Creator, The

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details of classification and consumer advice lines for Creator, The
• a review of Creator, The completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 3 October 2023.

Overall comments and recommendations

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• themes
• use of violence
• material that may scare or disturb children
• product placement
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie’s message

A synopsis of the story

Set in a futuristic world where humanity has spent decades developing robotic Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help make things easier; these machines have been integrated into every aspect of life and many of them are so advanced that they not only behave and act like humans but, little by little, they have begun to look like them too. When the AI are blamed for detonating a nuclear bomb in Los Angeles, killing millions of people, the Western world goes to war against them in the hopes of completely eradicating AI from the planet once and for all. ‘New Asia’ does not believe the AI are a threat and they refuse to ban or destroy them, allowing all AI to live freely in their cities and communities. Sergeant Joshua Taylor (John David Washington) goes undercover in New Asia, tasked with getting close to a woman named Maya (Gemma Chan) so that she will lead him to her father, a legendary AI developer who they believe is called, “Nirmata”. Joshua goes above and beyond in the line of duty, falling in love with and marrying Maya. The pair are expecting a baby when a U.S. operation lands in New Asia with a space-age weapon called NOMAD, which is capable of targeting and killing countless AI. The operation blows Joshua’s cover and NOMAD kills his wife, along with multiple other people. Joshua is taken back to the U.S. where his existence is haunted by what happened to his wife and unborn child. Five years later, when commanding officers ask him to lead a team back into New Asia to kill Nirmata and a new weapon rumoured to be so powerful that it can end the war between humanity and the AI, Joshua flatly refuses, wanting nothing more to do with those who ordered the attack that robbed him of his family. He refuses until he sees footage of Maya, taken only days before, and so, he agrees to go, provided he gets to bring Maya back safely. Joshua is able to use his knowledge of New Asia to help the soldiers gain access to the secret facility where the weapon is kept but things don’t quite go according to plan and he is the one who first locates the weapon. The only problem is that the weapon appears to be a little girl called Alphie (Madeleine Yuna Voyles). As Joshua’s first priority is to find Maya, he uses Alphie to help him find her but he slowly comes to realise what Alphie can do and how important she is. With U.S. forces closing in for the kill, and New Asia hunting him as a kidnapper, Joshua will do anything to find Maya and he will stop at nothing to protect Alphie and help her to fulfil her destiny.

War and rampant destruction; Anti-Imperialism; Artificial Intelligence; A child separated from parents; Death of loved ones.

There is frequent violence in this movie, including:

• A nuclear explosion decimates Los Angeles, killing millions.
• An AI soldier repeatedly smashes an American in the face, kicking him and punching him while he begs for his life.
• Maya holds Joshua at gunpoint and then runs through a firefight between humans and AI.
• The U.S. fires a bomb at the boat Maya and others are on, destroying it and causing massive damage.
• The charred remains of a mother and child are shown in the back of a car.
• Massive machines crush thousands of robots while they are still alive and trying to escape.
• A woman explained how her son was slowing cut up and killed.
• Scientists are shot at point blank range, their bloody bodies left lying on the ground.
• A U.S. soldier prepares to cut a head off a body so she can use it for facial recognition.
• Multiple police cars are attacked and blown up.
• Joshua holds a gun on Alphie on a couple of occasions, struggling with the notion of whether to pull the trigger, especially when his orders are to kill her.
• A U.S. soldier is shot in the backpack with a bomb that attaches to her person and explodes once she is in an aircraft, killing everyone on board.
• Missiles and bombs are dropped on numerous villages, causing mass casualties and complete destruction.
• A dog takes a bomb towards a bunch of AI police and it detonates, destroying them all. Body parts continue to move on their own, even after they have all been blown up.
• Police shoot into a crowd and at a car full of kids as it speeds past a checkpoint.
• Joshua threatens to get a crowbar and pry the information he needs out of Alphie’s head.
• An AI police officer is strangled and killed, and his cruiser stolen by U.S. operatives.
• Numerous guns are trained at the back of Alphie’s head as soldiers prepare to kill her.
• Joshua shoots at AI police and another soldier blasts an AI, whose face is blown off.
• A female AI is blasted apart and another character is devastated, crying over her inert body.
• A character rips off a robot’s head.
• Huge, U.S. army machines bulldoze their way through a New Asian village, destroying everything in their path and killing civilians indiscriminately as they fight to save themselves.
• Police and soldiers are targeted and killed, while terrified children watch.
• A bomb runs into the village and detonates, causing mass destruction. Alphie intervenes with the next bomb and causes it to stop but, when she is shot, the bomb reactivates and Joshua is just able to get Alphie away before the second bomb detonates and further attacks destroy the city completely.
• A soldier pretends to help an AI reconstruct herself but once she gets the information she was after, she shoots the AI in the face.
• Maya tells about how she grew up in a village of orphans cared for by AI. When they were attacked and a friend was killed, the AI who acted as the mother turned herself off as she couldn’t bear to be without her child.
• Numerous soldiers and AI are shot, killed, or otherwise destroyed in a range of brutal ways.
• People scream as they are sucked out of an air hatch and fall back down into the atmosphere.
• Numerous AI villages are destroyed, one after the other, as missiles are launched by a mechanical station intent on destroying all AI life and anyone supporting them.

