It’s fitting that this year’s new film from Gareth Edwards is a dystopian take on 2023’s hottest topic in town: Artificial intelligence and its impact on human society in the future.
The director and visual effects maestro, know for helming Rogue One and Godzilla certainly has form in the subject. Both of these were filled with themes of post-apocalyptic destriuction, struggling against extremes and external forces threatening one version of humanity or another.
As mentioned it’s come at a not-entirely serendipitous time. As well as tap into a wider fear about the way AI will threaten people’s livelihoods, it’s also a sef-referential stab by Hollwood scriptwriters about how their vocation is seen as surplus to requirements.
What’s The Creator about?
Essentialy, it’s not a million miles away from films such as Ex-Machina, I_, Robot,_ Arrival and Battle Los Angeles.
John David Washington, who was in superb form for BlackkKklansman and Tenet, injects more emotion than the latter psychological action thriller as his protective relationship with the young Alphie – under threat from basically anyone human with a gun and instictive nature for survival – is tested immeasurably.
Anyone familiar with The Mandolorian will also see a blending of the narratives from that, and the stunning visual effects that have been harnessed and supercharged by Edwards since his Star Wars and Monsters outings.
What we’ve seen from the trailer sure isn’t a million miles away, from but a neat twist ensure that it remains compelling and entertaining, with a serious message for the tech bros and governments that AI could actually threaten us if left unchecked.
What films is The Creator most like?
The threat to humanity from AI has been a theme in major cinema releases since The Terminator with Skynet gaining self-awareness and decides to eradicate humanity by initiating a nuclear holocaust and sending Terminators to eliminate human resistance leaders. Ex Machina, as we’ve mentioned, raises ethical questions about AI, and the blurring of boundaries between human and machine, much like The Creator. The spectre of Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey, is also invoked with that film’s rogue AI HAL 9000.
Photo by Thierry K on unsplash.
I, Robot is also similar thematically and in an action-sense, as it sets a detective on the trail of a robot accused of breaking the laws designed to protect humans. Her also has parallels with the film as it juxtaposes the emotional complications of the technology when a man falls in love with his operating system’s AI. Lastly, there are also correlation with the The Matrix, as it centres around the sci-fi trope of who is really controlling who.
While the films takes place in a military facility, it could easily be in the back office of a software devlopment warehouse in the silicon valley. Still, from what we can tell, this is still going to be an entertaining romp into the not-too-distant future.
Watch The Creator Trailer
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