This $80M Film Did Sci-Fi Action So Much Better Than The Electric State (And Got 2 Oscar Nods for It)
With a budget four times smaller than the Russo Brothers' project, the movie looks better than most expensive blockbusters.
Anthony and Joe Russo's new film, The Electric State, is an adventure sci-fi in the spirit of E.T. and Fallout. But the streaming service's most expensive movie, with a budget of $320 million, is also one of the least impressive projects in Netflix 's portfolio.
Two years ago, Gareth Edwards, now best known as the director of Jurassic World Rebirth, proved that you can make a truly compelling sci-fi with a well-conceived world with a budget four times smaller.
His The Creator received two Oscar nominations – for Best Sound and Best Visual Effects.
What Is The Creator About?
Hoping to find his presumed dead wife, former intelligence agent Joshua goes against the orders of his superiors and saves the latest AI weapon from destruction – a unique android girl who can remotely control machines.
The events unfold against the backdrop of a protracted conflict between the West and the East: the first faction seeks to exterminate the androids, while the second accepts them as equals.
With a Budget of Only $80 Million, The Creator Looks Better Than Most Modern Blockbusters
The Creator was made for a mere $80 million – with a cheap Sony FX3 camera, by a group of several people, using natural light and no built locations. The result is not only surprising, but shocking: the movie looks many times more expensive than its budget.
The Creator is an example of a competent distribution of the budget to achieve the most impressive result.
The story of the confrontation between humanity and artificial intelligence could have remained just another faceless sci-fi flick, were it not for the virtuoso development of the film's universe.
The Only Drawback of the Movie Is That It Doesn't Have a Strong Story
The director fantasizes about the future in the context of the impact of technology on human life. However, the movie does not always match the depth of the research.
The question of what it means to be human has too often become the central topic of sci-fi projects.
The approach to the subject itself seems overly sentimental. The authors try to manipulate the viewer's feelings, and sometimes they succeed. In the end, The Creator still manages to squeeze out tears: at the moment of the main characters' touching farewell, it is difficult to remain indifferent.
The Creator Makes up for Its Weak Plot With Stunning Visuals and a Well-Crafted World
Often a weak screenplay is a death sentence, but not in the case of The Creator. Although Gareth Edwards is not strong in creating an emotionally developed text, he is undoubtedly good in the visual part.
The world of The Creator is incredibly beautiful, worked out to the smallest detail and refers to the digital art of the artist Simon Stålenhag (on whose book The Electric State is based) and the visual features of early cyberpunk.
The result is a gripping space travel, replicants with human faces and iron hearts, and endless gunplay and explosions that will keep you glued to the screen for all 133 minutes of its running time.
