The Stream: A thin story and a basic premise aren’t enough for a compelling 2-hour movie.

The Big Screen: Amazing visual effects and beautiful production design.

The Final Bill: The crafts are out of this world, but the story does not rise to the same level.

– Trip Fontaine
Director: Gareth Edwards
Writers: Gareth Edwards and Chris Weitz; story by Gareth Edwards
Stars: John David Washington, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Gemma Chan, Allison Janney, Ken Watanabe
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Drama
Rating: PG-13 for violence, some bloody images and strong language
Runtime: 2 hours 3 minutes
Production Companies: 20th Century Studios, New Regency Productions, Entertainment One
Platform: In theaters on September 29, 2023
Notable Trailers: Argylle, The Marvels, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Hey, Streamers! Here we are at the beginning of the fall movie season. Those summer blockbusters are in the rearview, and the terrifying movie options are just on the horizon. However, this weekend a different genre film was released for your viewing pleasure – it was the sci-fi, dystopian epic, The Creator. It’s always a good time for some awe-inspiring visual effects. Here’s whether this one delivers.

The Creator is directed by Gareth Edwards, who also directed Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, if that means anything to you. Edwards brings his sci-fi sensibilities and visual effects prowess to this story. In The Creator, after artificial intelligence has become integrated into human society, in 2055 AI detonates a nuclear weapon in Los Angeles. The U.S. government declared war and is determined to eradicate all AI from the planet. New technology has been developed and is being used in the war against the AI. About 10 years later, Sergeant Joshua Taylor (John David Washington) a former soldier, has been dispatched undercover to find Nirmata, the creator of the artificial intelligence, so that person can be killed. Taylor develops a relationship with a simulant, Alphie (Madeleine Yuna Voyles), a robot with human features and emotion, that has a mysterious past and unexplained powers. Moral dilemmas, explosions and military action hijinks ensue.

Well, this movie is both overly complicated and too simplistic. The basic premise is just that – basic. Explaining the development of the technology and how the robots and simulants got integrated into human society is more complicated than the actual plot of the movie. It’s also probably a more interesting movie. Moreover, it feels like a lot of the elements of this movie are borrowed from other better movies. I see some Avatar references, some Blade Runner references, and some The Mandalorian references among other things. It’s not a bad thing to be referential, but it would be good if the movie had an original angle on its plot. I don’t know that this movie warranted over 2 hours of a runtime.

I am a known John David Washington skeptic. He does nothing in this movie to reduce my skepticism. He is pretty flat. Washington doesn’t add much to his character, who is pretty derivative already. The character makes some really weird choices, and Washington does convince me with his performance. On the other hand, I will say that Madeleine Yuna Voyles is good. She’s precocious without being overly cutesy. She has a compelling presence, and she makes Alphie a really endearing character.

The best part of this movie is the production design and visual effects. The filmmakers knocked it out of the park with their work on these craft elements. They have created a vivid and visually arresting world. The visual effects seem to integrate with the analog world seamlessly. There are some really beautiful shots and scenery captured that would ideally be seen on the big screen.

Ultimately, The Creator is decent movie with a basic plot. There is a compelling premise somewhere in this movie, but the filmmakers did not find it. They did successfully create a beautiful and visually stunning world that wonderfully conveys its dystopian milieu. This movie is worthy of a matinee for the visual effects alone; therefore, I suggest a bowl of popcorn.