Sci-fi stories occupy a weird spot in filmmaking ever since the return of “Star Wars” back in 2015. No one dares step out of line and attempt to create their own story to rival George Lucas’s world — until now. 

“The Creator,” directed by Gareth Edwards (“Rogue One,” “Godzilla”), follows a world overrun by AI that replicates humans. Following a war between the Western world and AI, the Earth stands divided into two beliefs: those who think AI deserves to live freely and those who want to eradicate them. In order to stop the war, the American army brings in soldier Joshua (John David Washington) to track down the creator of the AI and stop them from using a supposed weapon to end the war and wipe out humanity. The weapon in question comes in the form of an AI child, leaving Joshua torn. Should he kill the child, or does he not know the full story? 

Cinematographers Oren Soffer and Greig Fraser utilized natural lighting from real-world shooting locations to craft moody environments in order to build out the vision of Edwards’ world-building. The movie cost about $80 million to make, but audiences will be shocked to find that the cinematographers used only a Sony FX3, which clocks in at around $4K. In doing so, the movie adopts a documentary-style look that makes the environments and characters on screen feel much more natural. Match that with the natural lighting, and audiences witness a movie that looks like it could happen in real life.

AI continues to become more and more present in today’s society, so “The Creator” tackles this topic in an almost philosophical way. The film proposes the extreme idea that AI can replicate human emotions without actually feeling them. This leads to multiple moral dilemmas, such as if killing an AI that resembles a person affects humans in the same way, as well as the question of companionship with AI. “The Creator” plays into these questions in a multitude of ways, such as human-AI romantic relationships, as well as humans mistreating AI simply because they aren’t human.

The film also incorporates top-notch action sequences. Each explosion, punch, gunshot and driving sequence feels choreographed with precision and never takes audiences out of the story. Rather, they add to the intensity of each moment and even lead to some heartbreaking moments like AI saving humans since their programming does not allow them to murder unless provoked.

Twists make or break a movie, and “The Creator’s” twist will leave audiences heartbroken. The story reaches its natural conclusion at a stunning speed and wraps up every protagonist’s storyline in a matter of seconds. The final moments of the movie leave audiences in tears both out of sadness and joy.

“The Creator” offers audiences a breath of fresh air for the sci-fi genre. Thanks to excellent performances, a fleshed-out world and stunning visuals, “The Creator” makes for a great excuse to attend the movies.

4 ½  sentient(?) robots out of 5