With only five films to his credit -- and one of those open to debate -- we look forward to Gareth Edwards' newest genre adventure on the big screen: Jurassic World Rebirth, which releases later this week in movie theaters worldwide.
After we see it, we'll have a better idea how it fits into his slender filmography, which has stirred up an outsized amount of discussion over the past 15 years.
Born in England, Gareth Edwards began creating special visual effects for a variety of television shows in the 2000s, which came in handy when he wrote and directed a movie that required a lot of special visual effects, which he created on his own laptop computer after shooting on location for three weeks.
Monsters (2010)
The film is now streaming on Hulu.
Scoot McNairy stars as a skeptical photojournalist who is charged by his billionaire newspaper employer with bringing the mogul's daughter, Whitney Able, home to the US. One problem: to get there, they must avoid giant extraterrestrial creatures who have emigrated to Planet Earth and taken up residence in a huge Infected Zone smack dab in the middle of Mexico.
Edwards' feature debut enjoyed its world premiere at SXSW in March 2010. Yours truly stayed entirely awake for the midnight screening, completely enthralled, after being tipped off by advance footage from the film that our site shared (legally). In the post-screening Q&A, Edwards said he "wanted to begin where every other monster movie ends." Thus, as I wrote at the time, Monsters is "languid and dreamy," rather than packed with ceaseless action. The near-future world looks "incredibly detailed, earthy, and organic."
Still, along with the title comes certain expectations. "Monsters creates a tantalizing, evocative atmosphere in which very little that is expected takes place. If we know there are monsters in a movie, after all, we expect the movie to be about the monsters, not about a couple of young Americans who push the monsters into the background as minor cast members."
Rewatching it again recently, I was reminded that it's not a perfect movie. Even so, "there are individual sequences that are masterfully underplayed and linger in the memory. When the monsters attack, it's confusing and exciting. When we see the effects of the carnage upon ordinary people, the casualties of war, it's moving. When alien footage on TV has become commonplace and routine, when the populace has become accustomed to the idea that we are not alone in the universe -- and it ain't E.T. -- that's something powerful to think about."
Very soon after the screening, the film's acquisition by distributor Magnet Releasing was announced, with a broader release to follow in the months ahead. As an independent movie that is more interested in what happens after the world is invaded by terrifying creatures, it still looks amazing and feels quite unique in its sub-genre.
Godzilla (2014)
The film is now streaming on Prime Video.
Edwards' first big studio production again bucked expectations for a monster movie.
Our reviewer, James Marsh, began thusly: "British director Gareth Edwards makes his Hollywood debut in jaw-dropping style, bringing Godzilla back to the big screen in a grand scale action adventure that is pitched perfectly between obligatory disaster drama and indulgently delightful monster mash."
"This time out," Mr. Marsh continued, "Edwards has been forced to relinquish control of the film's cinematography, editing and visual effects - all of which he handled pretty much single-handedly in addition to directing his debut - there remain many similarities between the two films, both in narrative structure and execution."
"This is the other great strength in Monsters that Edwards transfers across to this film - his creatures have character, he makes us believe they are living, breathing entities with a purpose, rather than simply marauding mindless mounds of meaningless muscle."
Honestly, I could quote James' entire review -- it's really good! -- but instead point you to what he says in full. If I may point out one more rather prescient line in the review, however: "The only reason to invoke Spielberg's dinosaur film in this discussion at all is to strip it of its crown. Edwards' Godzilla is not only a safe bet as the best summer blockbuster of 2014, it's the best monster movie since Jurassic Park."
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
The film is now streaming on Disney Plus.
Tony Gilroy's outstanding Andor is a prequel to the prequel that is Rogue One, which gained additional publicity when it became known that Gilroy was brought in to work on the movie after Edwards completed his cut and earned a credit as one of the two screenwriters for what he did. That may have contributed to Edwards' lengthy delay in helming features after the Rogue One release, but it shouldn't taint what he accomplished.
In any event, our reviewer, Jim Tudor, had many good things to say: "This is the darkly toned Star Wars film that veteran fans have been clamoring for since the original prequel, The Phantom Menace, was announced a long time ago. For them, satisfaction is all but assured. There is moral complexity, conflicted characters, visceral combat and Stormtrooper deaths galore."
Jim concluded: "Don't expect it to mesh perfectly with the stylistic template of all previous entries, but that's the point: This is the stand-alone debut; the rogue one."
Eight other Screen Anarchy writers also had their own individual thoughts on the movie, as kindly gathered by my fellow editor Ard Vijn; I invite you to read that here. And we were not done: our columnist Lia Matthew Brown also opined about the film in this lovingly-expressed essay. Whee!
The Creator (2023)
The film is not currently available to stream on any legal service, though it is available to buy or rent on on a variety of Video On Demand (VOD) platforms.
Working with the other Rogue One scripter, Chris Weitz, Edwards' most recent release may be somewhat ungainly and may not entirely succeed, but I loved its ambition. The film gained a number of positive notices, including from our own reviewer, Mel Valentin, who wrote: "Using familiar tropes drawn from a variety of science-fiction and non-science classics ... Edwards hasn't just remixed them, he's synthesized them into something entirely new."
In conclusion, wrote Mel, "ultimately, The Creator proves to be far greater than the sum of its influences or parts, delivering incisive, provocative political art embedded in sci-fi/action entertainment. Entertainment value or political allegory aside, The Creator also doubles as a poignant, unironic plea for cross-cultural, cross-ideological empathy and compassion."
Now Streaming celebrates independent and international genre films and television shows that are newly available on legal streaming services.