Artificial Intelligence - the idea that machines can simulate human intelligence processes - has become more and more prevalent worldwide in the past several years. While some embrace the idea, many more fear the development of AI because they are afraid computers will take over the world and enslave humans. This past Fall, Director Gareth Edwards (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) offered his version of what that concept might look like in the 20th Century Studios' release The Creator. Ten weeks later, fans can pick up the 4K combo pack when it hits stores this week.
The year is 2065 and ten years have passed since AI destroyed Los Angeles by detonating a nuclear bomb. Since then, humans have tried to destroy the robots by locating and killing "Nirmata", the person who supposedly created AI and the robots. Joshua Taylor (John David Washington; Tenet) is a part of the military team working undercover in New Asia to try and discover Nirmata's location.
Married to his informant, Maya (Gemma Chan; Crazy Rich Asians), and expecting their first child, Taylor is shocked when his unit unexpectedly arrives in a surprise raid. As Maya discovers Taylor's betrayal, The United States attacks, and she is allegedly killed in the blast. Five years later Taylor is approached by the US military to help locate Nirmata's lab and destroy the latest weapon dubbed Alpha O. While on the mission, Taylor discovers things may not be as cut and dry as they first seemed.
Edwards put together a fantastic cast and crew to pull off this epic tale. Washington utilizes his strengths as he portrays a soldier who begins to rethink his entire philosophy and Chan is wonderful as his wife who carries a dark secret. However, the best part of the cast is newcomer Madeleine Yuna Voyles who plays Alpha O. She has quite an expressive face and her portrayal of the AI machine Alpha O makes the film better.
With so many special effects, there is always a concern that the 2160p resolution will make the effects look fake but one can lay their fears to rest with this release. The video quality is outstanding - some of the best I have seen as a matter of fact. From the robots to the "space ships", everything is clean and well-defined. Even in the night sequences, the details are extremely sharp and the black levels offer tons of shading differences that make everything easy to see.
The Dolby Atmos is also very strong with sounds bombarding the viewer from all angles. Dialogue is crisp and explosions have a wealth of depth both visually and aurally. The combo pack had the 4K disc, Blu-ray Disc, and the digital download, but the only extra can be found on the Blu-ray Disc. True Love: Making The Creator is almost an hour long and gives a full view of the "behind the scenes" effort that went into filming the sci-fi saga. While the feature was informative and entertaining, it would have been interesting to see some deleted scenes, bloopers, etc.
The Creator has many checkmarks in its favor including a somewhat unique story, great acting, and excellent video and audio quality. While the plot can get somewhat confusing and the editing makes the film a little too long, it is a solid effort by Edwards. The Creator's biggest setback, if anything is that there are so many details to put into the plot, that they muddy the waters and the movie can become confusing upon first viewing. However, as Sci-fi movies go, this one may hover just below the top tier but is entertaining nonetheless.
Grade: B
