The Creator - Flawed Brilliance

The Creator, written and directed by Gareth Edwards, is a highly ambitious new science fiction movie that manages to do a lot on its $80 Million budget, but suffers from a slightly muddled script that isn't quite able to juggle its many themes and characters.

[@Rembreiker_lychec9257]

Fun fact: Apparently, Gareth Edwards didn't want to start working on the VFX until they had the final frames and footage that they were actually going to use in the movie, so in the end, it didn't have to cost like $300M for it to look this beautiful. He had a clear vision of what he wanted to make and didn't waste people's time. We really need more of these. 😅

[@LycanVisuals]

Many people in hollywood for some reason just do NOT do their due diligence in pre-production.

[@R3TR0J4N]

omg that practicality. now if other big studios moment 😏

[@Strobobel]

He shoulda taken over the Star Wars franchise

[@OmDahake]

that's actually just logical thinking, what's surprising is that most of the studios and directors are not smart enough to do that

[@inendlesspain4724]

​@@LycanVisuals A lot of people in modern day Hollywood are unqualified for their job. Yes, I'm talking about the "activists posing as creators and artists" types who think the quality of the final product comes second to THE MESSAGE, and aren't responsible with their production spendings since they have no awareness of economics and it's all money from the studios anyway.

[@Jonathan_Collins]

The fact that this had an $80 million budget and looked THIS GOOD should illustrate the problems with budgetary waste in movies.

[@Zathren]

A valid point to be sure. Now that the strokes are over, hopefully they'll learn their lesson with these bloated budgets.

[@Stephen64138]

It may also explain why I've never heard of this movie before. aka. publicity is expensive.

[@GIBBO4182]

@@Stephen64138the production budget has nothing to do with the promotion budget! His point is still extremely valid

[@floydlooney6837]

$80 million is a lot if you aren't paying the stars $10-25 million each.

[@andyrajski1793]

Exactly. I'd rather have 4 of these movies than one bloated marvel film that costs 300 million to make.

[@EWrayB]

For what it’s worth, I appreciate that the people making it were trying to do something original and entertaining. I can respect that.

[@CowboyRobot2000]

Even though it's basically 'Rogue One...'

[@EWrayB]

@@CowboyRobot2000 I guess so. Either way it was decent enough.

[@dw620]

@@CowboyRobot2000 And not quite enough Apolcalypse Now?

[@IBTU]

How was it original??? It’s a copy and paste idea

[@EWrayB]

@@dw620 gonna put my hands up and say that I’ve never seen Apocalypse now.

[@kindle139]

if you ignore all the plot holes and logical inconsistencies, this was a pretty movie.

[@johnnichols8553]

Yeah, I agree. The NOMAD itself looked cool, but made no logical sense. At the end of the movie I kept thinking, if it can launch missiles hundreds of miles, why does it bother waiting until it's directly over a target? And speaking of that, in the end scenes, it appeared to be over many places all at the same time, yet there's only one NOMAD, so what was up with that?

[@jymirphua8680]

​@@johnnichols8553i think they built nomad cos if you launch missles from your own country to another it can get shot down uk so ig its better to launch the missles from directly above so that they cant be intercepted

[@johndoe688]

Submarines though. Or planes

[@Cold_Cactus]

​​@@jymirphua8680this statement is so stupid it makes my head hurt

[@miriamweller812]

Would have been easy to fix the problems. Overall less action for example and if then more meaningful. The stupid action scenes were by far the biggest problem and thanks to being stupid didn't feel as threatening as they should.

[@PlayerOne.StartGame]

"Avatar 2 looked nice, but it was as intellectually engaging as Teletubbies" Drinker's commentary is a gift that keeps on giving

[@firstlast9846]

NGL, I thought Avatar 2 *didn’t need* the “Sky people” plot again.. that moment they show of Jake Sully sat with his kids watching them argue and trying to pick up their language was infinitely more interesting than the colonel returning.. could’ve been a whole drama about him having to fight another tribe.. but I didn’t hate the version we got.

[@officialthomasjames]

@@firstlast9846 facts. They need to expand the Avatar universe. The narrative of fighting humans again and again is so lame.

[@thefullmetaltitan9732]

@@officialthomasjamesApparently, the next movie is supposed to be about them fighting another tribe.

[@hilliajf]

But but but... it had fish people... they had to learn how to swim... WHALES ARE GOOD!

[@Valiantes_Studios]

Disagree. If you didn't get anything out of the characters in avatar 2, a superior movie to the derivative part 1, than you were "too "focused on the Visuals". In an odd way the Visuals in Avatar 2 can actually distract from a good story and Good characters.

[@TheRealMeaney]

to do this with 80 million dollars while marvel is burning hundreds of millions for less-than-trash is an achievement in itself

[@johnferrara5249]

You can keep a movie budget low when you have no-name actors.

[@Gainn]

Using footage from the Beirut dock explosion probably saved them a few quid.

[@wernervanpeppen4873]

That's actually the trailer company effin up. @@Gainn

[@axelhopfinger533]

@@johnferrara5249 Or when you can do the usually expensive stuff in a movie far cheaper with new and innovative techniques and cutting out most of the studio-industrial complex from the equation for a much more lean and dynamic production. Also avoiding the massive, incestuous and nepotistic, progressive-liberal parasitic overhead of Hollywood in favor of dedicated and competent professionals who actually know what they're doing should not be underestimated.

[@jackmesrel4933]

​@axelhopfinger533 Also the fact that this movie was probably planned from the start or at least had a guideline to go along, so the usual " do 5 different scenes and cobble them up together" shit Hollywood has been doing for half a decade is not present here, hence the CGI department can do their damn work properly.

[@theonlydoopymcdoopface275]

Fun fact, this entire film was shot on a Sony fx3, a camera that costs 4,000. Most Hollywood films have a camera wroth around 90,000

[@eliasrosas2310]

thats awesome, where did you learn what camera they used? im always curious about how everyone knows little tidbits like this about movies

[@LoneWooff]

IMDB Tech Specs@@eliasrosas2310

[@DonDmoney95]

@@eliasrosas2310the director has been open about it in interviews 😊

[@imemovengeance]

That's rad

[@tashvadj4914]

@@eliasrosas2310 IMDB Pro, details page of any title. :)

[@Afineaddition]

This movie was just so gorgeous to look it. Loved the blend between current and futuristic and how the story world began because of a Judgment Day-esque event

[@worsethanhitlerpt.2539]

The part where he was climbing on the Space Station was insane even though the NOMAD was depicted as being in Space it appeared to be only 1000 feet high in some scenes

[@rivitril5440]

​@@worsethanhitlerpt.2539 because it's such a massive ship that it looks close, like the moob

[@masterofpuppets5568]

Flaws aside, its so good to see an original story, and for a limited budget it looks lightyears better than the 300 million marvel shite we are currently getting. Hopefully a sign of things to come. Also i will never look at the tele tubbies the same way again.

[@NorbertKasko]

In the 300 million Marvel "shite" the actors are usually well-known "big" names and they are pocketing like 20-25 million each. That is a really big chunk of the budget.

[@masterofpuppets5568]

@@NorbertKasko True, begs the question are they worth it with all the flops their in.

[@NorbertKasko]

@@masterofpuppets5568 For that circle of people who are involved in this it's definitely worth it. The money stays in the team.

[@FoulPet]

TT is made for adults under heavy medication.

[@leskijin4988]

The Marvels coming with a 270 millions dollars budget. Gosh.

[@retroverdrive]

The visuals alone make The Creator worth watching. The robot designs are a particular highlight. Futuristic and otherworldly, but anthropomorphic enough to be relatable.

[@davidback2144]

They were entirely too human, to the point it just seemed weird. Robot monks? The Animatrix told this story a lot better. But the visuals were absolutely grand.

[@_Hal9000]

Robot design was meh. Story was meh. Visuals were ok. Music was not good. Overal sub meh.

[@LuisSierra42]

I liked every time Nomad was on screen, It really felt ominous

[@Cowboycomando54]

I honestly prefer seeing the more grounded, industrial, and function over form robots in sci-fi, hence why I liked the ones in Chappie and Elysium.

[@ethanweimer-kopf6907]

@@davidback2144 I thought I was the only one who thought this was basically a live action Animatrix! I love it though!

[@benjamin3044]

I want to see the directors cut. Assuming there is one. A lot of it felt super rushed and I wanted to see some of the plot and long term implications of character actions flushed out more.

[@chrisparky]

I doubt there is one, Edwards said the first cut was five hours, he then edited to the length you see. The key was they FINISHED the film edited to exact length, THEN he handed the finished film to the FX people and said paint in the rest. Marvel!! are you listening!!

[@klauspumpkin6876]

I agree. The editing was trash I thought. Not seemless amd left a lot of gaps or inconsistencies

[@michaelhall1688]

Yeah, I believe the studio probably had the director to shave it down for REASONS. Wish a longer version gets released.

