The Creator

Grade: D-

The AI robots in The Creator have a see-through hole in their heads, where ears should be, going from one end to the other. That’s appropriate, because, for me, the movie went in one ear and out the other. Whenever I get ready to watch a new film, I imagine an empty room in my brain that’s about to be filled. Here, the room is sparse, lonely, and hollow. The Creator is like watching a compilation of nothing but scenes from the middle of movies – with no tangible exposition or conclusion.

By now, John David Washington has established himself enough as an actor, that I probably no longer need to mention that he is Denzel’s son. This might be my last time noting how much he SOUNDS like his old man. In The Creator, it’s the year 2065, and humans are at war with AI robots. Washington’s character is…a human? I think? Sometimes maybe not? Whatever.

Five years after Washington’s pregnant wife is kidnapped, he is recruited to infiltrate a Death Star-like hovering airship known as NOMAD. Allison Janney barks orders at him. The movie is broken up into a handful of chapters or episodes, each with its own title card – which makes me think this would have been an ideal series, if there weren’t already so many like it. And once again, characters are generally soft, sullen, downtrodden, stiff, and joyless. Things like The Creator and Dune really aren’t selling me on how great the future’s going to be.

There are some great actors and excellent technical elements in The Creator. I feel like I should have gotten so much more out of it. Color me rattled. Why did I check out so easily? Why did I understand so little? Is it a problem with ME? And the ending – talk about having your cake and eating it, too. Did anyone else in the world find it really boring, confusing, and poorly executed? No other movie in 2023 has made me feel this broken, deficient, and inadequate.

Grade: D-