The first reviews of The Creator are very positive even before the official release. The director of Rogue One opts for creative freedom and real locations in his new film The Creator instead of expensive gimmicks.
What kind of film is it? The Creator is a sci-fi action thriller in which humanity fights for its survival against advanced artificial intelligence. Directed by Gareth Edwards, who is particularly known for Godzilla (2014) and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
The Creator follows Joshua, a former Special Forces agent recruited to hunt and kill the mysterious architect of advanced AI. This architect developed a mysterious weapon that could either end the war or simply wipe out all humanity.
The Creator will be in theaters starting September 29. For director Gareth Edwards, E.T. was a huge source of inspiration. You can find out more from our colleagues at Moviepilot.
“A masterpiece and one of the best films of the year”
What are the critics excited about? There are early opinions on The Creator on X, formerly Twitter. Among them are comments from two authors of English-language news websites.
Perri Nemiroff, author of the website Collider, says:
Visually, #TheCreator is PHENOMENAL. If there’s an up-and-coming cinematographer to keep an eye on, it’s Oren Soffer. This film is breathtaking shot after breathtaking shot.
In terms of the plot, the first two acts of the film are excellent. Lean, compelling, full of emotions.
Perri Nemiroff via X
The ending feels “noticeably rushed and convoluted” to her; she also wished that “the film had connected a bit more directly to the current discussion” regarding concerns about the use of artificial intelligence.
Nevertheless, she considers director Gareth Edwards a visionary, “capable of delivering science fiction blockbusters with real structure and purpose.”
Joseph Deckelmeier, author of the website Screenrant, seems enthusiastic. He writes:
#TheCreator is a masterpiece and one of the best films of the year. It hits on so many levels since AI is such a hot topic. Gareth Edwards masterfully captivates the audience every step of the way.
Joseph Deckelmeier via X
In doing so, the director has been restrained in his expenses. According to Variety, the budget for The Creator was 80 million dollars. In conversation, Edwards stated that “you really don’t need much money to make a movie that looks like you spent a lot.”
So frugal was the director: Gareth Edwards, according to Slashfilm, relied less on visual effects and more on real locations. He avoided a greenscreen, sci-fi effects were added to the finished scenes.
Edwards reduced everything to the essentials to have more creative freedom; he also filmed The Creator with a small crew. He was convinced there had to be a “better, leaner way to make blockbuster studio films.”
Other film teams invested more money in special effects but thought too little about the characters. The lead actor Ryan Reynolds summarizes why the film ultimately flopped:
Ryan Reynolds explains: Green Lantern flopped because there was too much time and money
