Assassin’s Creed (2016) Review!!!

Synopsis – 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.

My Take – We all know that Hollywood studio have been having a difficult time trying to make franchises from film based on video games. From Mario Bros to Resident Evil to the recently released Warcraft: The Beginning, their intricate and ever evolving story, long list of characters, and unique ideas and visuals have not successfully translated onto the big screen. In my opinion, the Silent Hill films are the only ones who came close to the actual theme of the games. However I walked into this Justin Kurzel (Macbeth) directed film, without much knowledge of the games, nor any expectations, despite being impressed by the trailers, & knowing about Michael Fassbender‘s involvement both as the lead actor and as a producer. So does this one break the video game-film curse? Not really! But it may be the best adaptation in years. Of course, that’s not saying a whole lot, and there’s still so much room for improvement. Where many films these days have way too many exposition-heavy scenes, the film needed a few more. After finding more about the source material, I do understand how it wasn’t exactly the easiest to adapt to the screen. Keeping that in mind, despite some story telling faults, I do think this was an interesting take on one of Ubisoft‘s biggest properties. I could see with every aspect of the film that the people behind the film really cared about the project. Based on the Ubisoft multi-platform video game series which debuted in 2007, the story follows Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender), a convict in the midst of his execution for capital murder. Despite his sentence being carried out, Callum wakes up in a facility in Madrid owned by Abstergo Industries. Upon failing to escape the 1st time, Callum is promised by Abstergo scientist Sophia Rikken (Marion Cotillard) that he can have his freedom and a new life if he helps her and her father, Abstergo CEO Alan Rikken (Jeremy Irons), to find an Artifact – the Apple of Eden, the same apple eaten by Adam and Eve from The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden. As Callum’s ancestor Aguilar de Nerha (Michael Fassbender) was the last one known to have the Apple in possession, Calum is hooked up to a machine known as Animus, which can extract ancestral memories from a person’s DNA. Through his memories, Callum finds out that in 1492, Aguilar was a member of a secret group known as Assassin’s Creed who have pledged to find the legendary Apple of Eden and keep it away from the Templars (aka the Knight’s Templars) who during the Spanish Inquisition sought to rid Catholic countries of heretics and their unorthodox religious teachings by using intimidation, torture and execution. It is believed that the Apple contains “the seed of mankind’s first disobedience”, or “free will” for short, and the Apple can be used to rid the world of violence. That’s what the Assassins want it for anyway, while the Templars want it in order to cement Catholic orthodoxy and ensure the obedience of the masses.

As Callum sees visions of what Aguilar experienced, the acrobatic movements of Cal’s body mirror those of Aguilar as he runs, climbs, falls, fights, and kills his way to the Apple, when the time comes Callum must decide to help the templars or choose to be an Assassin like his father (Brendan Gleeson), the killer of his mother. So for the first half hour of the film, I tried my best to understand the story line which was a little bit challenging, however, the film became much more interesting once the experiment started, where we could see the world in 1492, especially those cool moves done by the Assassins. The fight scenes, jump scenes, and the scenes from point of view of the eagle flying above the grounds were very nice to look at. From what I had seen about the game, I did feel the film definitely captured the game’s tone, even if it sometimes makes frustrating plot choices. The good thing is that the film moves at a brisk pace. A tense opening gets the adrenaline pumping, before the film jumps into the thrilling journey of Aguilar and his brotherhood. The tale continues to speed through, keeping the excitement going with each passing minute. Don’t fret, there are some slower moments to help you catch up and describe and reestablish the purpose of the action and keeps the flatter parts to a minimum. For the most part the story does a fine job of balancing character development with a dilemma and goal. The quest to find the elusive Apple of Eden has elements of a treasure hunt, where the clues are located in the psyche rather than an extensive list of hidden object clues. And I kind of enjoyed the flashing back and forth between the present and past, which kept you ground in all aspects of the tales. However, even with this presentation the plot has some gaps and weaker elements that take away from the story. For one thing, the whole line work in the shadows focus was a bit of a glitch for me instead turning to the action element. Unlike the game which apparently takes place 80% in the past and 20% in the present day, the film flips it around. I think they would’ve been much better off if they spent more time in the 1492 time and developed that story arc and those characters. I’m not sure if it was budgetary reasons or the filmmakers just didn’t think 15th Century Spain would be interesting to viewers, but this isn’t a film about that particular time-frame. In addition, the ending scene seemed a little too easy for the infiltration. For such a threatening group, the Templar has surprisingly lax security and the Assassin’s work at the end was a little anticlimactic despite the set up for a sequel. The whole family drama revolving around Fassbender‘s character didn’t fit well for me, and felt little weird/unnecessary in the grand scheme of the film. As for the supporting characters, their place resides at the end, but outside of that they did little to support the story and were almost unneeded in the grand scheme these plot holes illustrate that the balance was off and their emphasis was more on the stunts and action. The games have always been known for building the character’s back stories, so as to build an emotional connection for the player. They are also famous for providing an enjoyable light history lesson, to further explain the period the story takes place in, as well as provide further motivation for the assassin’s actions; sadly the film provided little of this. We are given minimal regarding our main and supporting characters in the present day, and the same goes for his ancestor and fellow assassins. I would have loved to have learned more about the main character; what lead him to where he is at the present time. And the same goes for the assassin ancestor. What kind of life did he lead? Did he grow up with the assassins, or join their ranks later, and if so, what lead him to join? There seemed to be hints of a romance between him and Maria. I wouldn’t have minded a little more back-story on that as well.

