“The Creator,” a sci-fi movie from the directors of Rogue One, hit the box office this past weekend, and it is nothing shy of a masterpiece.
In the past few years, technology has developed at a faster rate than ever before. Chat GPT and robots are now able to have real-time conversations with humans. Robots can do tasks that humans do, and some are even capable of displaying human emotions when programmed to. In a world where artificial intelligence is gaining more and more attention, this movie came at the perfect time. It is the bridge between reality and imagination.
The movie is set in a not-so-distant future, in which war has erupted between humans and robots. The robots are virtually indistinguishable from humans. The movie stars actor John David Washington as Joshua Taylor, a “hardened ex-special forces agent grieving the disappearance of his wife who is recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator”, who is a mysterious character named Nirmata in the movie, which literally means “creator” or “manufacturer” in Nepalese. Nirmata has created a pivotal weapon that could change the outcome of the war. Humans are scared for their survival.
The Creator deals with themes of artificial intelligence and robot ethics. For fans of the Blade Runner trilogy, or Sci-Fi movies in general, this movie will appeal. On one end there are humans, pitted against their creation, on the other end there are robots and those who are willing to see the robots as they see humans, believing that there can be a unified future where the robot and human coexist.
Throughout the movie, the audience is tasked with wondering how humans relate to robots. What does it mean to be a robot? What does it mean to be human? How are the two different? What are the privileges that humans have, but robots do not? All of these questions run parallel to what is being asked now about the technology that is being developed currently in the real world.
Available in iMax, the movie is a sensory experience, particularly the beauty in the scenes. From jungles to cities, everything has a crisp modern aesthetic. Warfare is shown in the movie with contrasting colors and bright impulses of light. The director, Gareth Edwards, focused on getting footage from real places. The temple scenes were shot in a real monastery in the Himalayas, and the beach scene was filmed on a real beach in Tokyo. Additionally, the sound effects for the movie are notable. This movie is louder than most, so the booms and busts reverberate through the walls of the theater during battles in the movie.
The movie, with superb graphics and intriguing narrative, could be a contestant against Oppenheimer for movie awards this year at the Oscars. For Sci-Fan fans, the movie is worth watching. The runtime is 2 hr 13 min.
