Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: THE CREATOR [Fantastic Fest 2023 - Austin, Texas]
The aspect of loss is an interesting connotation but it depends how deep it goes. With anything Gareth Edwards does going forward, there will always be a reference point to "Rogue One", both good and bad...and both for approach but also connotation of ability. Edwards is a master filmmaker but his concepts, as he does them, sometimes don't go far enough. The essence in much of his written context seems extremely hopeful, almost to the point of wishful thinking. He does something interesting in that way with "The Creator", showing that within a breaking point. It has its impact but considering the beauty and depth of what the trailers gave (and comparatively to what he filmed), it is a little hard to reconcile it against the final movie (but not by much). There is an antecendent of a different war film but one bathed in the immigration in the Far East (more specifically Vietnam and that war).
There has been some talk about how Edwards used real locations and integrated that into the effects work to keep the budget down. It was a tactic he used on "Monsters" and it is great to see him bring this to a studio movie as well (as "Rogue" did). "The Creator" is very uniquely his and yet its impact is not as much as one would like. Again maybe expectations are too high. When this reviewer first saw the "Godzilla" trailer with the Halo jump, it just blew one's mind because here was someone who understood and relished Stanley Kubrick's aesthetic. But Edwards is not Kubrick. Christopher Nolan is closer but he too is a different animal. But the concepts are the thing. "The Creator" has something big to say but like "Ad Astra" (directed by James Gray) in a smaller way, it never quite gets to the level it needs to say it. It does say something dynamic and it moves the film to its last moments.
John David Washington is well suited here but this is not "Tenet". There needs to be something bigger moving him. There is something for sure and it propels the movie but it is more reactionary than understanding truly what it means. This MacGuffin in a way is more a plot ploy than a transcendence. The placement of the antagonist is interesting especially in how we as Americans view ourselves more versus how we are seen in the world (which is always an interesting juxtaposition). That is not a failure of the film but the way it has to reflect the nihilistic aspect of one of the main characters against his superior (who in a way reflects a more than passing Stephen Lang comparison in "Avatar"). The problem by that character in comparison is that she gives a good reason for her actions but the way the movie is built you don't quite feel it is as one-sided as it becomes. Again, the comparative to "Rogue One" needs to be made (no offense to Edwards because making this kind of original film, with a big look and idea within the sci fi genre should always be applauded and encouraged) but at the final moment it is not quite the same for whatever reason. B+
By Tim Wassberg
