The Creator

It’s 2070 and Joshua Taylor aka John David Washington is lying to his girlfriend. Her father, Nirmata “the creator” is responsible for starting a war between mankind and AI. Joshua needs to assassinate Nirmata quickly as Nirmata has developed a new weapon that can destroy everything – wrapped in a cut child called Alphie. Will Joshua deliver the kid to his bloodthirsty bosses? Or can he save Alphie from the blazing posse of sub-machine guns that seem to dog their every step and deliver him into a less fiery future?

As a film, The Creator definitely looks the business. With clear visual cues pulled from movies like Blade Runner meets Apocalypse Now by way of Neil Blomkamp’s District 9, there’s much to enjoy here visually. If above-high-budget special effects are your thing, then this movie is going to joyously cater for you.

Yet, if your attention is more swayed by plot and characterisation, then you might find The Creator‘s blood-soaked paddy fields harder to navigate. You see, for all of its visual elan, the story borrows liberally from Aliens (protagonist being dragged back into the fray etc.). Avatar also gets a nod with Alison Janny’s hiss-ably bad girl minus the buzz cut, biceps and a cigar and Radiohead’s seminal Everything In The Right Place chimes the arrival of Elyisum‘s angry techno angel dispensing wrath from the sky.

That said, having seen it twice now, I can say that this is a movie that will grow on you despite its forlock pulls. Whereas the story initally felt like a shoot-first and supply motivations later sci-fi flick, the second time round, I came away thinking this is an above-the-line “AI-is-bad” actioner.

Now available to stream on Disney, give it a couple of go’s. Even with its clear acknowledgements evident, The Creator is a movie with undenaible visual elan and a terrific sense of scale.