[@mriconoclast13]

Fleshed out more

[@LeLiuOfficial]

Yup when they started editing, it was 5 hours long. I feel we need those 5 hours to explore all the backstories and themes.

[@ofmanyone]

This should have been an entire show with at least one season

[@sagelobu]

BIG YES

[@At_Amsterdam]

No more shows ples

[@Poganhap]

Most shows have a first season

[@HeavyJEdgar]

Why? fucking NO! you can get the idea in 2 hours, no need of overextending it with unnecessary characters and subplots...

[@pz4642]

but shows usually get way less budget for each episode especially if its original so it wouldn't look as good

[@mew10521]

Whether it's a hit or flop; it's better than watching a superhero movie or something from Disney

[@aliasfakename2267]

It was very predictable but fun to watch, lots of eye candy

[@Simon-xc5oy]

Yes that is true. And also if its only cost 80 million it has a good chance to break even and go into profit fairly fast, even if it gets a smaller audience....Which is a good thing.

[@kotor610]

My viewing party actually talked about it as we left the theater. It's more than I can say for the handful of other movies I've seen this year.

[@benclarke299]

To be completely fair, this is a film from Disney. They own 20th Century Studios.

[@iaincameron8056]

it was a good cinema experience watching something not mainstream Disney/Marvel/sh*te, with no influence from Bob or Kathleen.

[@otakuon]

This was obviously a movie in which the people behind it made a bunch of cool looking concept art and said "how can we film this and make it into a movie?" It’s like Gareth Edwards looked through a Simon Stålenhag art book and was like “I want to make a movie that looks like this”. The plot had some many contrivances that it made my head hurt by the end of the movie so many "but why" mopments.

[@lanchanoinguyen2914]

I had the exact same thoughts about the movie.

[@zhouenlai2569]

I also had to think of "Electric State" and "Tales from the Loop" while watching this, which was great.

[@tenacioustubbs8358]

I did enjoy it but you’re absolutely correct. The repeated tactical and strategic incompetence of the AI frequently took me out of the movie.

[@tules6062]

I can't find it but I remember Gareth Edwards explaining how he designed a sequence based on a shot he had in his head for Rogue One . . .

[@ragedracer1977]

@@tenacioustubbs8358 I can’t figure out how they never noticed this thing the size of Connecticut approaching until it was 30 seconds away

[@Daemonik]

Watched this movie on Sunday. I was frustrated with it, because it was _so close_ to being really good. I agree with CD in that it was trying to do too much. And this meant that a lot of the things it was trying to do just didn't get enough time to be explored. If Edwards had reduced the things he was trying to do by 25% and spent a bit more time on each, it would have been so much better. The entire part about it _not_ being the AI that triggered the LA catastrophe, and that the entire "war against the machines" was based on a lie (or misunderstanding? We never find out) really needed more exploration, to look at the theme of governments being either malicious or incompetent. If they manufactured the war against AI, why? I loved so much of what was touched on, but was frustrated that it was only touched on. AI developing religion? The nature of sentience? "World police"? Overwhelming firepower without oversight? Yes! Give us more of this! Oh, we've moved on to an explosion. Also leaned a little too heavy on the Vietnam-allegory visuals.

[@davidburton9690]

False Flag LA bombing is what I expected as per the formula. I was surprised to not see it. But if I didn't see that, I needed to see the AI's rationale. I needed to see not just the AI-ban, but why didn't the AI fight back before New Asia? I liked that the AI forces don't always fight clean, that they are implicated in torture and brutality if on a smaller scale than the US. I loved the visuals, loved the actors. I even loved the child actor, not precocious or sappy or anything like that. A few nitpicks. When Nomad is targeting everything at the end with all of the missiles, the cool targeting projection is moving around the world. Moving around the world in three different places? Why couldn't the kid turn off the Death Squid? Hell, hack it and make it open the pod door. America's tactics are much much worse than Vietnam. Why does New Asia still have police? Electricity? I guess civilians are a higher targeting priority than armed belligerents and infrastructure. and Domino Theory this ain't. New Asia is successfully contained. Overall, I liked it.

[@peterk2735]

Agree 100%, learning that the AI weren’t responsible for the bomb really took away from the story in my opinion. It made the conflict so black & white, taking away all the moral ambiguity out of the equation

[@fractality9676]

I personally htink this was masterpiece

[@snakedogman]

Yeah in the end it was just another (white) people/Americans evil, ai robots and magical mystical eastern people good kind of story. It was even less subtle than fucking Avatar.

[@Stevie-L-n8g]

I couldn't have said it better myself. Oh wait, I just did! But you are spot on, it could have been so much more.

[@MGLeal]

One of the things I noticed was how the humans & robots switched. As the movie progressed the humans came of as cold killing machines, even fashioning their helmets like the robots they’re chasing. The robots were acting more human, acting like parents to the children in their care or practicing Buddhism to the point that they chose being executed over fighting the human invaders.

[@bestwitch2931]

One thing that was so striking to me I think is the parrelels with just the violence that has been inflicted on people by countries like the US and I think for at me least you see that “they don’t care, there’s no difference to them between a person and a robot, an animal, a person, a soul, a mind or a machine” they kill indiscriminately because they destroy everything that’s against their interests and you think about the very real things that have happened to people that are really not considered people when they are being bombed and tortured and invaded and for as excellent a movie as it is it’s also very hard to watch with that in mind.

[@KriegKnight]

They’re robots, they can’t feel emotions I don’t know why it’s such a moral dilemma. There’s not much to think about, robots have programmed emotions they literally can’t feel nor truly understand human emotions.

[@TincMetals]

Yes, it's propaganda in favor of AI. No, destroy it. End AI. Don't need robo Satan.

[@gregcampbell5454]

I too enjoyed Terminator 2

[@HowToChangeName]

It really left me with impression of are you really any better than anyone you killed so far

[@rampage222555]

A big chunk of money was saved because he used a small $3000 camera to film the whole movie that had very high light sensitivity. They were able to save money from complex lighting in set pieces and the camera was light enough that they could film all the scenes without relying on expensive machines and vehicles to move around the sets. He filmed the movie, making sure there would be no need for any reshoots and had a clear vision for special effects. Extremely efficient film making. This movie isn't really doing too hot at the box office. Hopefully it can catch wind in the second weekend. If not, I'm not too confident he will get an original film with writing credits any time soon. One thing for sure though, is that Gareth Edwards is going to get offers from just about everyone.

[@comdrive3865]

yeah he's probably going to become the sci-fi film making guru

[@metamesh1]

no, a film camera such as alexa or red camera is more expensive sure, but not that much more compared to the whole budget of a movie, instead of 3000 it costs 30.000, that's nothing. They saved money cos the planning and pre production was way better than most of the big vfx movies.

[@inqinst1323]

You should watch the director’s interview he tells a lot about this camera setup. The were able to use lighter rigs, smaller lights, because of this they were able to travel a lot with a smaller crew, it had a huge impact on the whole production.

[@helloo2620]

Hope not. Movie is terrible

[@danjun7986]

They didn’t make a profit though 😢

[@SeraphsWitness]

It was okay. You hit the nail on the head. My biggest issue is the fundamental philosophical underpinnings that I disagree with. They went the very lazy route of, "humans are basically machines, so what special rights do we have over AI?" Which is a rather horrifying and dangerous position to take when you really sit down and ponder it. This is where District 9 did such a great job. They didn't use cuteness as a crutch for making you care about the "other" group. They made the prawns ugly and unlikeable physically, which gave them the even harder task of making you care about them. They started out creating nuance in the American army, but by the end they fell into the Avatar trap of making them cartoonishly evil and entirely unsympathetic. When in reality, their motivation was entirely justified, given that Los Angeles was literally NUKED. So overall it was well-executed, but left the philosophical angle under developed. They could have explored the nature of consciousness more. And rather than taking the cheap Walking Dead angle ("WE ARE THE WALKING DEAD!"), they could have taken a counter-cultural approach of Human Exceptionalism. Which happens to be the correct view, by the way.

[@nerychristian]

I agree. I think the movie was very good. But it had the potential to become an instant sci-fi classic. If only they would have rewritten the final 20 mins of the movie. The ending was pretty predictable. I think the movie would have made a bigger impact if they show that Alphie is killed in the military base. Then the black guy runs away, and takes the flash drive with his wife's consciousness back to Asia. So the ending could be a bit of a cliff hanger. Because it leaves the door open to a sequel.

[@grimmWednesday]

Very well said. I was disappointed that TCD didn’t address the striking (and wrongheaded) moral claims of the movie.

[@SeraphsWitness]

yea, it is sadly predictable. The prevailing societal view is that humans are nothing more than complex machines. It's really a depressing notion.@@grimmWednesday

[@TheSweetTeaGuy]

I really gotta watch District 9 again one of these days. I love that movie.

