Genre: Sci-fi, Action, Adventure
Directed by Gareth Edwards
Produced by Gareth Edwards, Kiri Hart, Jim Spencer, Arnon Milchan
Written by Gareth Edwards, Chris Weitz
Story by Gareth Edwards
Starring: John David Washington, Gemma Chan, Ken Watanabe, Sturgill Simpson & Allison Janney.
Cinematography: Greig Fraser; Oren Soffer
Music by Hans Zimmer
Edited by Hank Corwin, Joe Walker, Scott Morris
Production companies: Regency Enterprises, eOne, New Regency, Bad Dreams
Distributed by: 20th Century Studios
The plot: As a future war between the human race and artificial intelligence rages on, ex-special forces agent Joshua is recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI. The Creator has developed a mysterious weapon that has the power to end the war and all of mankind. As Joshua and his team of elite operatives venture into enemy-occupied territory, they soon discover the world-ending weapon is actually an AI in the form of a young child.
This movie was a Mixed bag.
Pros: The movie by itself is a visual masterpiece. I enjoyed John David Washington as the main lead. I like the action more than everything else and some of the robotics are so good.
Cons: They failed to settle the dispute between Humans and artificial intelligence properly. The pacing does feel slow at times. The main story was not really that well thought-out and the ending did feel underwhelming.
The Casts:
- John David Washington as Joshua Taylor, a military sergeant and undercover operative of the U.S. Army. He has an artificial right arm and left leg due to injuries he suffered during the nuclear explosion in Los Angeles, along with losing his parents and brother.
- Madeleine Yuna Voyles as Alpha-O / “Alphie”, a robotic simulant with the ability to remotely control technology.
- Gemma Chan as Maya Fey-Taylor / Nirmata, the daughter of the original Nirmata (the titular “Creator”) and Taylor’s wife.
- Allison Janney as Howell, a colonel in the U.S. Army who recruits Taylor. She harbors a deep prejudice against AIs due to losing both her sons in the war, one of whom was tortured by insurgents after being tricked by a simulant who seduced him.
- Ken Watanabe as Harun, a simulant soldier in New Asia.
- Sturgill Simpson as Drew, Taylor’s former comrade and best friend.
- Amar Chadha-Patel as Omni / Sek-on / Sergeant Bui, a citizen of New Asia who has donated his likeness to multiple simulants.
- Marc Menchaca as McBride, a soldier in the U.S. Army who is part of Taylor’s squad.
- Robbie Tann as Shipley, a soldier in the U.S. Army who is part of Taylor’s squad.
- Ralph Ineson as Andrews, a general in the U.S. Army who recruits Taylor.
- Michael Esper as Cotton, the captain of Taylor’s squad.
- Veronica Ngo as Kami, Drew’s simulant girlfriend.
I still recommend watching this film in cinemas.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Stars
Ryan Balkwill:
Resident film reviewer,
Level Best Art Cafe