Material that may scare or disturb children

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:

• A soldier who appears to be dead suddenly awakens briefly and may cause a bit of a jump scare for young children.
• Many of the AIs have glowing, red eyes and some, more mechanical ones, look quite creepy.
• Both Alphie and Joshua are grabbed by the same machine that looks like an octopus monster. Its long tentacles reach out to grab and bind and destroy.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:

• While trying to find the entrance to a secret facility, U.S. soldiers attack a village filled with women and children. They are all kneeling with their hands on their heads and one soldier grabs a girl’s puppy, threatening to kill it if they don’t tell him where the opening is. The girl is crying, terrified and begging him to stop but he keeps shouting at the villagers, while roughly holding the dog and jabbing his gun at the animal’s skull. There is no doubt that the soldier will happily kill the puppy and the little girl is beside herself, begging for its life. Joshua diffuses the situation by finding the entrance. The scene is both intense and brutal and likely to be very distressing to many children.
• Joshua discovers that Maya has been ‘alive’ all the years he thought she was dead – kept alive by technology, but only just. The AI were not capable of harming a human and turning off her life support but when Joshua learns of her state and sees her for himself, he knows there is only one thing to do. Maya was Alphie’s mother in every sense of the word and the small child is extremely sad to have been taken back to her, only to see her taken away almost as soon as they reach her side. The farewell, as Joshua and the daughter they would have shared say goodbye to Maya, is emotional and intense and may be upsetting for some viewers.
• U.S. soldiers take Alphie from Joshua’s arms as they both call for each other and try to fight their way out of the soldiers’ grasp. Later, Joshua is handed a gun and called to execute Alphie. He is told that she has not allowed them to kill her, and that this way will ‘be clean’ but the alternative will be unimaginable and that this is her last chance for a peaceful death. Alphie is strapped into a chair, fully restrained, with wires connected to her head. She is crying as she asks Taylor if she is going to heaven. Joshua is horrified at what he has been asked to do. It looks like he shoots Alphie and that she is dead, and even though that is not the case that is what most children will think and see. The scene is likely to be extremely distressing for many young viewers.
• Alphie is trapped in an escape pod, meant for both her and Joshua, but with moments before an imminent explosion Joshua encourages her to go and he stays behind to ensure that the place is destroyed, that AI will be safe from humanity and that the war will finally be over. Alphie watches as the station explodes with Joshua on it. She is devastated by his death. The emotional and intense parting the pair share only moments before may be too much for some children.

• Nothing further noted.

Product placement

• None noted.

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

• Joshua asks Maya if she is sure that he is the father of her child.
• One character comments on how humans raped and murdered Neanderthals out of existence.
• An AI says to the humans, “Please make love to yourself and also to your mother”.
• Alphie asks Joshua, “If you are not a robot, how are you made?”

Nudity and sexual activity

There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:

• Joshua is shirtless as he and Maya kiss and caress each other in bed, admiring her bare, pregnant belly.
• AI are seen dancing in a provocative way while others watch.
• A human man and an AI appear to have a romantic relationship together.

Use of substances

There is some use of substances in this movie, including:

• Characters drink at a club.
• Beers are seen beside guards playing a card game.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

• Dick
• Shit
• Assholes
• Damn it
• Hell
• Frigging
• Fucking
• Oh Jesus!
• Bastards
• Son of a bitch.

In a nutshell

The Creator is a futuristic, sci-fi, action-packed drama. The film boasts stunning special effects, excellent cinematography, and powerful performances. While it may likely appeal to younger teens the content is best suited to older teens and adults.

The main messages from this movie are that no matter where we come from, how we live or what we look like, it is our actions that define who we are; and that no matter what, we are all connected.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

• Empathy
• Persistence
• Compassion
• Courage
• Love.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

• Believing what others tell us and not questioning where the information has come from or what someone else’s agenda might be.
• Using violence as a means to solve conflict and attempting to eradicate an entire population, as opposed to trying to establish understanding and peace.
• Believing that some lives may be more valuable than others.
• Relying heavily on artificial or intellectual intelligence and forgetting that sometimes the most powerful intelligence comes from the heart.