[@maxcarlson3223]

Yes! Thank you!

[@bloodrunsclear]

Gareth is like a big joyful child who doesn't realize all his ideas have been done before, but he doesn't really care because filmmaking is SO COOL!

[@Tom-sd9jb]

In reality, the search for originality is as a lost cause, because it has all essentially been done before. Especially in storytelling; most of the stories we love are rehashes and re-skins of tales as old as civilization. They're loved for a reason. Personally, I'm all in for rehashed ideas approached with a different vision. I'm just happy these days to watch a film that doesn't run my face in "the message".

[@bloodrunsclear]

@@Tom-sd9jb It's not so much that SOME it is rehashed, it's that ALL of it is rehashed. There isn't a single even amalgamated original concept here. I'm glad he had fun making it but it's said when derivative and NOT-woke is the closest we can get to good anymore.

[@astra004]

@@bloodrunsclear One of the merits is I.m.o. that I never felt ignited to think about sex, gender, skin or ethnicity while I watched the movie.

[@kimberlyhartman4865]

As a disabled person, I’m actually glad that his prosthetics didn’t give him any new abilities. I was expecting that because it’s such an easy trope. But he simply went thru his life disabled without calling attention to it. I love that, thank you.

[@CarlWheatley-wi2cl]

With this bomb it's doubtful he's going to get work again anytime soon.

[@urbanstarship]

I was so impressed with this movie that any flaws were easily forgiven. Solid characters, emotional story, and a gorgeous world that was totally immersive. Definitely getting the 4k disc next month.

[@moonbeeps]

Really? It was a dull story and extremely big plot holes. Made 0 sense. Visual effects dont impress me.

[@45641560456405640563]

​@@moonbeepsLOL, I hope typing that out was empowering.

[@c4rb0n40]

​@@moonbeepsi think that the story was pretty enjoyable, and the visual effects were some of the best ive seen this year

[@efe_aydal]

Gareth Edwards is like an idol for all indie filmmakers. The movie "Monsters" was very skillfully made.

[@ravioth]

Yes King🤟🏼

[@raimesey]

Monsters is a brilliant film. I love the way it’s shot and that the director lets scenes ‘breath’. I’ve not watched it in a while, I think I’ll change that soon.

[@disayle68]

His Godzilla was pretty awesome too.

[@Neonradss]

@@disayle68 It was a bit heavy on the human drama and the teasing monster fights then cutting away multiple times was annoying but it was better than the rest of the western Godzilla movies.

[@diobrando5896]

Monsters is hot garbage

[@LivingFire_BurningFlame]

I'm definitely seeing this in the theater, even if just for the fact it's an original film that's not a sequel/prequel/reboot/remake of an existing franchise, this is the sort of films I want to support and see more of.

[@bluecollarloser6654]

Saw it once in Imax and going tonight for Rpx. Brilliant movie visually and best I've seen all year in theaters

[@R3TR0J4N]

worth it, did the same

[@Chadius_Thundercock]

Originality isn’t always a good thing, plus this is just a rouge one copy

[@avenewx3010]

I saw it on Saturday. It’s very good.

[@ethan-qm8gu]

You talk about originality but I seen this comment like 5 times before 😂

[@logicalVerne]

Imo, this should have been three movies: a movie to explore and understand the Father, a movie to explore and understand the Child, and finally a movie to explore and understand the Mother. Each adds a level of complexity and depth to the story, and how the lines being blurred between biology and technology can lead to some very extreme moral and ethical quandries. That being said, at the end Hans Zimmer was absolutely in his bag with the score, and it really elevated the scenes to another level.

[@osmanyousif7849]

Well, considering hoe the studio was thinking about making sequels to the movie, maybe these things will be explored. Edit: I was mistaken.

[@gildor8866]

These days many people are glad to have a standalone movie for a change, not one that will finish its stories in sequels that will never come (Alita Battle-Angel comes to mind).

[@bmacaulay18]

The odds of getting a Peter Jackson like trilogy upfront theses days is about like getting hit by lightning twice in the same day. Even if a great story could truly benefit from that the current 3 second attention span tiktok generation would never "get it".

[@philliprosewood7049]

Exactly movies like this are hard to come back nowadays

[@Сайтамен]

@@osmanyousif7849 Gareth Edwards said there will be no sequel.

[@agentlongwood]

The visual style of this movie is incredible. And it reminded me so much of Ghost in the Shell. (The anime, not the live action). When they raid the lab, all the tubes and piping and wiring on the walls, the giant door to the vault, even the shape of the AI robot heads. It's like a gorgeous tribute to 90's and 00's anime. Ghost in the Shell, Akira, Appleseed... I absolutely loved it.

[@fgarza]

It actually reminded me of Akira a bit.

[@alexanderchapman6529]

There was even this retro anime-esque show Alphie (the child) was watching where these humans were fighting the NOMAD by firing laser weapons at it.

[@nixon6216]

It's said that after final edit the film was 5hrs long. They had to trim it to the usual feature length.. I believe it was even more engaging and the plot points we felt were glossed over were probably in the original cut. I really hope we get to see an extended version I'd definetly buy that.

[@prberg2]

Agree for sure! I hold out hope that an extended version would fill out some of the areas that just didn't get the attention they deserved.

[@thejman3489]

Same thing happened with Fury. With all the scenes together it was initially about 4 hours. The director was very diligent about taking out any scenes that didn't move the plot along simply to cut the time down. When you watch all the deleted and extended scenes it really builds the characters and shows a lot more of what the soldiers were doing when there wasn't much to do.

[@stansb37]

Hopefully.. but I doubt that since they had the film to be cut down to 2 hours before they added the cgi

[@nixon6216]

@@stansb37 oh yeah, shux..

[@miltonmilton5695]

@@nixon6216 5 hours? Wow. If that's the case, then sign me up for the extended/directors cut. I want to see the full vision. It's good in its current state, but does leave something to be desired. Still miles above the typical Hollyweird dreck though.

[@tylergoodman3560]

I was pleasantly surprised by how well "The Creator" was overall. It got from point a to point b without dragging on longer than it needed to. The characters felt real, like you can see what motivated them all. The plot could have addressed some issues about the machines and the war a little better, but I feel like a sequel could help explain things better in the future. Great video drinker. 🎉

[@pattheriot3963]

And no BS cop-outs at the end for good measure.

[@cyborgchicken3502]

You know what's wild as well? It has a diverse cast of characters too, many non white, many female leads ....and yet it's still pretty good overall, which just goes to prove that you can have diversity in films and make them work if you focus on the story and character development rather than trying to preach to your audience about identity politics....heck it even has an anti war message too and even that doesn't feel preachy or doesn't gaslight the audience in any way either....why can't more Hollywood writers follow this example?

[@RTH140]

Man… I really love when Sci-Fi is done well and given the care and attention it deserves. I hope we get to see more of that in the future… but I hold that hope loosely

[@jandro8370]

Very hard to make a bad Sci fi movie. Making a good one is catching lightning in a bottle.

[@burntnougat5341]

This isn't a good scifi

[@cleawox]

It's flawed but good. Everyone please go see this. They gotta put that superhero money theyve been wasting into something - let it be ambitious original sci fi!

[@RTH140]

@@burntnougat5341 Yeah, my original comment was worded unclearly. I wasn’t talking about this particular film, just sci-fi in general. I haven’t seen this one yet. I was more trying to contribute to Drinker’s general comments about sci-fi films towards the beginning of the video. Sorry for the confusion 👍🏻

[@reggie18b]

Me too. If you haven't seen Annihilation from 2018 you should watch it. Somehow it passed me by at the time, yet it's one of the most original sci fi films I've seen.

[@DPham1]

"Flawed Brilliance" is exactly how I'd describe this movie. There are some things seriously wrong with this movie like some things that just don't make sense, just like how Joshua feels about the AI. But the damn movie won me over as it went on and by the end had me feeling some serious emotions, just like how Joshua felt about the AI and Alphie. This movie is far from perfect, but I love it. I need to watch the damn thing again but in IMAX this time.

[@worsethanhitlerpt.2539]

Creator doesnt follow Formula like all the other movies like this I would recommend it for that alone but the movie succeeds on all levels for me the ending was good

[@emuman09]

I feel like the movie totally dropped the ball on establishing a connection between Alfie and Joshua Washington was totally miscast I feel, I don't think we barely learn anything about Joshua other than he was married and she was pregnant and he loved her

[@FreeFlyerUk]

Best thing about it.... No woke, diversity shite.

[@jojogh10]

Absolutely feel the same

[@MrSarollia]

"yes... it's one of those movies" as I suspected but thanks Drinker.

