The Creator (2023)
★★★
This review may contain spoilers.
it was pretty good, the start was a bit weird like the acting for JDW particularly was a bit off right at the start but he got better and better as the film progressed, the pacing for sure is what slows this movie down in particular, it moves incredible fast at points but then incredible slow at other points I can't tell if it's the writing that is causing this or the editing but it's one speaking of editing (cool segway) the editing was pretty phenomenal in this film really knew when to hold on takes and cut away, loved the font choice for the titles in particular, thought that the scenes where he chose no audio were dead ringers for them so it made since why he would cut all sound out, the child actor Madeleine killed it, absolutely knocked it out of the park same with Amar Chadha-Patel who ate his screen time up he did a pretty phenomenal job, JDW get some great acting spots to showcase why he was chosen for this role and Gemma Chan who played Maya did a pretty spectacular job. I wanted to mention that the color palette is very pretty in this movie. The oranges / red and blues are so vibrant and beautiful to look at. It's very pleasing to look at.
the plot was pretty predictable nothing felt like to big of a risk or anything up until we reach about end of act two beginning of act three territory then things start going into directions that are really fairly interesting, it does feel like a story we have heard before which is fine but it is done in this new spectacularly interesting setting which really helps the film a lot, I wanted to know so much more about the world that our characters exist in and I think that is where my problems start with the film it felt like it was simultaneously taking the time to let things breathe and also not letting a single thing breath at the same time, I look at the character development between joshua and alphie like I mention it feels like characters are having some developmental growth off screen like alphie hating joshua and not wanting to talk to him unless he has information that he wants ie picture of his mom to discussing that he is a terrible person and she is not a person at all. which sucks because it would have been so cool to see those bonding moments with JDW's character and Madeleine's character and not just some of them like we saw. all of them. ender us to these characters and let us care for them, because I wanted that a lot but only got it a bit. I see a lot of people mentioning logan but I get more The Last of Us vibes from it and maybe it was because I've played the game so many times but that is what this movie felt like, a futuristic last of us and that is so cool for a concept.
The ending is the amazing best part of the whole movie right when you enter the third act if you feel like you have had all this set up and it is just bringing a whole lot of that home and that is really good, the best scene is in the temple where they find Maya which is so heart wrecking.
this movie is fairly good, it isn't the best and also isn't the worst,for me it is fairly good with some things that could be improved in order to make the experience way better.
6.5 / 10
Notes below
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- I love the titles that they are using for the movies, they look very cool and fit in with the vibe of the movie.
- the opening lake shot, just a really long shot looks really good the color grading on ti is very plesent.
- the cut to the title card was really good, the editing is very good in the film.
- shot where he is under the water looking up at the general kind of made it look like the general was a robot in the glint in his glasses that was very cool.
- John David Washington feels a little off?
- I feel like we started really abruptly after everything like there was no breathing room after the beginning of the film and him loosing his wife, the pacing I guess is what I am trying to say.
- the shot where they are looking at the monitors and then they get shot was very good, good framing, good sound design in that part with the muffled shots.
- the thunder storm is very nice to look at whenever it is going off in the background of shots.
- I'm they chose a color palatte that highlights the blues and the reds / oranges because there is a lot of explosions
- I don't feel a flashback was neccary at the beginning of the chapter "the friend" like we already saw him it felt a bit like the movie was like don't forget.
- Amar is killing it, every time he is on screen he is taking up so much screen presense.
- the pacing is off, I feel like we are getting the beginnings of some themes like found family / found daighter in alphie when we first meet her but then when they are on the bus we are really far like they have formed a bound that we haven't seen.
- "we play a game called save your friend joshua from being killed by the fucking police" is very funny and my new favirate game.
- john david washington gets better and better throughout the movie he felt a little off and disconnected at the beginning but I think that is just because that was his character.
- the temple scene is the best scene in the movie, everyone is doing there best acting her, they really brought it here, best framing and editing and acting is found in this scene.
- the third act really brigns this thing home, the first two acts have been pretty meh but this last act (last 40 ish minutes) have been selller!
- I would be remis if I didn't mention Madeleine alphie who does a steller job.
- the door opening scene and then just seeing 4 boddies drift off into space was an amazing scnee.
- I see why it got nominated for sound, the space scene is what got it that I assume because all the sound is cut off around there.
- I wish that it was silent for the whole escape pod scene and that we just stayed on her the whole time.