"Creator" may be the biggest sci-fi film of the year

The film “Creator” has been released - an impressive picture about artificial intelligence, human cruelty and history repeating itself.

It is directed by Gareth Edwards (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”). Stories", "Godzilla"). He also acted as a screenwriter together with Chris Weitz (Ant Antz, American Pie, Twilight. Saga. New moon").

Starring John David Washington (“Tenet”), Gemma Chan (“Eternals") and others.

In 2055, artificial intelligence, to which humanity is giving more and more powers, dropped an atomic bomb on Los Angeles. Since then, the US authorities have imposed a complete ban on AI in their country and declared war on states that did not do the same. In 2070, American intelligence discovers that a scientist from New Asia has come up with the most powerful AI in history. To eliminate him, the United States sends on a mission a former agent who once worked undercover in these places. He is trying to complete the mission, but is unsure which side to take in this conflict.

A clear anti-war message

No matter how much the opening credits hint at AI’s guilt in human troubles, it is clear from the very first scenes that humans are much more dangerous. As the plot develops, this thesis becomes more and more clear.

To demonstrate it, Edwards resorts to using an already known conflict.

In fact, the entire plot of "Creator" is a futuristic interpretation of the Vietnam War.

The director connects US actions in New Asia with the Vietnam War even through dates - in both cases, the beginning of the invasion occurs in 65 (just 100 years apart).

"Creator" does a great job of demonstrating the consequences. wars for those who seem to not be participating in it. The US military constantly says that it only fights AI, not humans, but of course it kills a ton of civilians. Well, demonizing the enemy seems to give the aggressor the right to any cruelty. And this problem remains unchanged even in a situation where time and technology change.

Familiar elements

"Creator" is a rare sci-fi film that isn't based on a game, comic book, or book. However, this does not mean that it is original. Even with inattentive viewing, you can notice 10-15 sources of inspiration. And they form not individual scenes or characters, but the world of the picture itself.

“The Creator” more than half repeats the plot “Apocalypse Now». The location, the doubting military man, the ambiguous villain - there are too many familiar elements. This is, of course, fascinating, but “The Creator” cannot achieve the same level of infernalism - after all, “Apocalypse Now” is too much of a masterpiece. Unless the message “War is hell” is reproduced with the same fury.

However, the American military in "Creator" resembles not Willard's living partners, but the heartless villains from "Avatar“- and this is not only a fact, but also a reproach, they turned out to be too inhuman.

On the technological side of the film, it draws on Blade Runner with its questions about the differences between humans and artificial beings, as well as self-identity in this world. But if Ridley Scott (or Denny Villeneuve) technologies weaved into life, the “Creator” too often turns onto the path of “Tenet.” It seems that the characters are already accustomed to the world with AI, but every time they are surprised by its existence.

Too many familiar elements can be annoying if you wanted something original. But if you perceive them as a postmodern game, during which the viewer can guess familiar plots, then it turns out interesting - this is one of the most homage films of recent years.

Incredible picture

There is a lot of CGI graphics in the film, but it doesn’t interfere at all. This is a rare example of an action film where the completed elements do not stand out from the overall picture, and therefore do not look like something artificial. This is especially impressive when naturalistic scenes with nature in post-production merge with robots and all sorts of futuristic flying machines.

If we talk only about the audiovisual series, then this is one of the best films of the year. However, the internal content often fails.

Emptiness towards the end

The sounds of gunfire are heard throughout almost the entire film, and the plot is built on endless movements and chases. The constant increase in tension leads to problems around the halfway point of the film. This is a common feature of blockbusters like this - sometimes they overheat. As a result, everything that surrounded the tense plot in the first 60-70 minutes comes to the fore, and this is not the best part of “Creator”.

Questions of ethics and morality that arise at the beginning are gradually simply brushed aside - the writers abandon them for the sake of the action.

For example, moral the dilemmas discussed in the first minutes are never developed. As long as the plot involves and zombies, this is not a problem, but once you take your mind off the endless chases, the emotional and ethical emptiness of the picture begins to be felt. It’s as if someone first promised to reflect on human nature, but reduced everything to the formula “people are worse than technology” and left it at that.

With its inner emptiness, “The Creator” surprisingly strongly resembles “Argument» Nolan. Once you fully understand the technology of the film, you immediately notice the not very well written human relationships. The longer you manage to stay under the magic of beautiful visual images, the more you will like the picture - it seems that the same can be said about “Tenet”.

If we continue the analogy with Apocalypse Now, then the main character does not turn out to be a complex Captain Willard, and artificial intelligence does not suit the role of Colonel Kurtz, who made the viewer doubt everything. Gareth Edwards' picture is simpler.

"The Creator" is a beautiful and genuinely interesting film that doesn't always hold up in its seriousness. Entering the territory of complex issues, Edwards throws several theses at the viewer, and then seems to forget that they were there. But this does not prevent the film from being enjoyable - both in its visuals and in its unexpected references.