| The Creator | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Gareth Edwards |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by | Gareth Edwards |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Hans Zimmer |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | 20th Century Studios |
Release date |
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Running time | 133 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $80 million[2] |
| Box office | $104.3 million[3][4] |
The Creator is a 2023 Americanscience fictionaction film produced and directed byGareth Edwards, who co-wrote the screenplay withChris Weitz. It starsJohn David Washington,Gemma Chan,Ken Watanabe,Sturgill Simpson, andAllison Janney. Set in 2070, 15 years afterartificial intelligence (AI) set off a nuclear detonation in Los Angeles, which started a war of humans against AI, a formerspecial forces agent is recruited to hunt down and kill the "Creator", who has developed a mysterious weapon with the power to end the war.
Development began in November 2019 when Edwards signed on to direct and write the project forNew Regency and was officially announced in February 2020. Washington was hired in May 2021, and the rest of the cast joined over the next year. Filming began in January 2022 in Thailand with an $80 million production budget, and wrapped that May.
The Creator was released in North America on September 29, 2023, by20th Century Studios. The film grossed $104.3 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics. It had two nominations at the96th Academy Awards, forBest Visual Effects andBest Sound, and was nominated forBest Science Fiction Film andBest Film Visual / Special Effects at the51st Saturn Awards.
In 2055, anartificial intelligence created by theU.S. government detonates anuclear warhead overLos Angeles, California. In response, most of theWestern world pledges to eradicate AI toprevent humanity's extinction. Their efforts are resisted by New Asia, a region comprisingEast,South andSoutheast Asia, whose people continue to embrace AI. TheU.S. military aims to assassinate "Nirmata",[a] the chief architect behind New Asia's AI advancements, using theUSSNOMAD (North American Orbital Mobile Aerospace Defense), aspace station capable of launching destructive attacks from orbit.
A decade after Los Angeles, U.S. Army Sergeant Joshua Taylor is undercover in New Asia with his pregnant wife Maya, believed to be the daughter of Nirmata. Taylor is exposed when their home is attacked by U.S. military forces, and Maya is presumed dead after aNOMAD strike. Five years later, Taylor, now part of theground zero cleanup crew, is recruited by General Andrews and Colonel Howell for a mission against "Alpha O", a new weapon developed by Nirmata that could destroyNOMAD. Shown evidence of Maya's survival, Taylor agrees. Infiltrating a compound in New Asia, Taylor finds the weapon is a robotic "simulant" in the form of a young girl who has the ability to control technology. Dubbing her "Alphie", Taylor disobeys Howell and seeks out his ex-commander, Drew.
Drew declares Alphie could be humanity's most powerful weapon. An attack by New Asia police attempting to recover Alphie kills Drew's simulant girlfriend and leaves Drew fatally wounded; before he dies, Drew confesses to Taylor that the reason the military attacked Taylor's home five years ago is because they learned Maya is Nirmata, and they have been keeping it a secret from him ever since. Taylor and Alphie are captured by New Asian forces led by Harun, a simulant soldier and former ally of Taylor's during his time undercover. Harun states that the detonation in Los Angeles was a human error blamed on AI, who onlywish to peacefully co-exist with humanity. Harun also reveals to Taylor that Alphie was modeled after their unborn daughter from an embryo scan, and that Maya had completed her creation just weeks before the attack. After escaping his captors, Taylor rescues Alphie as Howell launches an attack on the village. Taylor learns that Maya is alive, but has been in a coma ever since the attack, being kept on life support by simulants. Since simulants cannot harm Nirmata, she is "stranded" and unable to die. As Taylor takes Maya off life support, U.S. forces led by Howell arrive. Howell attempts to extract Maya’s consciousness but is killed by Harun during the process. Harun tells TaylorNOMAD must be destroyed for the war to end. Taylor grabs the memory drive that contains Maya’s consciousness before they escape.
Captured again, Taylor is coerced into killing Alphie with anelectroshock weapon. However, Andrews later discovers this to be a ruse, allowing the pair to escape. Boarding alunar shuttle at the Los Angeles Interplanetary Air and Space Port, Alphie forces the spacecraft to dock aboardNOMAD as Andrews orders a large-scale assault on remaining AI bases. Taylor plants explosives; ejects Alphie byescape pod when Andrews activates a robot that prevents him from fleeing; and reunites with a simulant bearing Maya's likeness, activated by Alphie with Maya's memories from the drive that Taylor gave to her as a necklace. They embrace asNOMAD explodes, killing Taylor, destroying Maya, and shutting down the missile guidance system, saving most of the targeted AI bases across New Asia. Arriving on Earth, Alphie is welcomed by the AI population as a new "Nirmata".