[@MrSarollia]

saw this evening... yup its one of those movies... when Edwards did Rogue One he had the editors edit a cut using 100's of clips from other films - this was invaluable in timing, editing and post production. It seems for The Creator he may have collected scenes, ideas, etc from other films and a lot from his own - Monsters, Rogue One etc to create an alternate first draft to map out the beats and the characters of this film then got to work on the script. Echoes of many films in this. If he did what he did for Rogue One with regards to assembling a cut from different films this will go a long way to explaining why he was able to manage so much on such a relatively low budget. Also do understand that has a background in VFX so can shoot with post in mind saving money as opposed to the many Marvel directors who come from indie films with little or no effects grounding. Edwards - a smart and talented filmmaker - I am a fan. This film? - seen it all before.

[@davidbrinnen]

Saw it yesterday. Sci-fi, visually top-notch, excellent sound too - combined with a selection of interesting characters and ideas. It is a good film. I hope people go out and see it so that we can have more nice things from this director. What is more, it was not rammed full of "the message" - something that I think many viewers of this channel will appreciate.

[@TheZonecaptain]

fk yes, I really enjoyed this one, it does have a diverse cast but not pushing agendas to your faces, such a breath of fresh air

[@kn3448]

A young girl who's the key to everything. Yeah, that's not pushing THE MESSAGE is it! Also, a leading male character who's not only black (plenty of those in the past) but also happens to have a prosthetic arm and leg, so disabled as well. No pushing of THE MESSAGE there at all. I'm surprised they didn't drop in a line to explain that he's both gay and a muslim as well!

[@LyaksandraB]

So all it takes for people to stop seeing the cultural motive is just hiding it a little bit better than rubbing it in their faces. No wonder we ended up here.

[@whatcomesafter9389]

@@kn3448go outside please, the air is begging

[@Pizvo]

@@kn3448 Oh come on! Nobody gave a shit about Will Smith being black and having a prosthetic arm in I, robot. Or LeVar Burton being blind in Star Trek. It's practically a trope by now. Not everything is a product of an agenda, ffs.

[@peterslaby9782]

Guys I think we need to support original movies like this so i'll plan to see it. Flawed or not it's still an original creative vision and we don't see that too much these days.

[@jandro8370]

Barely see it at all. The sad thing this is the first time I'm seeing anything about this movie. Have not seen a single ad for this film on anything.

[@Big_time_949]

Same and the AI vs humans has been a tired movie plot for a long time. It's original in the sense that it's not a fuckin superhero movie. But it's actually not that original. Doing a movie biopic about some random nobody who isn't Tiktok famous or famous at all would be interesting. That might be more original

[@Big_time_949]

Hell, I'd watch a biopic about the critical drinker

[@Alpha23TV]

I did the same bud. This review is 111.9% accurate! You can tell everyone associated with this CARED! And at the end of the day, that matters most!

[@Big_time_949]

@@Alpha23TV True, in the end it's all about the entertainment

[@Karzir1]

I enjoyed this film a lot, mostly due to the visuals and world building. Gareth Edwards says he has no plans for a sequel which is the right move, however, I would love to see another, unrelated story set in this world. The Blade Runner/Cyberpunk visuals were too engaging to not revisit in some way.

[@DangleSan]

I couldn't finish it I was very intrigued but figured out the plot in the first 20 minutes, They didn't add anything to hold my attention and honestly The world building was the weakest part, this was just a poor execution of remixing elements ghost in a shell perfected, Tried watching this movie 3 times just couldn't finish it the third time I watched it with someone hoping it would get me to the end

[@iwantgoals1566]

I agree but I think Garth Edwards should just do a live action show or movie based in the Cyberpunk universe. He handled the VFX so incredibly well that I have no doubt he’d really be able to bring the Cyberpunk universe to life.

[@darksidemachining]

Based on this review, may actually break a 4 year hiatus from going to the cinema.

[@frankie3010]

Nah, man. This ain't a movie deserving of breaking that hiatus.

[@williammccormick984]

That's just fucking stupid. Why wouldn't you go to the movies?

[@bluecollarloser6654]

Lol i would let you use my Regal app if i could. Movie was visually amazing. I enjoyed the plot points moreso then drinker, but i feel the spoilers hit me differently

[@Gojirawars03]

It’s worth it. We need creatively driven and original endeavors like this to do well again.

[@aliensoup2420]

Thats impressive. I have only broken my theater boycott to see DUNE and Avatar 2.

[@MatthewVlossak]

In interviews, Gareth said the original cut was 5+ hours! And then they cut it down to 2:30mins and then cut out another 15 mins. I would love to see a longer version as I felt some plot points were rushed along with character development. Still an amazing film!

[@gasstationbathroominnevada]

I would've been happy to get a trilogy 🤷‍♂️

[@romankotas448]

@@gasstationbathroominnevadaI kept thinking that’s what was being set up

[@DomSithe]

holy christ can you feel that. this movie was butchered in the most loving and caring way i've ever seen a movie made. Like a film version of a bonsai tree that manages to grow an apple the whole size of itself.

[@verlinswarey507]

Wow

[@letsburn00]

You can absolutely feel that they cut out a bunch of stuff. The most jarring thing was that they clearly cut out 30 minutes set inside the fort in LA and replaced it with a 1 minute scene which made no sense. Also clearly removed was complexities about the Americans. There was a single reference to an antiwar group in the US, but it was almost all expunged and didn't make sense and the US was just the galactic Empire.

[@HeisenbergFam]

"Avatar 2 looked nice, but it was as intellectually engaging as Teletubbies" Drinker's commentary is a gift that keeps on giving

[@hectorpalacios5527]

"Relies too much in convinience and coincidence to keep things running forward" That's exactly what I felt. Didn't like it, it's a shame because there's a lot of effort here, but if the plot doesn't add up, it's difficult.

[@caleidoo]

Me too. Just the discovery of the "secret weapon". An entire special ops team drops everything during the most important mission of their lifetime, to go rescue a team mate that is getting shot at? That was such a ridiculous way to make sure the main character discovered the secret all by himself. Convenient. Same as NOMAD (a flying city) and huge loud tanks popping up behind people, as if they didn't see them or hear them coming from miles away. Things like that destroy all suspension of disbelief, it takes me out of the movie entirely. It's insulting to me, as the viewer, really.

[@Saeronor]

@@caleidoo It's a beautiful movie that should've been made 50+ years ago. Anything later gives audience no excuses to gloss over its extreme, childish naivety. Perhaps a rice farmer with a side job as rando Vietcong guerilla would be expected to be clueless regarding super-duper-carrier in pre-information age (and oh boy, they certainly tried to get that similarity across). In the same vein, perhaps people from before Lem or Dick or hell, just Terminator, would be likely clueless in their admiration towards AI and pursue its infantile humanization. Anything later requires major self-preservation issues, expected, at most, from a college circlejerk of "antinatalist because muh climate" deconstructionists, huffing their edgy antihuman farts. Certainly not from developing countries. If anything, this "Asian" state would have much more realistic motivation in allowing AI to simply outcompete others - or even as some authoritarian move by oligarchy pursuing this goal regardless of the rest of their population. At this point it's much more fun to follow unintentional message of this movie, mirroring similar one from Avatar: that if sabretooth cats had tits and could speak - or if their kitten could mimic how human ones look - some cavemen would definitely be "supporting them" and the idea of "coexistence" right up to the point neanderthals - hilariously getting a mention earlier - ended at. Or another variant: "local woman constructs magic robochild to end wars; forgets humans waged wars - and much more brutal wars than modern ones - with mere stones just fine". Or that bare flesh and bone would immediately be outclassed by metal fists, dumping humans to the bottom of a food chain right before another case of "coding error".

[@jon-vegard8386]

I really liked it. It had a bit of a weak ending, but it left me wanting more. The actress playing the little girl was really good, too. Also, I love Gareth Edwards' visual style. It's like moving concept art, if that makes sense

[@aikighost]

A lot of the robots and machinery looked like the style of artist Simon Stalenhag, I would not be surprised if he was involved.

[@fanboyhex1555]

I liked the movie as well, but I feel that the ending was more sad than people realize.

[@Lucaca-vp7po]

For me the ending was the best part as the protagonist finally redeemed himself and got what he wanted, while the middle parts had weird pacing and sudden cuts

[@dritzzdarkwood4727]

"Moving concept art", yes that's a very accurate way of describing it, I agree.

[@fanboyhex1555]

@@Lucaca-vp7po I disagree... I feel that the movie shows that Joshua finally lost his mind along with the rest of the world for developing feeling to Ai Machines... that's a very sad ending. And what's worse, the machines have taken over the world. Skynet wins.

[@InSidious1805]

Can we get a: “nah it’ll be fine” mug? 😂

[@theladddle]

😂😂😂😂it'll be an inspiration for the day

[@imallin971]

Not sure if this was after your comment, but he has the mugs in his shop.

[@costaliberta5969]

no....? we have a winner!

