The Creator is a challenging science fiction film with a jaded soldier who has to find an A.I. enemy tied to his life! It is a futuristic vision that is very human in its characters and story. The film is directed and co-written by Gareth Edwards whose last film was Rogue One (2016). His first film, though, Monsters (2010) has more of his sensibility and visuals that are found in this movie. The co-writer is Chris Weitz who also worked on Rogue One. The movie begins with a Nepalse word, “Nirmata” and its translation, “The Creator.” This feels like something out of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), information that is futuristic, but the Nepalse gives a different language and setting.
Then, we get a newsreel, Tomorrow Today, that shows the early robotics of what looks like the 50’s. We then get the modern robots, simulants with one simulant doctor operating on a baby. The ad line is “More Human Than Human.” The newsreel intro is a great way to give a short history lesson on a sci fi subject. It was a device used like World War II-like newsreels at the beginning of the Clone Wars animated show. There is a nuclear explosion in Los Angeles, 10 years ago, 2055, that is said to be caused by the simulants. A very similar situation to what was seen in James Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) with its attack by Skynet. The Republic of New West Asia is a safe haven for A.I. (Artificial Intelligence).
This brings us to “Korag, New Asia, 2065.” A beach at night as a special forces team emerges from the water. A curtain of blue light scans from above. In bed are a married couple, Maya (Gemma Chan), very pregnant, and Joshua (John David Washington) as a record player spins a vinyl record. Chan played the snyth Anita in the UK sci fi series, Humans. Washington was in the sci fi action movie, Tenet (2020). They hear a break-in and Joshua attaches his bionic leg and arm, his arm ends at his shoulder. His cyborg leg reminded me of John Kennex played by Karl Urban in the sci fi series, Almost Human. The robotic parts align him with android counterpart, but he finds contempt for the technology.
A stimulant soldier protecting the village is Harun (Ken Watanabe). Dr. Serizawa was played by Watanabe in Godzilla (2014), directed by Edwards. The special forces team has entered the house and Joshua is told that “NOMAD is coming this way.” This is an acronym for North American Orbital Mobile Aerospace Defense, the platform that was projecting the laser scans. Sgt. Taylor tries to call off the raid and his wife at the betrayal, pulls a gun on him. His mission was to go undercover and kill Nirmata, The Creator, only Nirmata is said in the film. He says, “They are not real.” Soldiers hold him back as Maya runs to the beach. NOMAD launches missiles to destroy the village.
The scenario of soldiers in combat involving villagers especially in Southeast Asia might bring up images of Vietnam, but Nepal is close to Tibet which might bring up the annexation. The film is wider in scope involving refugees in any war. It is “five years later” after the NOMAD missile strike. At ground zero, Los Angeles, a robot is taken out by Joshua to be thrown into a pile and crushed by a hydraulic compactor. Later, he is swimming in his pool and gets out to meet General Andrews (Ralph Ineson) and Colonel Howell (Allison Janey). Ineson played Rick in Ready Player One (2018). Janey voiced Aly San San, the droid, who is in the attraction video at Star Tours: The Adventures Continue (2011).
They mention that Joshua lost his parents and brother in the Los Angeles blast. He attaches his cybernetic arm which he also lost along with his leg in the explosion. General Andrews explains that the A.I. leader, Nirmata, has a new weapon that could destroy the U.S.S. NOMAD which took a decade to build. The weapon is code named Alpha-0. Joshua is the only who knows the lab. Howell sets up a projector that forms a hologram of Maya and she explains that she was seen two days ago. Joshua's motivation is to find Maya whom Howell promises to find on the mission. She says that she lost both sons to the robots, her last son was lured by simulant, and he was tortured until he died, her reason for destroying all of the A.I.
A military craft takes Joshua, Col. Howell, and the special forces team to New Asia. She debriefs the squad as they fly behind a NOMAD scan. Captain Cotton (Michael Esper) is the leader of the team. They disembark as Col. Howell monitors them in the air with the ship. Lambert (Rad Pereira) is in a pod-like vehicle left at the landing site. Joshua sees that a village was built on top of the lab. The squad begins to interrogate the villagers until Joshua finds the switch to open the hatch to the lab! They take over the lab, but the vault is sealed. Lambert sends out missiles from the pod to destroy police cars. She requests back up from the rest of the squad. Daniels (Ian Verdun) goes to support Lambert.
Hardwick (Daniel Ray Rodriguez) begins to hack into the keypad and open the vault. Daniels is under heavy fire and Hardwick goes to support him. The door of the vault rolls open and Joshua enters it. He finds a chair, a television set playing anime, and a teddy bear. This is the young girl, whom is later called Alphie, played by Madeleine Yuna Voyales. She is the heart of the film and embodies the spirit of A.I. The simulates like Alphie have the base of their skull with a hole through their ear regions and mechanical neck, but their face is very much human. Similar to Alicia Vikander's Ava in Ex Machina (2015).
Joshua is shot and sends Alphie away rejecting the mission to kill her. Missiles are sent by NOMAD to destroy the lab, they streak past Alphie. The next part is entitled, “The Child” and we find Joshua awakening in a canoe. Alphie looks down on him. Police, A.I., capture Colonel Howell. The team is able to escape. Alfie is able to activate a truck almost by praying. There was a superhero called RAM who had complete control over machines. He was introduced in Millennium #2 (1988). The praying part to activate or control tech is very cool.
Four NOMADs out of Five!
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