The Terminator films warned us of the dangers of A. I., while the Spielberg/Kubrick movie A. I. painted a different picture in which robots served mankind. Gareth Edwards' The Creator gives us another take on the subject, bringing us a future where America has waged war on intelligent machines to cover up for an accidental nuclear explosion on home soil.
Edwards' film tries to blend sci-fi and action with the ethical issues surrounding artificial intelligence, but in doing so it becomes something of a mess, one that clumsily combines big-budget CGI extravaganza with hamfisted morality, with intended emotionally charged scenes hampered by some truly lousy dialogue (poor Madeleine Yuna Voyles, as Alphie, is given all the worst lines -- Kami: What do you want, sweetie? Alphie: For robots to be free. Gack!).
The film also doesn't make a whole lot of sense at times: I realise that the simulants are supposed to be very human-like, but did they really need to eat and drink? And cry? And why were some simulants young, and others old (one simulant is a decrepit Tibetan monk! Why would he be made like that?). And if Maya created Alphie before she got blasted into a coma, why would she have used her unborn child as the template? (to further the film's plot, of course!).
It's a shame that the script isn't less problematic, because the film is amazing to look at, a triumph of special effects and incredible production design: it's the stunning visuals that helped me make it to the end.
4.5/10, generously rounded up to 5 for IMDb.
Edwards' film tries to blend sci-fi and action with the ethical issues surrounding artificial intelligence, but in doing so it becomes something of a mess, one that clumsily combines big-budget CGI extravaganza with hamfisted morality, with intended emotionally charged scenes hampered by some truly lousy dialogue (poor Madeleine Yuna Voyles, as Alphie, is given all the worst lines -- Kami: What do you want, sweetie? Alphie: For robots to be free. Gack!).
The film also doesn't make a whole lot of sense at times: I realise that the simulants are supposed to be very human-like, but did they really need to eat and drink? And cry? And why were some simulants young, and others old (one simulant is a decrepit Tibetan monk! Why would he be made like that?). And if Maya created Alphie before she got blasted into a coma, why would she have used her unborn child as the template? (to further the film's plot, of course!).
It's a shame that the script isn't less problematic, because the film is amazing to look at, a triumph of special effects and incredible production design: it's the stunning visuals that helped me make it to the end.
4.5/10, generously rounded up to 5 for IMDb.