Official Website

Plot Summary: When Callum Lynch explores the memories of his ancestor Aguilar and gains the skills of a Master Assassin, he discovers he is a descendant of the secret Assassins society.

Director: Justin Kurzel

Writers: Michael Lesslie (screenplay), Adam Cooper (screenplay)

Runtime: 108 min

Main Cast:

• Michael Fassbender as Cal Lynch / Aguilar
• Marion Cotillard as Sofia
• Jeremy Irons as Rikkin
• Brendan Gleeson as Joseph Lynch
• Michael Kenneth Williams as Moussa

Review: by Anthony

Could this be it? Could Michael Fassbender finally do the impossible? Could Fassbender be the one to make a good video game movie adaptation?

Tweet

When the Assassin’s Creed movie was first announced I was really intrigued. The Assassin’s Creed video game series, which I’m a fan of, is rich with history and characters, however, when the news broke that the movie adaptation would not be based on any particular game’s plot, I was dissuaded.

Then I learned more about the cast for this movie. With so many great actors and actresses, both Academy Award and Golden Globe winners, there’s no way this can be utter garbage. Right?

Then the first trailers dropped and my confidence and excitement for Assassin’s Creed was born anew.  While not retelling the story from any particular Assassin’s Creed game the story showcased in the trailers looked to mimic the basic bone structure of the series.  My only fear was in capturing the greatness that brought me to purchase game after game, they’d also capture some of the video game series flaws.

What I Liked:

In order to properly explain the many things I loved about Assassin’s Creed the movie I have to explain how much and why I love the Assassin’s Creed video game series.

Much like other open-world sandbox games (Grand Theft Auto, Batman: Arkham Series) rather than work on main story missions, I love going around getting into the chaos the world.  Partaking in large scale fights with multiple enemies, accessing or attempting to access restricted areas which then result in a massive chase to get away from the enemies.  Assassin’s Creed does these things extremely well.  Rooftop fights, fighting off nameless grunts while outnumbered 5 to 1, and awesome free running in both chase sequences and traversing the city.

Speaking of running away to live another day, Assassin’s Creed is known for its freestyle running and intricate environments.  This is something the Assassin’s Creed movie nails.  There are multiple instances of buildings being scaled in non-linear fashion, running in-between buildings, jumping from rooft0p to rooftop, and moving gracefully with cat-like agility across clotheslines.

I also need to mention the fighting.  The fight choreographer and stunt chroeographer deserve some praise for capturing the feel from the video games and bringing it to the big screen.  There’s one on one fighting, two on two, two on one, and five on one. It’s great, and not only are they fighting off these grunts in varying numbered groups, they’re doing so with a wide variety of armament from swords, axes, daggers, throwing knives, halberd, and of course the Assassin’s hidden blade.

In the video games in order to unlock portions of the game map, you have to ascend various structures and “synchronize” using “Eagle Vision” and then perform a leap of faith into a strategically placed bale of hay, and it was really dope to see that on the big screen with some really good effects. I remember seeing the behind the scene’s video of stuntman Damien Walters practicing doing the “leap of faith” from a starting point of 125 feet in the air. I’m certain that the practical stunt work of the leap of faith added a lot to the smoothness of those scenes.

What I Didn’t Like:

All the things I loved about Assassin’s Creed the movie were directly in line with the things I love about the Assassin’s Creed video game franchise.  Unfortunately, on the other side of that coin are the things I hate and could utterly do without in the Assassin’s Creed video game franchise, and those things the Assassin’s Creed movie picked adapted as well.

The plot of the Assassin’s Creed video game franchise at this point is known for being overly convoluted and grandiose to the point of nearing on complete nonsensical drivel.  The movie has a terrible plot line all the way through from the start of the movie into the last third.  It’s all just bad.  The reasons used to pull all the characters together, the backstory of the McGuffin, and the resolution of the story; none of it makes any sense or stands up to any critical thinking.

Earlier I mentioned the impressive cast for this movie and frankly I’m embarrassed for them.  Brendan Gleeson had no good business being in this movie.  I hope he’s not in financial duress, maybe he can bum a few bucks off his son Domhnall Gleeson.

Images Courtesy of IMDB