276. The Creator; movie review

 

THE CREATOR

Cert 12A

133 mins

BBFC advice: Contains moderate violence, threat, injury detail, infrequent strong language

A Hollywood action film with the American military as villains!?

In that aspect, Gareth Edwards has achieved his aim of creating the unusual, if not the unique.

However, he has drawn on so many sci-fi classics I didn't feel he had moved the genre on very much.

There are certainly echoes of Avatar in the way in which humans are aggressive towards a more gentler species.

Here, the backdrop is topical because of fears that Artificial Intelligence is becoming out of control.

Indeed, high-tech robots are accused of causing an explosion in Los Angeles, wiping out a million people.

The catastrophe prompts The West to dismantle all of its AI and to go to war on New Asia, where the AI and humans work hand-in-hand.

The parallels to 9/11 and the recent war between Palestine and Israel are evident.

John David Washington plays Joshua, an undercover American operative who has fallen for and married a local lass (Gemma Chan).

Tragedy strikes when the US military responds in a shock-and-awe operation.

Several years later, Josh is still angry and bitter but is persuaded to return on a follow-up operation and, in the heat of battle, he discovers Alphie (Madeleine Yuna Voyles) - the first child AI who appears to have remarkable powers.

The Creator becomes their battle for survival as they are pitched between the gung-ho American forces and the AI and humans defending their territory against them.

Joshua and Alphie's bond strengthens as the battle escalates, leaving them with many difficult choices and challenges.

The movie explores love, loyalty, and the ethics of war but is bogged down by stereotypes - for example, Allison Janney's loud, aggressive and uncaring US commander and even the combo of hardman Josh and the magical child.

I wasn't bought into them enough to care as much as I should have done over The Creator's denouement.

Reasons to watch: Decent sci-fi action

Reasons to avoid: Thin storyline

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 6.5/10

Did you know? The most advanced AI language model currently available is OpenAI's GPT-3. It analyzes vast amounts of text and generates human-like responses.

The final word. Gareth Edwards: “You’re always looking for that thing that’s not been done in science fiction. The little gap on the Blu-ray shelf." BFI

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