[@sgray001]

The film is gorgeous and revs up your imagination like no other modern movie. That said, the film leaves a lot to be desired narratively. The story doesn't really take any risks or go anywhere you don't expect. The Creator is eye-candy that's delicious, but still leaves you hungry.

[@LuisSierra42]

I'd be up to watch the 5hr director's cut

[@silver292]

Faaaacts.

[@granvillehenderson7618]

Saw this movie a week ago. Really impressed with it, visually stunning and a great story. I've not been to see a movie in ages due to preachy, self involved agendas. This was a breath of fresh air.

[@worsethanhitlerpt.2539]

That was what ruined Chappie and Elysium from Neil Blonkamp I feel this movie has the same feel as his movies but is much better than his later stuff also this movie has alot of the same themes and ideas

[@E.after.D.I.am.T.H]

Story? Are you sure?

[@deadlock_problem]

"great story" bro the fuck

[@danielpaul1875]

Honestly a longer cut with another 30-45 minutes would probably go a long way to fix its problems with the script. It just needs more time to explore its themes and explain past events and their impact in the present like the nuclear explosion and the current war on New Asia. Also just a few more scenes would get rid of the plot convenience and address the potential impact of Alphie and her future. Do all that and we might have an instant classic here. Hope to God Gareth Edwards releases an Director' cuts. Pleeeaaassseee🙏

[@nerychristian]

I think a better ending would have been for Alphie to die. And have all the AI military bases get destroyed in the end. But with a end credit scene that shows the flashdrive with the wife's consciousness being found by someone.

[@nathangriffiths6218]

I don't think it needs to be longer, I think Edwards needed to stop over indulging himself on action scenes and lingering shots of the (admittedly stunning) scenery and spend a bit more time on plot development.

[@KABLAMMATS]

​@@nathangriffiths6218he needs a good writer

[@letsburn00]

The damn moment where the clearly replaced 20 minutes with the dumbest 1 minute scene ever was insane.

[@DangerVille]

@@nerychristianthat’s why you weren’t in charge of the movie because that’s a trash idea

[@HectorTheGr8]

I’m not gonna lie, I laughed way harder at that homeless joke than I probably should have

[@frankleepower2333]

"Effectively solving the homeless problem with extreme prejudice"- The Critical Drinker

[@michaelbrutallyhonest6026]

It's one of the reasons why I like this channel so much, the political correctness governor is turned off.

[@dsan05]

Saw it last weekend. Knew almost nothing about it. First time in a long time that I didn't check my watch halfway through a film. It was refreshing. True about the contrivances, and the sense that somewhere I'd seen bits and pieces of this all before, but it was just so ... refreshing to see something generally original. Plus, I love the budget. And the lack of superheroes...

[@Genes1s___]

The worst thing about this movie is that it didn’t get advertised enough. Bummed I didn’t get to see it on big screen…

[@Tom1k9]

If you can look past somewhat flimsy story and odd pacing of this film, this is over 2 hours of truely stunning VFX. This is the first "original sci-fi" film i've enjoyed in a very long time and i'd love to see this followed up personally, hopefully taking into account the critiques from this first one. If this had the script/story/plot to match the rest of how truely beautiful this film is, i don't see how it wouldn't be a major hit

[@WaterspoutsOfTheDeep]

I feel like chatgpt could have wrote a better script... Premise good, execution abysmal. The last 25% of the movie alone was a total dumpster fire of absurdity. There is almost no HUMAN logical reasoning behind anything that happens in the movie which is so ironic.

[@robert-ql5cp]

Everyone is voicing a tunnel vision perspective on this movie, don't look at the flaws if you look at the flaws that's all you'll see, find the good points of the film and be open minded towards something different.😮

[@benwoods3838]

@@WaterspoutsOfTheDeep Yeah that's exactly what we were saying when we left the cinema, it was a movie about A.I. seemingly written with A.I.

[@E.after.D.I.am.T.H]

​@@robert-ql5cpit took me 3 days to finish watching it. And I am someone who loves sci-fi movies. The visuals, acting, background score, theme..everything was epic except for the backbone of the movie - the story. Simply horrendous.

[@E.after.D.I.am.T.H]

​@@benwoods3838he meant that an A.I. would have done a better job.😅

[@elliotmagalhaes70]

Honestly, even though I didn't particularly enjoy this movie I hope it succeeds. It represents a model of filmmaking (contending with serious questions and ideas in an original and ambitious story) that I hope other people take up and see through to its fullest potential.

[@Simon-xc5oy]

Yes thats it exactly. I will support it and see it even if its crap, because it will be a different kind of crap compared to super hero movies and Disney and the Woke garbage around now. Its the sort of film that used to come out all the time, especially in the early 80s as film makers tried concepts and created art and ideas and made films out of them, some worked some did not. But they tried and created. Rather than endless remakes and sequels. And propaganda woke B.S. Going back to my first comment, I know from the trailer its not going to be crap, its going to be interesting to watch even if it does not live up to said trailer or what I think it may be, its still going to be entertaining and fresh, new and unique...which is in no way...crap.

[@JohnDoe-dr9ff]

Yeah, it’s an original idea, and originality is refreshing nowadays.

[@zombiesl4yer499]

It upsets me how close this movie came to being a masterpiece but fell short at the end.

[@jamesbarbour8400]

Sadly, I have to agree with you on that - it had so much potential that was simply squandered.

[@dolphin069]

You think there’s a decent edit there somewhere because the last half felt like it was shot for normie test audiences. Unsatisfying story and character arcs but it looks like a masterpiece.

[@mhaze210]

I just saw it today. It did have some flaws including feeling like we've seen this story so many times before, but it mixed them all together well. When they played Radiohead - 'Everything In It's Right Place' it went so good with the movie. I never thought I'd hear that song used in a Sci-Fi movie but it always felt like it should.

[@WaterspoutsOfTheDeep]

I think I could have enjoyed it more if I walked out before the last 25% and just wondered to myself what ever happened with all the themes and plot points. Because it was a dumpster fire how it never expanded/closed almost any of them and how it handled the ones it did. Script should have had another year of work.

[@deadlock_problem]

@@WaterspoutsOfTheDeep Because it was a bunch of stolen ideas throw into the pot by someone that doesn't know what good scifi is and then extruded out into a 2 hour movie.

[@jaybyrd3781]

You must not have seen Vanilla Sky. Highly recommend.

[@deadlock_problem]

@@jaybyrd3781 it looks kinda like garbage but i'll check it out, can't be worse than the shit that is being made now. But these days if I want a scifi fix I just play old games and read books.

[@graemechapman7078]

The moment they played that song was the moment I became hooked

[@BalkanRedneck]

Another thing I give this movie credit for is having a believable and badass female character in the Colonel who was hunting them for 2/3 of the movie. She was a resourceful and skilled combatant but at no point was her badassery at the expense of the competency of her , mostly, male subordinates.

[@nerychristian]

Yeah, that's the film's biggest strength. It actually makes all of the characters seem real. So when they die, you actually feel bad for them. I even felt bad for the robots.

[@BalkanRedneck]

@@nerychristian ditto. The scene where they executed the kneeling robot priests elicited more emotions from me than Avatar 1 and 2 combined.

[@zuriyel5368]

I also liked how she tried to elicit compassion from Joshua in the beginning by talking about her sons. That's a nice psychological tactic.

[@nerychristian]

@@BalkanRedneck True. Even the "bad guy" general who wanted to destroy Alphie didn't feel like a mustache twirling villain. I actually empathized with him because he just wanted to prevent another city like L.A. getting destroyed by AI attack.

[@BalkanRedneck]

@@nerychristian exactly. I think the movie would have been a lot better if they had made the A.I's "goodness" a bit more ambiguous. Like, do they legitimately want to be left alone or is it a ploy to catch humanity off guard. I think, despite the moments of grittiness, the movie was, overall, too idealistic for it's own good.

[@markchang5285]

I watched it today too, and in addition to the points you raised, I felt the script became like the Game of Thrones last season, in which locations are always vague, so characters could traverse vast distances in a blink of an eye.

[@Daemonik]

The way NOMAD was instantly wherever it needed to be (slowly scanning the ground with its flashlights) was my bugbear on this one.

[@markchang5285]

@@Daemonik Exactly! I didn't want to put any spoilers in, so I left my comment as vague as I could. How is it a short flight from the States, yet above (what seems to be) Tibet at the same time?

[@grover10011]

I actually took my other half to see this movie tonight. We both thought it was done quite well. CGI was believable, and yes there were some similarities to Rogue One. But where this movie hit the spot was that it actually immersed you into it, and for that run time it was a nice escape from reality. What a movie is supposed to do. All movies can and do have their caveats, but for me it was a nice escape.

[@G82Watts]

So when he or she leaves u half of u will be gone 😮

[@orbit023]

One of the best things about this movie is that it’s completely original. It’s nice being able to watch a movie knowing that there isn’t a financial or cultural motive behind it.

