The Creator

A mix of Oblivion, Blade Runner, Elysium and Independence Day, with a meditative Asian setting and a completely uninteresting script and characters. It's a huge shame. The Creator demands big emotions from the viewer, but is unable to offer adequate material to make them happen. That said, the technical aspects are top-notch and the plot premise itself – the clash between A.I. and humans – is very timely and interesting. Untapped potential and Clair de Lune certainly doesn't save it. (26/11/2023)

A film whose creators stutter, can’t remember the beginning of a sentence and constantly run the gamut from “original sci-fi” to clichés and desperate banalities that mask one thing: The Creator says nothing relevant about the phenomenon of AI, which is merely another spectacular decorative element in a film that’s completely dependent on design. Neither the plot nor the world of the film makes sense; given how much space The Creator has, it never creates a coherent and comprehensible world. By comparison, even the didactic Elysium comes across as an engrossing fictional world. Edwards’ directing tries to go in depth, but it rather unconvincingly jumps from details to the big picture, from the present to the past. Some of the actors’ lines really could have been written only by Chris Weitz... Washington plays an utterly two-dimensional character who, through his suffering, only reinforces the impression that The Creator demands grand emotions, to which he is absolutely not entitled. Instead, it has the same feelings of emptiness and lifelessness as Godzilla and Rogue One. (27/09/2023)

Creator was supposed to be the sci-fi hit of the year, but the actual result was almost unwatchable, I suffered unbelievably. In short, Gareth Edwards made a film that, in its style, evoked the Star Wars I hated. I was kind of hoping it would be something along the lines of Independence Day, only with UFOs replaced by an artificial intelligence, but I was sorely mistaken. The film gave me the impression that with 40 minutes gone by, I still didn't know what was going on, there was no introduction to the characters or plot, just one scene after another, with zero viewer engagement. It's like putting episode 6 of a random series and trying to get my bearings on the plot. I was absolutely not entertained by Washington, and the rest of the characters didn't engage me either. The action was dull, I found it to be childish and unexciting. There’s nothing epic, no wow moment, no suspense or atmosphere, just something happening and I didn't really care by halfway through the film, I just wanted it to end. In the end I'm glad I didn't go to the cinema, I've never seen more boring action sci-fi. Disappointment of the year. 3/10. (20/11/2023)

Why was such a mundane story set in such an amazing world, why did I not care about the characters, and why was the ending so drawn out as to be almost annoying? Gareth Edwards couldn't build (and tear down) on the foundations of Godzilla or Star Wars Rogue One, and this time he came up with something of his own. Unfortunately, he didn't quite succeed. The story is about as dull as the Hans Zimmer music that accompanies it, and if it weren't for the technical flourishes that rival Avatar and that kept me entertained pretty much nonstop, The Creator would have been a mediocre attempt at sci-fi with an idea. I got the urge to watch Blomkamp's Elysium, which is similar in some ways, but it didn't play at anything. (01/10/2023)

The Creator is a surprisingly average sci-fi flick that neither draws in nor surprises the viewer, let alone impress anyone with its production design. The film largely takes place in huts in Asian fields and, what’s more, in the dark. And when it comes to the futuristic city…well, that looks exactly like Blade Runner. And the heavy machines plowing through the jungle look exactly like something out of a Cameron movie. Another problem is John David Washington and his limited abilities as an actor – it’s impossible to believe him either as a conscientious refugee on the side of the rebels or as a protector of children’s innocence. And the repetitive grieving for his former wife, which doesn’t even elicit any emotion, becomes annoying over time. The only acting element that brings a bit of life to this film is young Madeleine Yuna Voyles. Two and a half stars. (03/10/2023)