By: Joey Briseno & Cade Sullivan

Rating: 3⁄5 stars

*Warning: This review contains some spoilers

An interesting perspective on the future, ‘The Creator’ is set in a world on the brink of total annihilation. Former soldier Joshua, determined to find his wife, embarks on an adventure that spans multiple visually impressive locations, with well-worked action sprinkled throughout the film. However, the film doesn’t take full advantage of its potential and ultimately left us wanting more.

Starring in this thought-provoking journey are, to name a few: John David Washington as Joshua, Gemma Chan as Joshua’s wife Maya, Madeline Yuna Voyles as Alphie, and Ken Watanabe as Harun. This roster proves itself as seasoned and well-cast, and the actors fill their roles very nicely.

The villain of this film is General Andrews, a ruthless man who commands the U.S. Military and wants to wipe out all AI. He recruits Joshua to destroy the AI Supermind Nirmatas new weapon, known simply as Alpha-O. Andrews is an emotionally cold character who feels embarrassment for AI’s nuclear attack on Los Angeles. This motivates him to want to rid the world of AI so that his country can feel safe again. Andrews, while being the main antagonist, doesn’t feature much in the film and isn’t given any development; his character remains the same until the end of the runtime. Andrews meets his end at the climax following the explosion of the space station NOMAD. While he is a serviceable antagonist, we feel like his character was a missed opportunity to have a more memorable villain, which would have helped elevate the film as a whole.

‘The Creator’ boasts strong special effects and quality cinematography, which helps to hide some of the film’s weaker aspects (plot, side characters). The film uses CGI where it is necessary, but it isn’t overbearing, as real-life locations and sets are utilized to help give the movie a better sense of realism. We especially liked the scenes shot in the made-up country of New Asia, as practical effects and green screen effects were used very well for the environment

As for music, ‘The Creator’ brought in an accomplished composer in Hans Zimmer to do the soundtrack, and it shows. Zimmer seems to always have the right tune for a situation, whether it be slower moments of character development and context or faster moments of action and spectacle. Traditional Asian music is incorporated into the score as well, making it seem all the more authentic.

‘The Creator’ is a thought provoking study on both the usefulness of AI and the negatives it can bring. As shown in the movie, one of the main characters, Alphie, is a powerful AI being who can wipe out humanity if she wishes but instead teams up with Joshua and uses her gift for good. The negative effects of AI shown here is most notably the nuclear attack on Los Angeles, which is the cause for most of the conflict that happens in the film.

However, there are a few aspects that negatively affect the viewing experience. One negative thing about this movie is while it’s an original story, it takes a lot of elements from more popular sci-fi works.

Another negative is the somewhat sluggish pacing; there are points in the film where the characters don’t do anything and are just waiting for something to happen. The plot is also underdeveloped and often unoriginal, as quite a few plot elements feel recycled from better movies like “Star Wars” and “Blade Runner”.

‘The Creator’ is a decent blockbuster movie, but frustratingly falls short of its potential, and it’ great cinematography and interesting ideas are undercut by the derivative plot and slow pacing. The antagonist and side characters here are underutilized, as most of the runtime is spent with Joshua and Alphie. The score impresses, as do the action sequences, but unfortunately the film isn’t able to establish itself as something worth a rewatch.

We would recommend the movie for “Star Wars” fans or science fiction fans in general, as it offers redeeming qualities for those interested in the genre. For those who aren’t as interested in the sci-fi genre, this movie may not be for you.

(‘The Creator’ is streaming now on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video)