Development on the film began in November 2019, whenGareth Edwards signed to direct and write an untitled science fiction project forNew Regency, with Edwards'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) co-producer Kiri Hart as producer. A test shoot and location scouting was conducted that year, with Edwards using it as the opportunity to envision the film's look: "I took a camera and a 1970sanamorphic lens, we went location-scouting inVietnam,Cambodia,Japan,Indonesia,Thailand, andNepal. Our whole plan was just to go to the greatest locations in the world, because the cost of a flight is way less than the cost of building a set. We were going to hopscotch around the world and shoot this film, then layer in the science-fiction on top afterwards. If our film is trying to achieve something visually, it's trying to feel real in terms of science-fiction."[5]
In February 2020, Edwards was officially announced as director.[6] He cited films such asApocalypse Now (1979),Baraka (1992),Blade Runner (1982),Akira (1988),Rain Man (1988),The Hit (1984),E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) andPaper Moon (1973) as sources of inspiration.[7] The battle sequences inSaving Private Ryan (1998) were also cited as an influence on the film.[8]
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In May 2021,John David Washington was announced to star, and the film's working title was revealed to beTrue Love.[9] In June 2021,Gemma Chan,Danny McBride, andBenedict Wong entered negotiations to star.[10] The involvements of Chan and Wong were confirmed in January 2022, withAllison Janney,[11]Sturgill Simpson,[12] andMarc Menchaca joining the cast.[13] Simpson was reported to be taking over for McBride who departed due to scheduling conflicts.[12] In February 2022,Ken Watanabe joined the cast to replace Wong, who also had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts; Watanabe had previously worked with Edwards onGodzilla (2014).[14]Madeleine Yuna Voyles' performance received critical acclaim and was nominated for several awards.
On a production budget of $80 million,[2]principal photography began in Thailand on January 17, 2022, withGreig Fraser (who was also a co-producer) andOren Soffer ascinematographers, andCOVID-19 safety precautions in place. To give the film the feel of classic Hollywood epics such asBen-Hur (1959), the filmmakers opted to shoot in the 2.76:1 ultra-wide aspect ratio.[16][17] Among the on-site filming locations in Thailand wereSuvarnabhumi Airport,Ban Mung,Sangkhla Buri,Chiang Dao, andSam Phan Bok.[18] As the trailer was released, Thai fans also pointed out a scene shot atMakkasan station ofBangkok'sARL.[15]
For their duties, Fraser was involved in the pre-production process before moving to working remotely due to his commitment toDune: Part Two (2024), while Soffer, for his first major studio film, served as the main director of photography throughout the production shoot. In an interview withTotal Film, Edwards, who was also a camera operator, commended Soffer and what he brought to the film, calling him a "real future rising star in the DoP world. He's super-smart. He's got a great eye." The film was shot on the prosumerSony FX3 camera, the low cost of which is a rarity for a blockbuster film.[19] Edwards confirmed the camera's usage at the "Directors on Directing" panel at the 2023San Diego Comic-Con, where director and fellow panelistLouis Leterrier noted that this creative decision could "change cinema" forever.[20]
In light of the budget, the filmmakers utilizedguerrilla filmmaking methods by having very few crew members and natural lighting on set for select on-location scenes, and limited sound recording.[12][21][22] Rather than building sets, or relying exclusively on digital methods such asgreenscreens orStageCraft, the production found it was more cost effective to send a small crew to film in 80 locations around the world which came closest to matching the desired sci-fi look. Then, only once the producers hadfinalised the edit were visual effects layered into the images. Using this method, Edwards estimated the production spent only $80 million on a project which would have typically cost $300 million.[23] Interior scenes and stuntwork was filmed atPinewood Studios.[24] Filming wrapped on May 30, 2022.[25]
The visual effects were provided byIndustrial Light & Magic (ILM), SDFX Studios, Yannix, Virtuos, Weta Workshop Folks VFX, MARZ, Misc Studios, Fin Design + Effects, Outpost VFX, Lekker VFX,Crafty Apes,Jellyfish Pictures, Proof, Territory Studio, Atomic Arts and VFX Los Angeles.[26][27] James Clyne, who was a concept artist onRogue One, reunited with Edwards on this film as its production designer.[28]
