The Big Picture
- Director Gareth Edwards takes a more grounded approach in
The Creator,
a rare original science fiction film that explores a war between artificial intelligence and humanity. - The film’s unique set of credits, featuring white text on Japanese characters, pays homage to the divided world of
The Creator
and allows the audience to reflect on the story they just saw. - Despite its lack of a post-credits scene,
The Creator
delves into the rich world of the machines and their way of life, while also feeling timely in light of recent AI news and industry strikes.
The Creator marks a rare occasion in Hollywood in which a completely original science fiction film also happens to cost a fraction of other major blockbusters. Director Gareth Edwards is no stranger to spectacle, having kicked off Legendary Pictures’ MonsterVerse with Godzilla and delivering arguably one of the best Star Wars films with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. With The Creator, he takes a more grounded approach to building a world that’s been ravaged by a war between artificial intelligence and humanity.
At the tail end of this war, ex-special forces agent Joshua (John David Washington) is tapped for a mission to destroy a weapon the AI collective has developed, titled Alpha-01. Joshua discovers that Alpha-01 has taken the form of a young girl, whom he names “Alphie” (Madeleine Yuna Voyles). Joshua and Alphie start bonding despite his orders to terminate her, which leads him to interrogate his beliefs about the machines. While The Creator may be a bit of a mixed bag in terms of reception, there’s one thing for certain: the film does not contain a post-credits scene.
The Creator
As a future war between the human race and artificial intelligence rages on, ex-special forces agent Joshua is recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI. The Creator has developed a mysterious weapon that has the power to end the war and all of mankind. As Joshua and his team of elite operatives venture into enemy-occupied territory, they soon discover the world-ending weapon is actually an AI in the form of a young child.
- Release Date
- September 29, 2023
What Makes ‘The Creator’s Credits Different?
The Creator ends with a unique set of credits: white text that is laid over Japanese characters and accompanied by a stirring piano melody. The credits’ design is an homage to The Creator’s world, which is divided between humanity’s home of the United States, and “New Asia,” which has become a safe haven for artificial intelligence. A similar text is displayed in chyrons scrolling across the screen throughout the film, denoting the location and year when the scenes take place. Even though The Creator doesn’t have a post-credits scene, its credits paint a somber tone that sits with the audience and lets them reflect on the film’s story. Edwards took the very same approach with his franchise films as Rogue One and Godzilla are fairly self-contained while expanding upon their universes – another rarity in franchise filmmaking.
But just because there isn’t a post-credits scene doesn’t mean that the film doesn’t have a rich and elaborate world to explore. The Creator explores the machines’ civilization and their way of life. It also digs into the circumstances that led to the war between the race of artificial intelligence and humans. Edwards has been open about the films that influenced and shaped The Creator, citing Apocalypse Now, Akira and Blade Runner as specific examples. Yet he also crafts a science fiction tale that genuinely feels fresh; different machines have unique designs, while the weaponry and vehicles feel far less futuristic than you might see in a Star Wars or Star Trek film.
‘The Creator’ Boasts a Magnificent Cast and Crew
In addition to Washington and Voyles, The Creator features a strong cast. The movie also stars Gemma Chan as Joshua’s wife Maya, Ken Watanabe as AI soldier Harun, Ralph Ineson, and Allison Janney. Edwards even tapped his Rogue One co-writer Chris Weitz to pen the script, while Oren Soffer’s cinematography gives the film a distinct visual identity (Grieg Fraser, who also shot Rogue One, worked on cinematography duties as well.) Finally, Hans Zimmer provides a stirring score; Zimmer is no stranger to sci-fi epics, having scored both Dune films and a number of Christopher Nolan‘s films including Inception and Interstellar. Despite the fact that there isn’t a post-credits scene, The Creator is absolutely worth watching – not just for the craft behind and in front of the camera, but also because it showcases the need for more original films in the science fiction landscape.
The Creator is currently streaming on Hulu in the U.S.
Watch on Hulu