[@bluecollarloser6654]

Indeed. SOME people are complaining about murica being the "bad" guys. Well when a god dam Nuke is dropped in Los Angeles, wtf do you expect to happen lol? People get bloodthirsty

[@greva2904]

It’s not completely original though, is it? Its a reskinned Rogue One

[@skwagskateswag]

The visuals and world building are pretty original, but I've seen this plot thousands of times.

[@user-zq9ej5eg8q]

Imagine how bad modern cinema has fallen, that weak story is praised because it is original. Like saying a bad book is already good because it is original. *sigh

[@LyaksandraB]

So all it takes for people to stop seeing the cultural motive is just hiding it a little bit better than rubbing it in their faces. No wonder we ended up here.

[@dayros2023]

Saw it in imax a few days ago in Rome, and liked it a lot. I was actually surprised at how good it looked given its low budget. Would not call it a masterpiece but a good movie for sure.

[@lorenzog7811]

Yes because you were at an IMAX in Rome was important for the comment lol

[@bondgabebond4907]

What do you classify as a masterpiece? I'll nominate 'Dirty Harry' and 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.'

[@____Carnage____]

@@lorenzog7811 was it important for you to be this much of an ass?

[@Vivi_9]

@@lorenzog7811 don't be salty he didn't have to pirate it and watch it alone while crying like the majority of commenters here

[@avis21X]

I come here on your channel to see movies I should watch, since I am a content creator who also writes stories. AI is a big topic for me and my work, and hearing you break down how it favors action over messaging has saved me money, because in-depth intellectual discussions, especially about things as important as this (to me at least), is really my thing. Thanks for making this video Critical Drinker, I really appreciate it, sorting out the good, from the mediocre, to the awful.

[@TocTeplv]

Drinker is too generous. Number of WTFs and "that's BS" per minute was astonishing

[@45641560456405640563]

Not something he's known for. Perhaps it's you?

[@theladddle]

When the drinker approves,issa must watch😊

[@corporateturtle6005]

BBBaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 🐑

[@baziztsahy3927]

The movie is really BAD. It has exceptional visual effects and photography. But it fails miserably everywhere else. Scripting is very very bad (watch the first five minutes and you'll understand), some very poor acting from the main character, which I loved in Tennet. and overall story is full of loopholes and that sometime you ask yourself did they misplaced the original script?

[@FoxyFoxlyn]

Hey Drinker, just wanted to say that I bought your first book, Redemption, for my dad's 70th last year, as he loves that genre. He enjoyed it so much, he bought and read four more so far. Wanted to let you know, that he was happy there are younger writers keeping the genre alive.

[@Cognaxance]

I'm sick & tired of these stories that pretend a robot; a lump of metal, wires and program will ever be conscious. They'll be able to simulate it, but never achieve it.

[@clergymen19]

I will always give a flick a chance if its biggest flaw is that it aspires to do too much and falls just short, as opposed to the palatable drek and mindless add-ons to existing IPs. Thanks for the recommendation!

[@gordonmarshall5980]

Thanks for reviewing this one Drinker. This movie desperately needs more traction at the box office and far too many are either ignoring it or making stupid hot takes about it. Films made with love like this are rare and it needs support. Otherwise it will be back to the usual sludge for a long time.

[@gordonmarshall5980]

@@Orion-Vyou know that’s not in the movie? According to Gareth it was a test that was never meant to be in the trailer. It’s replaced by a different one.

[@uthergoodman401]

@@Orion-V That is the single stupidest reason not to watch a film I have ever heard of

[@AriesT1]

@@Orion-V Typical "everything is problematic" woke bubble reaction. The explosion is not even in the movie. You can stop crying now.

[@gtmodelcars3354]

@@Orion-Vit’s nowhere to be found in the movie. Only in the trailer..

[@Enigma75614]

The movie was trash.

[@skwagskateswag]

Incredible visuals, amazing world building, engaging characters, super generic and unoriginal plot. I respect the hell out of the effort put into this movie, and I think everyone should go see it in theaters to support original movies, but this plot really let me down.

[@metalsadman]

haven't seen the movie yet but this reminds me of past animes.

[@monkehotdogs2227]

@@metalsadmanits very much like them, I enjoyed it a lot

[@nooux1966]

I enjoyed this sooooo god damn much that for once in the last decade, I wasn't sitting there thinking about the flaws, I turned my brain off and loved every moment of this film. The fact that it only had an 80m budget is crazy to me, this is one of the best looking movies i've seen in god knows how long.

[@HOLLASOUNDS]

I was definitely entertained however I didn't like the end where the reunited cupple die anyway making there reunion pointless. It was obvious they took videos of random people and made them look like robots but why would a robot want to look and walk like an old human granny? Bit stupid.

[@PM-gt9mh]

When the credits rolled, the first thing I thought was: I‘ve never in my life seen a movie with so many underdeveloped themes. Edwards seems to be a creative genius, who doesn‘t know how to channel his creativity.

[@jmonie02]

What are u talking about ?

[@b9y]

​@@jmonie02There's too many ideas thrown in to one. It's a movie that doesn't know what it wants to be.

[@jmonie02]

ca n you share a few examples. I just thought the movie was meh@@b9y

[@HowToChangeName]

​​@@jmonie02like how US can launch devastating attack as their wish without restrain, whats up with Asia united as New Asia with nothing but belief of coexist with AI flag yet they dont have government and military Just to name few I can think of after watched it last week

[@KeytarArgonian]

It’s almost like it encourages you to think about these hints at ideas yourself. Or you could just parrot James Cameron harping on about how his military AI acts (imagine my shock) combative.

[@thatfilmbuff8135]

I appreciate them wanting to do a one-off, but this should have been 2 movies. The original cut was 5 hours, and it makes total sense. I still love this movie and have a lot of appreciation for it. Maybe an extended cut will help fill in the gaps that needed fleshed out more

[@raindeerprojekt4119]

This is the Sci-fi we need!!! Thanks For reviewing You unimaginable Master piece of a Man

[@toh6261]

And the girl that's the key to everything.

[@youprettywow]

Just watched the movie and agree 100% with your review. My favorite part of the movie is that it doesn't rely on the "AI bad" trope. But damn do i wish the plot was better.

[@Saeronor]

A variation of -America bad- Humans bad trope is not exactly an improvement, especially when it's a bit hard to imagine the same emotional approach - which ends up affecting _all_ decisions - of our protagonist if his wife decided to build her AI as a giant dildo, instead. So, I guess "Humans being superficial morons" trope being - which time is it, again? - sold as "local human sees humanity in a machine, great success".

[@nilocblue]

Dune was honestly a masterpiece for me. Wasn't a perfect movie, but we were treated to a truly amazing sci-fi film. Here's to hoping Part 2 is amazing.

[@Colouh]

Honestly, I don't know what people see in that movie, I mean don't want to sound like a douche, but what's the good thing about it? the visuals are great, but the plot and the pacing of the movie totally bored me to tears, also half of the movie I was just asking myself who these people were or what was their name again? It lasted like 3 hours and barely anything happened plot-wise.

[@lukeannett]

Yep, Dune was great.

[@aliendoggy1]

That's understandable. I think it is best to read the dune book.@@Colouh

[@garylancaster8612]

I thought it was boring as f*ck personally. Slow and tedious. Won't be watching part 2.

[@HonestBottom]

I like the new one, but I prefer the original (waits to be verbally beaten to death) 😅

[@equinoxXIII]

A movie with no forced message, a budget this low and still good in 2023? Hopefully we'll get more of these kind! Edit: by message I mean forced woke politics none whatsoever.

[@danielevans3165]

then please go and see it and share it with your friends as films like this unfortunately tend to flop/under perform which means studios will just keep pumping out the same 200million + crap rather than invest in projects like the creator.

[@katyushamarikov8819]

There is a forced message about "free the robots" which is really sappy and stupid. Done much better in movies like Blade Runner and 2001: A Space Odyssey which pose the question instead of trying to fist you with the answer.

[@codynoth4183]

While I get there was no forced message, if you pay attention the whole "black savior" is prevalent here as the only African American in the movie is the protagonist, and the "oppressed minority" are Asians and the "evil forces" are nothing but Caucasians.

[@LionKimbro]

The message is forced. "Robots good. Mean humans bad." There's really no ambiguity, anywhere, whatsoever.

[@ragedracer1977]

No forced message? Did you sleep through the movie?

[@RJIS]

I personally almost fully loved this movie. Feels like a movie that would be made for someone like me: A writer + director with an $80 million budget that focuses on a post apocalyptic conflict between man and AI with great actors and characters. I saw this with my mom yesterday and we compared it to Eternals, which neither of us liked, and then when Gemma Chan’s name showed up, it was even more of an amusing comparison.