One of the film's most significant elements is the fictional U.S. military space stationNOMAD, which was noted for its distinctive visual design and sound effects. Edwards revealed that it took the entirety of thelockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to design it, describing it as "a bird of prey and an all-seeing eye in the sky, always looking at everybody. So we kept playing with those two shapes and merging them in a way until it just felt right."Ethan Van der Ryn andErik Aadahl, who worked with Edwards onGodzilla (2014), provided the ship's sound effects, describing them as "a dance, is probably the nice way to say it, between music and sound, and it's never a fight". Theassembly cut of the film, which ran for five hours, did not use anytemp tracks for the music and just the sound design, which Edwards likened to that of thetalkies during the late-1920s.[29] Because of this, it was decided that no music be added to the film throughout the entire editing process in order to get the pacing and story structure right in an efficient manner. Edwards called the experience "super interesting. Part of me thinks that I would do that again, because it puts a lot of pressure on the sound design, but then you're not hiding behind music to save the storytelling."[30]
On July 17, 2023, Edwards confirmed thatHans Zimmer was hired to score the film.[31][32] On September 19, 2023, Edwards revealed that he initially planned on having a company specialising inAI-generated music replicate Zimmer's style of music. Although the process gave him satisfying results, Edwards instead chose Zimmer to originally score the film.[33] The soundtrack was digitally released byHollywood Records on September 29, 2023.[34]
A first look at the film was shown at CinemaCon on April 26, 2023, with editorial director Anthony D'Alessandro ofDeadline Hollywood praising the production design, saying that it made "Blade Runner look like child's play". It was also announced that the title was renamed fromTrue Love toThe Creator.[35] Edwards later explained why the title was changed, saying that it "sounded too much like a romantic comedy, and that message would confuse potential audiences who weren't familiar with the film's plot or trailer."[36]
The film's teaser trailer, set to a remix ofAerosmith's "Dream On", premiered online on May 17, 2023. The official trailer was released on July 17, 2023, three days after the beginning of the2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. James Whitbrook ofGizmodo and EJ Tangonan ofJoBlo.com found the move coincidental, given the similarities between the film's premise andSAG-AFTRA's fears of the film studios using artificial intelligence toreplicate the likenesses of actors without compensation.[37][16][38] Edwards agreed with this take, saying "I have a trick with AI is to get the timing as a sweet spot window where it's before the apocalypse and not after, which I think it's in November—maybe December—and so, I think we got really lucky ... The joke would be that when you write a film, especially a science fiction film, I try to avoid putting a date ... at some point, you have to so, I picked 2070. Now I feel like an idiot because I should've gone for 2023 'cause everything that's been unfolding in the last few months is kind of scary and weird."[39]
Exclusive footage from one of the film's battle sequences and a first listen to some of Zimmer's score were presented at the 2023San Diego Comic-Con on July 21, 2023.[40] A behind-the-scenes featurette introducing Edwards' vision for the film and featuring interviews with the cast was released on August 21, 2023.[41] An IMAX fan event showcasing exclusive footage from the film with a live Q&A with Edwards took place in select IMAX theaters nationwide on August 29, 2023, one month before the film's release.[42]
Publicity stunts were also conducted in September 2023 when actors dressed as "AI robots" depicted in the film appeared during aNational Football League game between theLos Angeles Chargers and theMiami Dolphins atSoFi Stadium inInglewood, California, aMajor League Baseball game between theSan Diego Padres and theSt. Louis Cardinals atPetco Park inSan Diego, and the first race of theAutotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 atTexas Motor Speedway inFort Worth, Texas.[43][44][45] A book showcasing concept artwork and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film, written by James Mottram, was published by Insight Editions and released bySimon & Schuster on November 14, 2023.[46]
On July 17, 2023, the official trailer forThe Creator received negative criticism for using footage from the2020 Beirut explosion as a visual effects plate shot of a futuristic Los Angeles being obliterated by a nuclear explosion. It was first noticed by aReddit user and was subsequently covered by theYouTube channelCorridor Crew as part of their "VFX Artists React" series.[27][47][48]
On September 15, 2023, during aReddit AMA with Gareth Edwards, he revealed that the footage was never meant to be included in the trailer in the first place, and that it is typical in filmmaking thatarchival footage be used as placeholders for VFX shots, while revealing that the shot is not in the film itself.[49]
