Some part of me considers how splendid it is that fifty years in our future, the United States is just as paranoid and blood-thirsty as it is now. The AI revolution has come and changed the way we live, but we’re still just the same stupid clods who would gladly invade the wrong country to avenge and eradicate all perceived injustice. I like to blame these things on MAGA or Republicans, but -truth be told- when it comes to the needless infliction of pain, all Americans own some measure of guilt. It’s who we are; past that poimt, there are simply ranges of incivility.
The year is 2070 and do you know where your hybrid children are? The backstory is AI came to dominate the landscape and robots were given human faces so that we can play Terminator in our free time. Then an AI influenced nuclear bomb went off in Los Angeles, and despite a bomb detonating in Los Angeles, Americans were incensed anyway, so much so that we declared all AI had to be eradicated from the planet and then made our paranoia a reality.
Later, in New Asia -which is surprisingly tiny- undercover agent Joshua Taylor (John David Washington) is playing footsie with his pregnant wife, Maya (Gemma Chan), when the US cavalry comes in the nick time to screw everything up. Before you know it, Agent Taylor is compromised, Maya is dead, and the elusive AI director Nirmata has escaped without being identified.
Five years later, the one-armed, one-legged Taylor is on scrub duty at detonation central when the army calls his number again. Is Maya still alive? Go back and check, soldier, cuz we need an in to find this weapon that Nirmata designed. Hours later, another American assault turns into a nightmare, but Taylor manages to locate the “weapon?” — a hybrid child -there are no hybrid children, mind you- who can do some cool bot stuff, and looks like a lovely little girl.
Oooooo, buddy pic!
“Alphie” (Madeleine Yuna Voyles) has been specifically engineered so that you’ll sympathize with her character. 
And thinking Alphie will lead him to Maya, Taylor shields Maya from threats American and New Asian alike while the two roam the countryside looking for adventure. Awww, it is a buddy pic!
The interaction between Alphie and Taylor is where the movie shines, especially in that “she” has knowledge and capabilities that he can only guess at. On the one hand, he’s her long-lost father figure; on the other, she’s a superbeing constantly saving his ass. And there has to be a level of trust going on here, because she’s certainly wary of other adults. And why does a supercomputer have a favorite TV show? Is that what AI is really all about? Becoming “smart enough” to get to the point where you have a favorite podcast, ice cream, or footballer? When AI gets advanced enough, will computers get anxiety and develop performance issues? The Creator put much effort into making us wonder if Alphie was real or Memorex. Obviously, it’s a real actress disguised by CGI; the film wanted us to get the idea, however, that this bot was living and growing just like a human, but with the exponential potential of a supercomputer constantly self-upgrading.
In an ambitious two-fer, writer/director Gareth Edwards sought to chastise American imperialism and quell the fomenting paranoia about artificial intelligence all in one fell swoop. Was Gareth successful? Well … mostly? American imperialism was certainly paraded about, dominating the landscape in all its imperialistic evil. Alphie is presented as the pinnacle of AI development: highly intelligent, yet empathetic and benevolent. Those things have to be programmed. And, indeed, all the human faced “bots” on screen seem to have some form of empathy. Is it unrealistic? Yes, at least a little. And is the action unrealistic? You mean the part where a mismatched little girl and grown man constantly beat AI tech and checkpoints, even getting past military clearances? Ridiculously so, yes. So while I quite enjoyed The Creator, I took it as willful fantasy rather than possible future dystopia; I’m guessing that detracts mildly from what Gareth Edwards was trying to achieve.
Once, an undercover investigator
Went searching for an AI Creator
The discovery? Something wild
His own robotic child
Who turned out to be the “Love Terminator”
Rated PG-13, 133 Minutes
Director: Gareth Edwards
Writer: Gareth Edwards, Chris Weitz
Genre: The adventures of Li’l Terminator
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Those not threatened by the AI revolution
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: American imperialists