[@Jacksonmontyart]

Couldn’t agree more, my wife and I loved this film. I want to go see it again. And personally the family dynamic really got me

[@DavidSmith-mt7tb]

I actually made that comparison as well. Though I feel where Eternals was too heavy on the worldbuilding (I liked it more than most because I'm a worldbuilder myself but I get the criticism), this movie's biggest flaw was it didn't do enough worlbuilding, and thus kind of made it hard to suspend disbelief about some of the things going on. BUT, at least it erred on the side of moving the story along and keeping a good pace and playing to its strengths, and I think reviews from the average moviegoer will reflect that.

[@sunso1991]

It just made no sense, the same nations that harbor, protect and love the Ai is still the improvised rice farmer working with their hands?! Why wouldn't the Ai help out? Mechanized farming? Anti air defence? You got hover boats and hover crafts but people drive truck from 1980s? The visual looked great, but it was just shockingly bad world building

[@jonahjones858]

Agree with the muddled script, but disagree with the solid performances, the main character was poor and would have never got this role if he didn't share a lineage

[@Noodles.Doodles]

A likely influence you didn't mention is The Animatrix. Very similar setting. The mass grave crusher shot is nearly a direct copy.

[@excripto1]

I do think this movie should be nominated for best visuals.

[@osmanyousif7849]

Well, either this, Oppenheimer, Gran Turismo, MI - Dead Reckoning, or M3GAN.

[@hohenzollern6025]

Thats because they used live footage of actual events. You know... profiteering off of actual tragedies, instead of just making their own scenes, they used footage of the Beirut explosion. Pretty scummy. Looking forward to the backlash. Imagine if they used the footage of thousands dying in new york with the twin towers, would you still commend then on "best visuals"?

[@excripto1]

@@hohenzollern6025You must be on something if that’s what you think I was referring to regarding the visuals. You must be John aka Tom Peng on another account.

[@hohenzollern6025]

@@excripto1 Well what else would you be talking about? Did you even know that's what you were praising? Because it is...

[@excripto1]

@@hohenzollern6025 The robots, the set design, NOMAD, the explosions, even the monkey was CGI. Here you are taking things out of context and gaslighting to make it sound like I’m supporting some kind of propaganda.

[@At_Amsterdam]

I liked it but I’m still dumbfounded on how millions of dollars are always thrown at scripts that aren’t fully fleshed out yet. This movie feels very much like a draft instead of the final product

[@TheNefastor]

Indeed ! Its plot has more holes than its robot heads.

[@Wodkaholic]

It's called a movie. All movies have holes and feel rushed. If it had been a series then it would have been better.

[@TheNefastor]

@@Wodkaholic you haven't seen many movies, have you ?

[@deleyderismynamer]

@@TheNefastor Nothing is perfect. Bring your impossible standards down.

[@TheNefastor]

@@deleyderismynamer bitch please, as if that movie is anywhere close to perfection.

[@derrenleepoole]

Visually, the robots and ships have a Simon Stalenhag vibe to them, which is no bad thing. Looking forward to watching this.

[@vaettra1589]

Yeah I noticed that too, I hope he can make a splash outside of 'Tales from the Loop'.

[@EvilDoresh]

The less human-looking robots also give me a video game vibe

[@adam872]

Yes! I thought the same thing.

[@theskinner3040]

Seen this today and thoroughly enjoyed it ….. would have been even better without Washington in the lead role …. Can’t emote whatsoever

[@claytonrios1]

The movie generally looked amazing given its budget and with Rogue One and this it definitely shows Gareth Edwards eye for detail when he's given a project. I just wish his writing staffs got to juggle the themes a bit better overall.

[@nickthehero-v5j]

It wasn't any good to be honest. There are tons of ridiculous tropes that ruin the movie. They send literally 5 guys with guns to infiltrate a compound where a SUPER_MEGA_WEAPON is being built? Even though they later in the movie show that the US is more than capable of sending a small army with tons of veihicles and weapons? Huge door behind which there is a literal child. Why? Literally zero armed protection in the compound where the WEAPON OF CRITICAL IMPORTANCE IS. Huge flying orbital station with a giant laser aim? That's so dumb, it's literally like building a tank that's the size of a city. It's pretty cool to watch but it would achieve nothing. Literally the smallest of nukes could scramble all the electronics on such a station which would disable it for good. Dude that literally held a pair of freaking tweezers inside that little girl's head and that said that she can GROW. How the HELL could you learn that with a pair of tweezers at your disposal we never learn. The whole movie is a stupid and pretentious piece of shit.

[@ghostmedic86]

I found this movie to be good a watch. The military leadership tactics in the movie, like in most modern films, is at the level of Leeroy Jenkins.

[@Desecrator6]

So GODLIKE?

[@Marc-ps9dn]

Love the WoW reference lol!!

[@thesis-and-nieces6722]

As a side note: I thought the movie had big “golden child” influences, down to black man and asian child with power. The movie did a great job of addressing the big issues of AI when it goes past the “uncanny valley”. It was funny that put in there the “scan your likeness” like what the actors strike is worried about. Plus, it was incredible if AI is programmed to be religious, cry over the dead, etc, because that is a very human thing. So many fleshed out concepts

[@nerychristian]

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. The movie director did a good job of making the robots feel alive.

[@JustTooDamnHonest]

@@nerychristian It is called humanizing and it only works when you feel for them. Because in the end they are machines no matter how you look at it for their concept of death is different from us for when a human dies that is for when a machine dies they can just be brought back by putting their mainframe into a new body.

[@nathangriffiths6218]

The Golden Child - now there's a film I had not thought about in decades!

[@YuGiOhDuelChannel]

I felt the EXACT same way walking out of the theater, was kinda put back, because I hadn't seen a good movie in so long, and I was like hmm, "That was kinda Fantastic", has some flaws, which you lay out, but some really great sci-fi ideas and all the stuff you mentioned.

[@thegrimcritic5494]

I do not mind that humanity, or at least the West in the context of the film, is shown as being jaded, bitter, and cruel in comparison to the Robots. The way they behaved more ruthless and cold than the Robots they hunted reminded me of similar Cyberpunk stories that carried this exact same theme such as the original “Ghost in the Shell” film and “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”. It’s meant to force the audience to consider how advanced technology and the hubris it fosters in us can gradually dehumanize far more than, say, a young race of sentient beings who are only just beginning to learn how to experience consciousness without all of humanity’s past baggage. That is all well and good, and I enjoyed seeing this theme once again for the first time in years, but what really bugged me was that the reveal that the L. A. nuke was due to human error was so casually stated by a Robot. Like, that’s a genuinely interesting twist, and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense to me that a human is more likely to make a mistake like that than any machine. But the way it’s said and the person who IS saying it, a Robot, should still realistically make you take this new information with a grain of salt. No proof is shown, no evidence provided, it’s just something the Robot SAYS, and frankly, if I were the main character, I’d have no reason to believe what the Robot says to be true any more than the humans who also simply SAID that the nuke was machine error. It would have been better if it really WAS a machine error and all the Robots were aware of it and ashamed of it, like it’s a Mark of Cain for their entire race; their Original Sin. It would make them FAR more sympathetic because it would make them them seem EVEN MORE human because they are aware of their own shortcomings; a CRITICAL criteria in determining whether or not a being has achieved true consciousness or not. Apart from that gripe, I was utterly enthralled with every single aspect of this film from start to finish, and while flawed, it proved to me that Gareth Edwards is a creative storyteller and filmmaker whose future films I will be excitedly waiting for with baited breath.

[@Jacksonmontyart]

I loved this movie, I don’t care if it takes beats from other films. It was beautifully done and I loved the characters/ world.

[@MaticTheProto]

You don’t care about that? How brave. Every movie ever took major inspiration from something. Star wars literally copied some scenes from British and japanese movies one to one

[@Blue_Brawler]

@@MaticTheProtowhat they mean is that it doesn’t bother them, and are able to appreciate the film itself along with acknowledging its inspirations

[@MaticTheProto]

@@Blue_Brawler how brave

[@sterger7]

I mean..as lon gas you don't care that it made _utterly_ no sense whatsoever at all, period.

[@jdfraed123]

Is this streaming somewhere? Can't seem to track it down

[@RayloNormie]

I took my wife and kids to watch this Sunday and we all enjoyed it - nothing special but was beautiful world building and the little girl playing Alfie had some of the best acting I have seen probably all year - worth a watch imho

[@Hepheat75]

Finally, an ok space movie that's not Star Wars. Imma watch this for sure.

[@ameyskulkarni]

Dune?

[@JohnnyUtah86]

Is it really a space movie? This looks like it almost entirely takes place on land, with an orbital military platform being the only "space" themed part. I think you mean Sci-Fi not space.