An early press and industry screening ofThe Creator, originally meant to have been its world premiere until being impacted by the2023 Hollywood labor disputes, took place at theTCL Chinese Theatre inLos Angeles on September 18, 2023, with props and costumes from the film on display in the lobby. Edwards was also present and voiced his support for the film's cast, who could not attend and promote the film due to the strikes, in a speech before the film began.[50] The film held itsTexas premiere atFantastic Fest on September 26, 2023, with a special screening as the opening night film of Beyond Fest that same day at theAero Theatre inSanta Monica, California.[51][52] The film's United Kingdom premiere took place on September 26, 2023, atThe Science Museum, South Kensington inLondon.[53]
It was released on September 29, 2023, in both conventional theaters and inIMAX,Dolby Cinema,4DX andScreenX, just two days after the end of the2023 Writers Guild of America strike.[54] It competed for opening weekend attendance withParamount Pictures'PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie andLionsgate'sSaw X.[35][51] It was originally to be released on October 6, 2023, before it was announced atCinemaCon on April 26, 2023 that it would be moved up a week.[55]
The film was released on digital platforms on November 14, 2023, and was released on4K Ultra HD Blu-ray,Blu-ray andDVD on December 12 byWalt Disney Studios Home Entertainment through the20th Century Home Entertainment label, featuring a 55-minute featurette titledTrue Love: Making The Creator. It was made available to stream onDisney+ andHulu, beginning on December 20, 2023.[56][57] During its first week onVideo on demand (VOD), it ranked number 1 oniTunes Movies andVudu and number 3 onGoogle Play.[58]
The Creator grossed $40.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $63.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $104.3 million.[3][4]
In the United States and Canada, it was released alongsidePAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie,Saw X, and the wide expansion ofDumb Money, and was projected to gross $16–19 million from 3,680 theaters in its opening weekend.[2] It made $5.6 million on its first day, including $1.6 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $14.1 million, finishing third at the box office. $3 million of the gross came from IMAX screens, while men made up at 71% of the audience, with 51% between the ages of 18-34.[59] The film made $6.1 million and $4.3 million in its second and third weekend, finishing fifth both times.[60][61]
Prior to its release, Cindy White ofThe A.V. Club cited the mid-teen estimates were due to it being an original film (not based on an existingIP), cast and filmmakers not being entirely household names (save for Washington and Janney), poor timing of the release in the midst ofsocietal and governmental issues regardinggenerative AI's place in everyday life, and lackluster marketing and promotion due in-part to the ongoing 2023WGA andSAG-AFTRA strikes.[62] Ben Sherlock ofScreen Rant thought being released in the midst of public debates over AI was a positive for the film rather than a negative and attributed the poor performance to its Rotten Tomatoes score and the price of cinema tickets.[63] Following its $14 million opening weekend, Richard Lawson ofVanity Fair expressed hope that the film could become asleeper hit given its healthier performance overseas, saying: "The film's plotting may be derivative, its twists and emotional beats predictable. But there is still something rare and special in its execution; it'sDenis Villeneuve without the cold fussiness, the lacquered preening. Now that Edwards is free ofStar Wars (though hisStar Wars movie is a good one), he is a filmmaker to be fostered and encouraged, so that he might make ever more arresting entertainments likeThe Creator."[64]
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The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised its visual effects, cinematography, action sequences and Edwards' direction, but criticized the writing and themes.[65][66][67] On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 67% of 324 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Visually stunning and packed with spectacular set pieces,The Creator serves up timely, well-acted sci-fi that satisfies in the moment even if it lacks substance."[68]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 63 out of 100, based on 54 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[69] Audiences surveyed byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled atPostTrak gave it an 81% overall positive score, with 61% saying they would definitely recommend the film.[59]
Maggie Lovitt ofCollider wrote: "The script might have glaring flaws and painfully ambiguous morals, butThe Creator is a truly remarkable piece of original science fiction storytelling."[70]Peter Bradshaw ofThe Guardian called it: "an intriguing, stimulating, exhilarating movie, which really does address – with both head and heart – the great issue of our age, AI."[71] Pete Hammond ofDeadline Hollywood called it: "one of the most thought-provoking movies in some time, one to which attention must be paid."[72]
