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CINEMA REVIEW: THE CREATOR (2023)

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CINEMA REVIEW: THE CREATOR (2023)

Directed by: Gareth Edwards

Screenplay by: Gareth Edwards and Chris Weitz

Story by Gareth Edwards

Produced by: Gareth Edwards, Kiri Hart, Jim Spencer, Arnon Milchan

Main Cast: John David Washington, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Gemma Chan, Ken Watanabe, Sturgill Simpson, Allison Janney, Ralph Ineson and Marc Menchaca.

Cinematography: Greig Fraser and Oren Soffer

*** MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS ***

The Creator (2023) is Gareth Edwards first directorial release since the tremendous Star Wars prequel Rogue One (2016). Of all the Disney-funded Star Wars products that remains my favourite. Overall, Rogue One (2016) is not just a great Star Wars film but a brilliant movie too, as it transcended the franchise while delivering a pulsating, heroic, nostalgic and emotional film experience. It also had an influence on the stunning visual look, action, and effects of The Creator (2023) too. So much so, The Creator (2023), in terms of style, often felt like a Star Wars film in all but name.

With The Creator (2023), Gareth Edwards and his talented production and effects team have invented a continually innovative futuristic look based around Artificially Intelligent robots and technologically modified humans. Indeed, based on all his directorial works, jaw-dropping visuals and themes of humans overcoming machines and monsters are always very much to the fore. But in The Creator (2023) one of the major themes poses the question – who are the real monsters? The humans or their computerised creations? As the narrative begins, in 2055, with the machines detonating a nuclear attack on Los Angeles the Americans declare war on the robots. More specifically, Southeast Asia, who still utilise A: I technology. Fast forward several years and John David Washington’s Joshua, remains part of the U.S. military plans, as they attempt to finish off the A: I threat for once and for all.

As Joshua is manipulated by the US Government, through a past romantic connection with Gemma Chan’s Maya, he is dropped behind “enemy” lines in Asia to destroy the A: I’s secret weapon called, “Alpha-O.” Along, with a paper-thin characterised group of U.S soldiers, Joshua finds the mission going south and ultimately goes on the run with “Alpha-O.” Edwards and his writers humanize the dangerous processor by giving it the body of a young girl portrayed by Madeleine Yuna Voyles. Despite the powerful visuals of the film, I found The Creator (2023) buckling under the wright of over-used ideas from other films. The cute “genius” kid being just one of those.

It’s The Terminator (1984) meets Artificial: Intelligence (2001) meets Avatar (2009) meets any number of action-hero-saves-young-child narratives. I mean can at least one film TRY and make the American warmongers more nuanced? Yes, the action, cinematography and sound design are especially impressive and thrilling and there is certain emotion on screen. However, I personally did not feel much emotion in my heart, unfortunately. Watch it on the biggest screen you can, because what The Creator (2023) lacks in original narrative and character elements, it more than makes up in nifty robotic concepts and visual cinematic grandeur.

Mark: 7 out of 11

Cinema, Reviews

GODZILLA (2014) – FILM REVIEW

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GODZILLA (2014)

**CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS**

This massive budget reboot of Tohu’s iconic monster GODZILLA is not a terrible movie. It is a technical triumph in fact and has some memorable moments; however, for a MONSTER movie and cinematic experience it was a bitter, bitter disappointment. Plus, at times – dare I say it – it was pretty boring.

If I pay ten quid to see a film called GODZILLA I expect and demand ultimate carnage with the lives of thousands destroyed – eaten and crushed and fire-balled to death –  while cities and oceans are awash with blood, rubble and the tears of survivors.  Because Godzilla is a metaphor for nuclear attacks don’t you know so surely this should be your first priority:  show annihilation and destruction of cities and humans?  That’s what I want for my money!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj2pATsSq2M

Gareth Edwards and his massive team of filmmakers offer some destruction over its 120 minutes but ultimately Godzilla fails as a monster movie; it fails as a disaster film and fails most importantly as a piece of drama driven by believable and empathetic characters.  It’s not a great surprise to be honest as the sophomore director got the gig on the back of his independent film MONSTERS (2010)  which was filmed on Prosumer cameras with special effects and editing also done very cheaply. Much kudos goes to Edwards’ for creating Monsters on such a low budget and he is certainly a filmmaker who deserved a big break.

Monsters, like Godzilla was slow-moving, solemn and very serious in tone and in both films their monsters are hidden from view only appearing in full way too late in the narrative for my liking. I enjoyed Monsters because it gave us the brilliant actor Scoot McNairy who has gone onto to feature in some fine films notably Argo (2012) and Killing Them Softly (2012).  But it was essentially a love-story-come-travelogue with the creatures having little direct impact or threat on the characters.

Sadly, this also happens somewhat in Godzilla. It begins promisingly enough in 1999 with a nuclear explosion caused by the hatching of an egg which releases an unknown creature into the sea. So far, so intrigued.  Flash forward 15 years and Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) is devastated by the loss of his wife (Juliette Binoche) during said nuclear disaster and obsessively attempts to find out what happened that fateful day.  Throw Brody’s son portrayed by Aaron Taylor-Johnson – quite handily a bomb disposal expert – into the mix and you get a promising character axis on the go.  Simultaneously, scientists Sally Hawkins and Ken Watanabe enter the fray to investigate but they are dull cardboard cut-outs there to serve us mundane expositional ramblings with no character momentum whatsoever. But Cranston’s character disappears from the narrative quite quickly and moreover, having to wait an hour before the first main bit of monster action really tested my patience.

I realise Edwards chose to go down the less-is-more route of Jaws (1975) but the reason the shark could not be seen in that was because the mechanical beast was beset with troubles and didn’t work so Spielberg and his team had to think creatively around this issue. Consequently, they created so many great set-pieces – something severely lacking in Godzilla. For example the scene with the two fishermen trying to catch the shark with a lump of meat is an especially brilliant sequence where the camera and music act as the shark. It’s a quality and economical piece of filmmaking with a fantastic punchline at the end to lift the mood.

When they do appear the Monsters are amazing to look at but there was not enough in the screenplay for me to actually give a damn by that time. The ensemble cast are pretty much wasted in my view and the less said about the screenplay the better. I feel it would have been better to have done a Towering Inferno (1974) or Poseidon Adventure (1972) style disaster movie with an ensemble star cast battling against the impact of Godzilla on their lives. In fact, Godzilla, however impressive he may look is pretty benign as a threat to humans; a decision which dumbfounded me. Overall, I felt the film needed a bigger name director like Steven Spielberg or Peter Jackson or a James Cameron figure to give us that WOW factor. The screenplay also had a humour bypass too and I failed to get value for my entrance fee. Sad to say this film was a gigantic disappointment.