[@pip105x]

I really enjoyed this, enough soul without being preachy, enough action without being dumb. My only issue was that the third act felt a bit rushed - like more of an epilogue montage

[@easyegg9760]

I completely agree with this. Very well paced movie until the end. I weirdly liked it at the same time just because they kind of closed the character arc with maya and established the lead character and AI Childs bond which was the core of the film. Could’ve been better at the end but not too disappointed

[@sparetheearthlings]

Great way to put it. 100% agree.

[@jonasvolitsa3824]

This movie is the proof you can get influence and pay hommage to it while creating your own identity. I love this movie for this, you can feel the world in every plan, and the work put on it.

[@R0GU351GN4L]

Do you know what though, I'm tired of "The girl that is the key to everything" trope.

[@aytony4090]

The whole film apparently came out to be 5 hours long and was edited it that way which is why it feels like so many subplots were cut short. This may be the only time I wish they released a longer version of a film into theaters. Maybe not 5 hours but shorten that to 3 with skillful editing and this may be something special.

[@alacarte8635]

If true then this is the reason why sci fi movies are rarely good. They need the length of a mini series or one off streaming series to do the subject matter justice.

[@comdrive3865]

In that case I'd prefer him to trash the theatrical release and split it in 2 movies... 1hr 40mins each!

[@neilgold8434]

So much stunning world building, yet at the end I wondered why they bothered? Your review is excellent and spot on. This movie collapsed under the weight of the questions it raised and refused to ask, and is sentimental formulaic treacle disguised as Blade Runner level thoughtful Sci Fi.

[@lukewilliamrimmington]

LOL, the quote "It shows you don't have to bankrupt your entire studio to make a half-decent film" had me rolling. Looks like this is another film apart from Oppenheimer to check out.

[@ravismcromarty5600]

Fun fact. One of the reasons one of the nuclear blast clips 1:20 looks so realistic is because it's actual footage of the 2020 Beirut explosion with a few futuristic masts, antennas and buildings CG'd into it.

[@christopher9152]

Yes, Israel did indeed use small-scale nukes in Lebanon in 2020. Amazing how that never got properly investigated.

[@pilotman012]

Yeah, Corridor Crew did a break down on it. Can't umsee now and it appears 4 or 5 times in the Drinker's review. 6:30 mark ... kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZ2nfmSkdtKDfqssi=lDcu7w_DUxhml2Zf

[@nicholauscrawford7903]

Maybe Israel did; I'm not contesting that here, but that warehouse was dangerously full of ammonium nitrate for months on end. It was a disaster waiting to happen.

[@davidanderson_surrey_bc]

@@christopher9152 Oh? And your evidence? If that was true, I would have read about it in all the usual media sources.

[@Tundra.]

@@davidanderson_surrey_bc Shalom, Mossad!

[@MatthewVlossak]

Regardless of your thoughts on the story itself, the visuals of this movie in an $80 million dollar budget revitalizes not only the sci-fi genre, but cinema itself. Studios should take notes on how Gareth managed to do this.

[@rockyrocker23]

the shot at 1:20 is video of the Beirut explosion

[@letsburn00]

One major factor though is that the special effects looked otherworldly. It had a strange concept art painted feel to it, like they aimed for the "tales from the loop" look. It wasn't realistic and felt slightly odd, but it fitted with the film

[@MaticTheProto]

@@rockyrocker23yup. I won’t watch it exactly because of that. The fact nobody in that production chose to say „maybe don’t do that“ is insane

[@deadislander]

*spoiler warning* The lyrics to the opening of Everything in its Right Place by Radiohead playing in the film are "KID A KID A" over and over. as in the Kid named ALPHIE... 😉 thought yall outta know. haven't seen anyone else pick up on it... that song fit so well... it was in its right place 👀

[@frostfang7670]

To me the problem I had with the movie, was how black and white the circumstances became by the end of the movie. It just made the machines an oppressed class that simply want to be free but abandons the idea of can we trust AI? Also this movie was basically pandered to China by once again making the west absolutely bloodthirsty bad and the East absolutely good and wholesome. I did like that they gave it a sort of "imagine tomorrow" type beginning similar to one of the Fallouts where it's a somewhat alternative reality where AI developed faster then it has in the normal war. All the pieces were there but to me it fell flat by the end.

[@mcyolicjones9081]

It looked good. The 5 other people and I in the theater actually laughed at the ending... If this was some sort of effort to get us to empathize with AI robots it didn't work. I was much happier for the Ewoks decades ago.

[@TheWriteFiction]

Just saw it. First the great. The visuals are stunning, the art direction and designs were amazing, and the cinematography was gorgeous. Gareth Edwards really brought his own original vision to this film with its direction and world,, and I love it. One of the first genuinely original sci-fis I've seen in a while. The effects were top notch and very realistic despite the low budget, the vehicle designs were great, the scenery was fantastic, the tech was great, and a lot of the design choices for characters as well as the tech itself were very striking. The world building was also solid for the most part from start to finish, the MC is very relatable and written well, the actress for Alfie was great, and there are a lot of high minded concepts in here that I really appreciated seeing on screen. The bad though: some pacing issues and plot holes here and there, inconsistencies with Alfie's powers and how they function, the lack of a unified military force supposedly in New Asia (with the U.S being painted to be super evil (yet again) with heavy bias towards supporting A.I's case, with A.I being written in this film as being super peaceful to the point of literally being portrayed as Tibetan monks). The biggest elephant in the room however, is the question of WHY sentient A.I beings have been reduced to mostly farmers, monks, battle bots and fishermen- in what I can only guess is a highly idealized vision of what people in Hollywood want A.I to be viewed as, and not at all fleshing out its full potential OR writing what A.I actually is realistically: a highly manipulated, biased, copy-paste, malicious and sometimes invasive programming and efficient search engine that has made a very poor first impression on humans in the real world through systems like ChatGTP, A.I Art, and being used as a tool by email and call scammers, who can only copy and replicate what we feed into it, and throwing back whatever we inputted. Also good at managing and crunching numbers, but you hear less about that unless you are in industry. That being said, the ideas behind The Creator were great and I was fully immersed in the world. Putting the film's biases aside, all they needed was for someone to go through the writing with a fine-tooth comb to make sure all the plot holes and pacing were fixed up. Otherwise it was a very enjoyable film, if mostly for the spectacle.

[@ManiacMayhem7256]

This isn't a movie that could've been made twenty years ago. The US wouldn't be depicted as a military aggressor if they didn't start two conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as destabilizing Syria and Libya

[@IanConnel]

I like your take on what A.I. actually is.

[@TheWriteFiction]

@@ManiacMayhem7256 Firstly, US starting it? That's incorrect and just an over-simplified view on events, emphasizing how much of a hodgepodge history and geo-politics can be. Had the 9/11 attacks not happened the US would've stayed out of both Afghanistan and Iraq. Additionally, had the Taliban Emirate simply handed over Osama bin Laden when they were asked after the 9/11 attacks, the US wouldn't have countered with an invasion to overthrow the pro Taliban Government. Whereas the Iraq War was the result of Hussein kicking up a fuss in both Kuwait and other problems in and around the region for the last decade before the Iraq invasion. Though it was idiotic of the US to invade Iraq under the 'war on terror' pretence, this was mostly a continuation of the Gulf War conflicts in the 90s perpetrated by an emboldened Hussein. The US also can't be blamed for the problems in Syria and Libya, since these were the results of civil unrest between dozens of different Islamic and non-Islamic parties as a result of the Arab Spring of 2011, the latter of which had been building up to conflict since the 1960-70s, which was not helped by Muammar Gaddafi being in charge.

[@ManiacMayhem7256]

@@TheWriteFiction USA was already involved in I lol. They were just looking for an excuse. 9 would've never happened if we never were in ME. O seemed to never be in Af. And clearly none of that worked out lol so it wasn't even worth it. I is simple. We wanted oil and our greatest ally who intentionally did USS liberty wanted them gone. Who funded the rebels in 🇸🇾 and 🇱🇾? We can be blamed absolutely. Couldn't have been done without us

[@TheWriteFiction]

@cyrusthechad7256 Everyone was getting funded by everyone in Syria and Libya. Have you seen the dozens of groups and their allegiances. Some Russia, some China, some England, all on opposing sides. 9/11 was a perfect excuse to invade Iraq, since they were going to finish it off from the Kuwait wars anyway. But the fact is US never started any of it. It was all ongoing from not only the early 20th Centuru, but also from hundreds of years of tribal and religious warfare. That hasn't changed since the days of Alexander the Great and before.

[@sterlingarcher74]

I thought this movie was great- on par with District 9 and Elysium (which made me surprised that it wasn’t created by Neil Blomkamp). But I completely missed this one while it was in theaters. Didn’t see any trailers for it at the time of its release. Amazing visuals and acting. What more could you want?

[@smileychess]

Everything you said is exactly what I was thinking after seeing The Creator. Flawed Brilliance describes it perfectly. Worth seeing in theater.