourth full-length feature film as a director - but there’s no getting around the buzz surrounding The Creator, as it’s set to open in Philippine theaters come Oct. 4. On an $80 million budget, it’s already being touted as the film that achieves world-building of blockbuster scale at a fraction of the usual cost.
The futuristic world-building is established early on, as we’re thrust into a near future where AI detonated a nuclear device in Los Angeles, and AI beings are now outlawed in the USA and hunted down and eliminated. Over in New Asia, AI thrives, living beside humans every day. Nirmata is the term used to denote the creator, who leads the existing AI beings.
The prologue concerns a botched US mission to capture the Nirmata, and we’re introduced to undercover operative Joshua (John David Washington) and his New Asian wife, Maya (Gemma Chan). Then, we’re given a tour of New Asia and the different types of AI that exist and interact with the humans of New Asia. This is just part of the impressive world-building that Edwards embarks on to add depth and texture to his Creator universe - and I was impressed with the detail.
There’s Ken Watanabe as Harun, a guerilla leader in New Asia. There’s Allison Janey as Howell, a hardnose military type who leads the black ops mission that enlists Joshua years after the prologue and seeks to put an end to the Nirmata and help hasten the downfall of AI via the use of their NOMAD defense system. At some point, we meet Alphie (Madeleine Yuna Voyles), a young girl who is in possession of unusual powers (now nine years of age; Voyles was seven during principal filming).
To give credit where it’s due, the setting up these narrative elements holds great promise, and I loved it as each new element was introduced to add complexity and layers to the unfolding story. What I found lacking was the element of surprise as the story developed; as I watched this, Matteo and my middle son were both predicting immediately what and who this new character would turn out to be or accomplish. And Yes, we ended up batting 100 percent with our prognosticating - and that’s not good, as it meant the plot development was too predictable.
Plus, I must admit that with John David Washington and Gemma Chan leading the cast, it meant that the Best Acting in the film would come from Madeleine Yuna Voyles, the nine-year-old. She was a revelation, fantastic with her acting and stealing every scene she was in. And that’s a good thing, as Yes, she is a child, which may stick with the odds, but she’s easily the one that resonates, and we invest in - the one character we genuinely care about.
The film is eminently watchable, and audiences will love Alphie and the world-building. Seeing the US military and government as the bad guys may not be a new thing of late, and it is tempered by how an American makes the ultimate sacrifice to right things. Watching The Creator on an IMAX screen does enhance the viewing experience and what Edwards has accomplished here.