Few directors working within science fiction over the past decade have had more misfortune than Gareth Edwards – after his radically inventive debut in Monsters, which blended horror with science fiction, he seemed primed to be taking the reigns as a potential master of the genre. Yet, his genuinely great Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was seen as too cynical and dark for a franchise that thrived on being uplifting, and his fantastic revival of the iconic Godzilla series was swiftly taken over by Michael Dougherty and then eventually Adam Wingard, who took over as the guiding force behind that re-animated franchise, with very few traces of the exceptional work Edwards did remaining in the subsequent sequels. Objectively very gifted in terms of being both a storyteller and visual stylist, it seemed like Edwards was never going to ascend to being seen as one of our great genre filmmakers. However, this could change with the arrival of The Creator, which is a truly original concept in which the director (alongside co-writer Chris Weitz) sets out to explore a new set of ideas that will hopefully bring him the attention he wholeheartedly deserves. Set in the year 2065, The Creator tells the story of a former soldier who was caught in the middle of a battle between humans and artificial intelligence, after tensions arose between them, and who has to go in search of a mysterious figure who created a weapon capable of destroying humanity – and in the process discovers secrets that change his perspective entirely.  A daring film that is both intellectually provocative and visually stunning, The Creator feels like a major achievement in contemporary science fiction, a film that never panders to mainstream demands, and instead goes in its direction while still being wildly entertaining and exhilarating in a way that always keeps the audience engaged – and it once again proves how Edwards is a tremendous filmmaker when given the chance to have his vision realized.

From its first moment, it is clear that The Creator is a film that is based around much deeper themes, rather than being purely based around presenting a nightmarish vision of the future. We are predisposed to wonder about what the future entails, and writers like Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke spent their entire careers creating works that provide both entertaining and cautionary warnings about the dangers of technology and how our natural curiosity and desire to expand and push boundaries can have negative consequences. The idea of artificial intelligence turning on humanity is barely a new concept and has existed from almost the exact moment when the entire concept was first pioneered, since we are naturally inclined to fear anything that is not part of our natural world, and considering how much artificial intelligence has taken over the conversation in the past few years, The Creator comes at a very opportune moment, since the debate around not only the ethics of this technology but its profound dangers, continues to be a major part of contemporary scientific and philosophical discourse. What Edwards is most interested in exploring is not only the dangers of this technology, but rather how it will exist within our world – the artificial intelligence, here labelled as “simulants”, is seen as just a further addition to society, and through infilitrating our everyday lives, it wields immense power. One of the questions that a lot of theorists, particularly those inclined towards exploring the philosophy and anthropology of artificial intelligence, always ask a very simple question: what does it mean to be human? Only through finding a clear and concise definition, beyond biological function, can we ever truly understand the potential artificial intelligence has in our world. It’s a bold subject and one that Edwards does not take lightly, crafting this film to be much more complex than just the archetypal premise of humanity going up against machines after a technological uprising.

As time has gone on, science fiction has seemingly lost its way when it comes to the art of world-building, since a vast majority of films produced in the genre tend to take place in recognizable versions of our world, with very little work being done to create and speculate about the future and what it will entail, since it is not very likely that the world we inhabit today will be entirely the same, even shortly, which is where this film takes place. Edwards puts as much work into creating a specific kind of narrative environment, and it genuinely feels as if we are getting only a small fragment of a much broader world since The Creator takes place in a landscape that has such a rich, evocative mythology, a lot of which we don’t get the chance to fully explore but which still sets the foundation for a fascinating and deeply compelling film, the kind that is cultivated from an expansive and sprawling storyline, of which this film is only a small fraction, and while I don’t usually advocate for continuations of successful works, The Creator seems like one of the rare modern science fiction films that would warrant a sequel, if only to give us the chance to explore this world the director has created. Edwards has always had a knack for creating worlds, and while there is an emphasis on having the story rooted in reality, he refuses to ignore the opportunity to develop these ideas into something more captivating and meaningful, rather than just constructing a science fiction film defined by its abstraction. There needs to be a lot of depth, especially considering the degree of complexity contained within this story, and Edwards does remarkably well in developing a version of our world that is recognizable enough that we can find value in the message, but still different enough to be captivating, proving the director’s incredible vision and how he consistently strives to push the boundaries of his craft by doing something extremely original and profoundly complex, without losing sight of the overall message that defines this film and its overall intentions.

