The Creator

Director: Gareth Edwards
Starring: John David Washington, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Gemma Chan, Allison Janney, Ken Watanabe, Sturgill Simpson, Marc Menchaca, Ralph Ineson, Michael Esper, Veronica Ngo
Running Time: 133 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was notable for being one of the few Disney-era installments of that franchise to receive near unanimous praise, pleasing even the crankiest hardcore fans. Despite a troubled production, director Gareth Edwards emerged as the only recent filmmaker to survive the thankless task of helming a Star Wars movie, earning a certain degree of respect for his efforts as the studio's hired hand. Rogue One isn't perfect, but it's better than most, rightly credited for providing the template for Disney's two best small screen follow-ups in The Mandalorian and Andor. 

Now with The Creator, Edwards proves his previous success wasn't merely a fluke. Partially freed from those creative constraints, what he delivers isn't much of a deviation from Star Wars, minus that franchise's considerable baggage. And even if the script he co-writes with Chris Weitz doesn't cover any new ground in the genre, his gift of visual spectacle and world building remains an outlier. That's the main draw, eclipsing a sufficient, if overcooked plot filled to the brim with sci-fi tropes that tidily converge by the end. But there are plenty of thrills to be found along the way, supplied mostly by glimpses into a future that looks and feels more authentic than its many CG-heavy counterparts.

In 2065, an AI-detonated nuclear warhead decimates much of Los Angeles, sparking a war between Western nations trying to prevent humanity's extinction and Asian countries embracing Artificial Intelligence. With the U.S. military utilizing the NOMAD (North American Orbital Mobile Aerospace Defense) space station to launch missile attacks from orbit, they've set their sights on locating mysterious AI architect "Nirmata." But when Army sergeant Joshua Taylor (John David Washington) and his pregnant wife Maya's (Gemma Chan) home is raided during a missile strike, she discovers he's been working undercover.

It's five years later and Joshua is recruited by General Andrews (Ralph Ineson) and Colonel Howell (Allison Janney) to destroy "Alpha O," a new Nirmata-engineered weapon created to destroy NOMAD and win the war. But this weapon is actually a robotic sim of a young girl (Madeleine Yuna Voyles), who Joshua disobeys direct orders to kill, instead taking her on the run. Faced with either handing "Alfie" over or risking greater destruction to humanity, his choice is more personally conflicting than it appears, wedging him between two sides fighting for survival.

That none of this plays as an AI warning ad is both the film's biggest strength and weakness,  acknowledging the technology's perils, but framing its supporters as oppressed victims. This dichotomy is present from the opening raid, with Joshua's loyalty to Maya and their unborn child far exceeding his government pledge. And once we see the tragic result of the strike, his stance is even clearer, calling into question just how responsible Nirmata really is for these nuclear atrocities. Because of this, viewers are put in the position of potentially rooting for AI in their battle against humans, which might be the script's strangest feature. Given recent controversies, it's certainly a choice.  

The story's softened by the bond between Joshua and little Alfie, who share the same sort of father-child relationship present with Mando and Grogu in The Mandalorian or Obi-Wan and young Leia in Obi-Wan Kenobi. Add in elements of Steven Spielberg's E.T. and A.I. and you get a pretty good idea what this is. And though we've seen it before, it's still the most effective aspect of an admittedly convoluted screenplay, with philosophical ruminations on her existence still welcome in the midst of a sleek action vehicle. Those pieces mix especially well in the last act due to the performances, Edwards' direction and Greig Fraser and Oren Soffer's cinematography, all of which help cultivate an atmosphere we're more than willing to buy into.

Even John David Washington's loudest detractors would admit his cool, collected low-key approach helps him in this, especially as the mysterious little girl breaks down Joshua's barriers. And newcomer Madeleine Yuna Voyles holds up her end as Alfie, whose ability to remotely control technology conjures up valid comparisons to "The Force." Allison Janney and Ken Watanabe excel in smaller roles, keeping their characters' intentions consistent even as our perceptions of them evolve.  

It would be easy to mistake this for another Star Wars entry or Blade Runner sequel, as so much of its content supports the assumption. But Disney execs could still stand to take a few notes on the execution, particularly when it comes to the flawless VFX that subtly raise the material a level higher than you'd expect. The Creator may not be bursting with originality, but that does little to compromise the overall vision. Its lack of flashiness is its biggest asset, leaving us with the tantalizing promise that Edwards's best work lies ahead.