[Watch our review above or read it below.]

With The Creator, Rogue One and Godzilla director Gareth Edwards has crafted a strong science fiction film. It’s a dramatic, surprisingly bleak film that plays out like an emotional war drama infused with familiar sci-fi discussions.

The film not only looks at how artificial intelligence is rapidly evolving in our world, presenting an extreme and terrifyingly plausible future, but also looks at the human race’s tendency for division and war. There’s also a major discussion on the role that the United States plays when enforcing agendas on the world stage.

The film is occasionally heavy-handed and some of these arguments we’ve seen depicted in various ways before, but it’s all put together in a satisfying, emotional package, thanks to strong world-building and a focus on character.

While there is a slightly repetitive format to the structure – as we go from location, battle, loss, location, battle, loss – it’s very well directed and performed. And plot-wise, I thought the crescendo really delivered on an emotional, dramatic level. And on a visual level – cinematography, VFX – absolutely fantastic.