We don’t usually expect science fiction epics to have exceptionally great performances – there are several that exist, but they are usually not compulsory in comparison to other genres. This was not necessarily the case with The Creator, which is primarily a film based around a broader concept, but which doesn’t neglect the necessary character development that makes it an even more engaging experience. John David Washington has become quite a divisive actor, with some feeling that he is only a pale imitation of his iconic father and who only got to where he is based on the connections opened up by his family name, while others think that he represents the future of the acting industry, being a bright young talent that just needs to be refined over time. I tend to fall into the latter category when looking at his work – he isn’t someone who immediately announced himself as a major star, but rather has been quietly amassing an impressive career, working with great directors and being willing to take on the various challenges that accompany each new film. He’s very good in The Creator, but we have to note that this film does not require him to be the most complex character – by all accounts, Joshua Taylor is a relatively simple individual, a hero with a specific mission, and that most of the intense character-based work is done by the actors around him. Washington manages to be very solid and turns in a strong performance that is perfectly complemented by newcomer Madeleine Yuna Voyles, who is truly impressive as the young android who turns out to be the most dangerous weapon, capable of destroying humanity. It is not often we find such a young, inexperienced actor being able to turn in such a strong performance, but there is a reason why she is central to the narrative and eventually takes over as the film progresses. Allison Janney and Ken Watanabe prove that they are the epitome of consistency, and even the smaller roles are occupied by actors dedicated to working to realize Edwards’ extraordinary and meaningful vision.

While it is tempting to just speak about the more original elements of the film, and how it challenges conventions in terms of the story and character development – along with being a very meaningful work, The Creator is a genuinely fantastic science fiction film, and Edwards puts as much work into its visual construction as he does the story, which makes for a much more meaningful film. There have likely been opportunities for him to direct more generic blockbusters, but as someone who seems to be adamant about his artistic freedom, it makes sense that he would choose to be more selective, only setting out to make the films that he felt were aligned with his vision. There are moments in this film where it doesn’t even play like a science fiction film at all – perhaps it is best described as a futuristic version of Apocalypse Now, with the theme of war being just as deep and fascinating as the speculative elements. In this regard, the director chooses to approach the material with a very distinct style, and despite being set in the future, he resists the temptation to overload it with the most obvious futuristic elements. Instead, he makes sure to blend the existing world with the one he envisions for the future – this entails filming most of The Creator on location, with the majority being filmed in some of the most beautiful places in Asia, which are transformed into what the filmmakers imagine will be likely in the next fifty years, which is namely recognizable locations with small, intricate touches of the future. The cinematography only amplifies the experience, since he captures every detail with such grandeur and dedication, that we sometimes forget that we are watching a film set in the future. It often feels as if we are watching one of the great science fiction films of the 1970s (and Hans Zimmer’s score only adds to the experience), since that was a time when the genre was about the concept and the story, rather than an endless stream of computer-generated imagery, which does exist in this film, but it is sparing and elegant, and only used to complement the story rather than dictating its direction. Edwards is a masterful director, and The Creator only confirms his excellence as a filmmaker.

It certainly is difficult to tell where The Creator is going to land in terms of the science fiction canon – it is objectively a well-made film, with impeccable artistic integrity and a lot of exceptional design choices that make it a visually stunning film. The story is the main attraction, with the brilliant world-building and general sense of intrigue and complexity being a major factor in the experience that comes with this film. However, there is still something quite aloof about the film, a quality that is not necessarily a flaw, but rather the kind of element that keeps more casual viewers at arms-length. It’s quite a thorny film at times, and it can feel more cynical in its worldview than we may initially anticipate (but this is a common trait in the director’s work, since he is not a sentimentalist at all, and has very little hesitation in venturing to the darker recesses of the genre), and as a result, this is not always easily accessible – but these are minor issues that have to do more with the fact that we have been coerced into believing that a science fiction film needs to be neat, rather than having a slightly rougher edge than a lot of contemporary work within the genre, and if any film is going to prove that these imperfections are indicative of something much more profound on an artistic level, it would be The Creator, a truly ambitious work of incredible creativity. Edwards continues to prove that he is a fantastic filmmaker, and has crafted a film that is a daring and provocative science fiction odyssey all about exploring the nature of humanity, plumbing the emotional depths of our species and questioning what it means to be human, which is not as easily approachable a subject as we may have initially imagined, especially when looking at it from as challenging a perspective as we find throughout this haunting but engrossing film that represents a major step forward in the science fiction genre.