Movie Review: ‘The Creator’ Ventures Black to the Future

By Andre Kelley | October 9, 2023

Rated PG-13
(Regency & eOne) 

“Off.”
First? Mad respect to “The Creator” for seamlessly yet matter-of-factly portraying this many people of glorious color throughout a saga of this proportion. And especially, set this far into the future of this magnificent, up-to-the millisecond topicality of a post apocalyptic sci-fi drama.

Second? I was obsessed and thoroughly absorbed in terms of the visuals alone. They are staggering. Absolutely nothing was overlooked. From the vehicles (land and sea) to the panoramic landscapes to the myriad of people to the breathtaking ground to air to outer space imagery.

There are even brutal moments and such deeply affecting scenes that I will never forget. From ungodly distances to deep, penetrating closeups, often, you can scarcely tell and have to constantly reassure yourself as to who was battling whom in terms of humans versus non-humans. I honestly felt much like audiences did in theaters when we first saw the thrilling, mind-blowing special effects of the then groundbreaking aspects of the very first “Star Wars.”

“The Creator” has that kind of sweeping wonder and impressive spectacle. As performances go, Sturgill Simpson (as Drew) and Allison Janney (who as Col. Howell, is as despicably off putting and manipulative as she is almost unrecognizable) are consistently engaging. And some of what’s done on behalf of John David Washington (Joshua), you won’t even believe your own eyes.

Ken Watanabe (Huran) is admirable and physically imposing, especially as someone who’s rather convincing as a non-human. And as always, on or off screen, you will never shake the sheer presence of the ever mysterious and beguiling Gemma Chan (Maya). Even the warm, dulcet tones of her speaking voice will command your full attention.  

Thankfully, the story goes much deeper than the seemingly surface man vs machine mythos. Just as the television series “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” was so effectively self-aware that it posed the universal question “what is evil?,” “The Creator” does much the same with “what is human?”

The script and ongoing conflicts does what stories like these should always do; it speaks to core, universal truths about war, survival, nationalism, history, technology, religion and our collective, slavish, often tortuous relationships to all of the aforementioned. Most telling, intellectually, it tasks us as a species in much the way the last “Planet of The Apes” series haunted, angered and stirred something deep with audiences.

As with the very best of a sci-fi opus of this nature, “The Creator” forces us to ponder grand, profound questions about everything we do, everything we create, our reasons for doing so and ultimately, ourselves. 

“The Creator” is in theaters now. Watch the official “The Creator” trailer here.

@TheAndreKelley