Review by C.J. Bunce

With the first trailer for director Gareth Edwards′ return to sci-fi as writer-director of The Creator, a post-apocalypse story about mankind fighting A.I. in the next iteration of The Terminator, the problem seemed obvious.  The robots of the future, called Simulants, are created with “faces” that mimic humans.  When a technologically powerful  “smart” bomb takes the form of a child, an undercover operative refuses to destroy it.  It’s clear the Simulants are not organic, and the soldier knows it.  And he knows the fate of civilization is at stake.  The soldier hesitates because the bomb looks like a kid.  That’s what the trailer revealed, and it’s what the movie is about.

With his story Edwards seems to be suggesting sentient robots are as valuable as human life.  And the viewer must accept that to find the story compelling.  It’s a tough ask.

The film looks like one of Neill Blomkamp’s earlier efforts, not like something the creator of the brilliant Rogue One: A Star Wars Story pulled off.  It deals with good science fiction issues wrestled with for more than a hundred years: when, if ever, should robots get rights?  At what point will mankind allowing unchecked technologies result in the end of humanity?  Planet of the Apes, Altered Carbon, Annihilation, Steven Spielberg’s A.I., and George Lucas’s THX-1138 all get tapped for this story.  But it’s primarily another take on Elysium, Oblivion, and District 9, with James Cameron’s Alita: Battle Angel and The Terminator as its theme.

But getting past the premise?  Good luck with that.  When confronted with a terrorist bomb in the form of a robot that looks like a kid, what would you do?

Is there any question?  A robot is a robot, no matter how cute.  History has taught us enemies at war use tricks and disguises, and they’ve done it since even before the Trojan horse.  A.I. is a tool.  If it’s a bomb, it’s not your friend.

If you can get past the premise, what is left is a long chase movie.  John David Washington is the soldier charged with destroying the robot bomb that looks like a kid.  You’ll cheer on Allison Janney’s Colonel leading the effort to save mankind.  If there is a twist, it’s Gemma Chan’s character, who is the wife of Washington’s soldier, thought to have been killed early in the show.  It’s the only reason to believe the soldier could be so stupid, or as Janney’s Colonel asserts, “selfish.”

The worst scene of the movie is a E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ending.  Every scene and turn of the movie is too obvious.  Edwards apparently can’t get away from the bleak ending of Rogue One.  This is also one of Hans Zimmer’s least effective musical scores.  The show is bogged down with pop music, too, with not enough new future music to fill in the next 50 years.

One element in the film works well, and that’s sound editing.  A giant bomb ship created to save humanity travels from point to point with loud buzzing that helps create the feeling of magnitude.  And Washington and Janney deliver good performances despite the weak writing of their characters.

The Creator also stars Ken Watanabe, Amar Chadha-Patel, and Ralph Ineson with seven-year-old Madeleine Yuna Voyles as the robot kid.

Ultimately it’s a disappointment and adds nothing to the science fiction genre.  The Creator is now streaming on Hulu.