Brian Truitt ofUSA Today described it as "a movie that makes you think about existence and the world around you, explodes your brain with cool visuals and sufficiently blows stuff up."[73] Alex Godfrey ofEmpire called it: "An inspired, soulful piece of sci-fi, the endlessly stunning visuals all in service of a heartfelt, sensitive story. Gareth Edwards is the real deal — this is fantastic, enveloping cinema."[74]
A.A. Dowd ofIGN wrote: "As pure spectacle,The Creator is often jaw-dropping in its imagery, its relatively frugal special effects, and the detailed depth of its futuristic design. It's shakier as drama and sci-fi..."[75]
Graeme Guttmann ofScreen Rant wrote: "While the film's story may feel overstuffed and its action sequences repetitive at times,The Creator's bold vision and willingness to take risks make it a more exhilarating experience than safe, mediocre blockbusters."[76]
Tomris Laffly ofTheWrap called it "a film that works better as an allegory for acceptance rather than a warning against AI", and that "even if you can't look past such glaring miscalculations,The Creator will still feel like a visually fulfilling journey that had been worth taking in the aftermath. Nowadays, there is absolutely nothing like it out there."[77]
Joey Magidson ofAwards Radar wrote: "You've never seen anything quite like this movie, which is a saying that gets bandied about a lot, but is pretty apt here...There was potential for an instant classic movie. We're not quite there, but what we've got is still damn good," while naming it a frontrunner for theAcademy Award for Best Visual Effects.[78]
Jake Cole ofSlant praised the visual effects, writing: "The robots, which run a stylistic range from logical extrapolations of present-day models by companies like Boston Dynamics to the not-quite-perfect human simulacra ofA.I. Artificial Intelligence, all look not only plausible but physically present."[79] Rodrigo Perez ofThe Playlist called it "A familiar mélange and pastiche of sci-fi-tropes you've seen and felt before, filmmaker Gareth Edwards' science-fiction drama,The Creator, is recognizable but, nonetheless, largely compelling."[80]
Reviews were not uniformly positive. David Ehrlich ofIndieWire described it as "A.I. Artificial Intelligence meetsChildren of Men" and wrote that "The most fundamental reason whyThe Creator, for all of its shortcomings and clichés, ultimately sold me on its optimism is that it succeeds as a blueprint where it fails as a movie."[81] David Rooney ofThe Hollywood Reporter was mixed, calling it a "baggy, sentimental sci-fi epic," while Peter Debruge ofVariety thought that it "can hardly even keep its premise straight".[82][83]
Mark Jenkins ofThe Washington Post wrote that the film "fails to develop the personalities and relationships that would give its central characters an affecting humanity."[84] Jesse Hassenger ofPaste wrote: "For a designated last great hope of original sci-fi, this is a surprisingly programmatic picture."[85]
Rafael Motamayor of/Film called it "visually stunning" but "a predictable and dumbed-down story that feels like Edwards doingJames Cameron'sAvatar in terms of presenting bold worldbuilding and sci-fi ideas, but without the emotional resonance of that giant film. This is a very cool movie, but not necessarily a very good one."[86] Glenn Whipp of theLos Angeles Times felt the film lacked originality, writing: "there's precious little inThe Creator that feels fresh, particularly if you’ve seen one of the first twoTerminator movies, watchedThe Last of Us or bought your kid (OK, yourself) aBaby Yoda plush toy."[87]
Fionnuala Halligan ofScreen International wrote that it "lacks the intellectual depth or ambition of the films it references - fromApocalypse Now toBlade Runner,The Terminator,Star Wars and beyond to the imagery ofKundun."[88] Nicolas Rapold ofThe New York Times criticized the film's tone, and wrote: "Edwards pushes the relatable ordinariness of the androids and hybrid "simulants", but the potential menace of A.I. inescapably looms."[89]
Richard Roeper ofChicago Sun-Times called it: "A great-looking but strange and mostly unsuccessful hybrid of futuristic sci-fi thrillers and Vietnam War films that combines elements of everything fromDistrict 9 toBlade Runner toEx Machina to theTerminator franchise..."[90]
The film was shortlisted in the categories ofBest Sound andBest Visual Effects at the96th Academy Awards, ultimately being nominated in both categories, and was longlisted in the categories ofBest Cinematography andBest Special Visual Effects at the77th British Academy Film Awards, ultimately being nominated in the latter category.[91][92]Special effects supervisorNeil Corbould garnered a rare trifecta of Best Visual Effects nominations in a single year, for his work on this film,Napoleon, andMission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.[93]
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