Review: Assassin's Creed Attempts a Leap of Faith and Hits The Ground, Hard.
- Jan 4, 2017
- 2 min read
Assassin's Creed is the first film to be released from Ubisoft's motion picture division and, while it certainly adheres to the formulae of the games, it fails to be anything more a disappointment.
Assassin's Creed has no excuse for being as dull as it is. Between empty characters, a plot that's more fluff that it should and a number of confusing choices, the film is cluttered, messy and downright boring though it does have a small number of redeeming factors, if few and far between.
The story follows Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender), a convicted and executed murderer who, after being resurrected days after he receives a lethal injection, no, we aren't told how, is told by Marion Cotillard, who's character is so bland I can't recall her name, that he holds the key to curing violence. This being an Assassin's Creed film, all is not as it seems. The cure for violence, an Apple of Eden, is also capable of removing free will and Marion's father, Jeremy Irons (again, can't remember the name), intends to use this to enslave humanity and place the Templars, a shady society of which he is a member, into power. But there's a problem, no one knows where the Apple is except for Callum's ancestor from Spain, in 1492. And so, after some science nonsense and liberal use of a device known as the animus, which shall henceforth be known as The Claw as that's what it is, Callum is tossed back in time to relive the memories of Aguilar.
The sequences set in the past are very well done with exciting action and a taste of interesting characters. It's a pity that it makes up for less than a third of the film. And even while Callum is in the past, the film has a nasty habit of switching back to the present for absolutely no reason. The action in 1492 is a lot of fun, especially seeing the iconic hidden blades in action along with a number of the series trademark moves. Every time I saw the dirty orange that covered the 15th century I wanted to stay there but was instead tossed back to a world where a facility is being closed down and Callum doesn't like his dad very much.
Unfortunately, outside of the past, Assassin's Creed isn't worth watching. The acting is mostly passable, though Irons chewing scenery is always good, the plot is paper thin and the payoff is ultimately weak. The film raises far more questions than it answers but it can only go up from here, I hope.
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