The Creator (4 Stars)

Artificial intelligence isn't a new topic in films. "Terminator" was made in 1984, and ever since then we've seen films about robots rebelling against humanity. But things have changed in the last few years. Artificial intelligence has become a buzzword. In 1984 it was pure fantasy, but now artificial intelligence is finally becoming intelligent enough to be taken seriously. I've used AI myself to write poems, draw pictures and even write film reviews. The results aren't perfect (especially not the film reviews), but they're good enough to be taken seriously. Actors are becoming scared that AI will be used to copy their images and replace them. Will AI soon be intelligent enough to replace me? I think not. Why would AI even want to imitate someone as erratic as me?

But people are scared. The American Congress is considering restrictions on the use of AI. And films like "The Creator" fan the flames of paranoia.

The film takes place in 2046. Robots (referred to collectively as AI) have been built to assist mankind. Things went well for a few years, until an atomic bomb was detonated in Los Angeles, killing millions of people. As a result, artificial intelligence has been banned in America and Europe. A country called New Asia is alone in continuing to build robots. America is threatening a full scale assault on New Asia to wipe out artificial intelligence.

In the film something new has happened. The artificial intelligence has built a new weapon, capable of ending the war. The weapon is in the form of a child.

The artificial intelligence in New Asia is unusual. Rather than abandoning superstition, the robots are imitating humans. Robots have become Buddhist monks. The robotic monks pray over the bodies of robots that have been destroyed. I honestly don't know what to say about this.

The robots in "The Creator" are far removed from the robots in "Terminator". They seem to be afflicted with human weakness. Is this realistic? The film doesn't answer this question. It's a colourful sci-fi spectacle, but the end result is flawed.