2023 has brought numerous exciting or noteworthy releases to the big screen. Especially over the summer, countless roaringly popular movies captured everyone’s attention (especially a certain two). These summer blockbusters might make it difficult for some of fall’s movies to stand a chance. However, numerous new and innovative films have come out within the span of September to October that are worth discussing.
In particular, the new science fiction film The Creator came out on September 29 this year. Reviews online contain varying opinions, but it is hard to deny the movie’s innovative concept. The basic premise of the movie is that there has been an ongoing war between artificial intelligence and human beings. Throughout the movie, both the resistance from AI for peace and the effort of the American military to cease the existence of AI are depicted. The movie is just over two hours long and is rated PG-13.
As stated earlier, the movie certainly has an interesting concept. The idea of AI or robots taking over the world might seem cliché at this point, but the movie certainly creates a new and fresh idea of what that scenario would actually look like. This is especially true since, rather than having AI want to take over humans, The Creator establishes that the AI truly just wants to live peacefully with human beings. So, the movie does raise thought-provoking questions about the cost of human fear, the possible pitfalls of technological development, and the extent of human empathy.
While the movie makes the watcher think, there are still issues with the film. The main issue is that the AI aspect became somewhat confusing and convoluted towards the finale. The movie implies that there are different forms in which AI can present itself. However, the abilities of AI amongst themselves become confusing. For example, the main AI character, Alphie, is shown to have extraordinary abilities. However, the film does not sufficiently elaborate this, in my opinion. And, unless there is a sequel in the making, this part of the film could have been a severely missed opportunity for even more in-depth world-building.
However, with incredible performances from the entire cast (notably John David Washington, who plays Joshua, and Madeleine Yuna Voyles, who plays Alphie), gorgeous visuals, and an impactful story of human-to-human and even human-to-AI connection, the film overall should be notable in the sea of this year’s movies.