And when our hero delves into the past, he visits the period of the Spanish Inquisition. The film does visually show you that it appears to be quite a war torn era, however no real information is given, which leads to my biggest gripe, the length of the film. Clocking in at just 115 minutes, I completely believe that the crew had such a solid grasp of the material and how to present it properly; they could have done more without losing the audience. Granted, the final product is quite enjoyable, but they could have gotten away with more. It would have given them the ability to include some of the more vital story elements, therefore creating an even better film, as well as give us more in general of the assassin memories. Yet I am sure one cannot deny that film has done a fantastic job recreating the Spanish cities. Both live props and CGI are crafted together in extraordinary detail, bringing with it a sense of nostalgia and a historical atmosphere. The culture is brought to life in the obstacle course of Inquisition age, and the special effects add an extra kick to ramp up the excitement. The modern-day lab setting also has a cool vibe to it, primarily in the chamber where the machine lies. I give props to the design team for the smooth transitions between worlds and figuring out a way to meld the action together. And speaking of action, the film was exactly what it was supposed to be – a fun film with strong action sequences. While many of these moments are a little repetitive, the stunt choreography is incredibly well done and well representative of the game. Fassbender‘s (and his stunt men) training comes out in full force as you watch them traverse climbing towers and beat up the poor extras. I myself loved the weapon fights and acrobatic moments, especially near the end, listening to all the sound effects ringing through the theater which amps up the scene and immerses you into the fight. Aguilar and his partner Maria going on a rescue mission to escaping the historical city by fighting their way through and running on rooftops was quite spectacular. The action set pieces are exciting, it does feel like that moment when playing a character and having guards chase you across the city. Even, the leap of faith had its one small moment in the film from fighting and climbing the highest tower and taking a leap to escape. What I think sets this film apart is the grittiness that Justin Kurzel brings as director. It gives the film a unique and very hand on feel, rather than the inauthentic feel of wires and green screen. This is probably one of the most brutal PG-13 films I’ve seen in terms of violence. It was like they were going for an R rating then at the last minute the studio was like, “You know what. Just cut out the blood.” Which honestly if that’s how it went I wouldn’t be surprised. In terms of casting, I was so happy to see such an incredibly diverse cast, Michael Fassbender has always been a huge advocate of diversity in film, so it was something I noticed right away and appreciate him for. It really seemed like Michael Fassbender was throwing all his efforts into the film. One of my favorite parts of the film was Ariane Labed‘s character Maria, without saying too much she was so damn awesome. Marion Cotillard was good, but I will honestly say that she is getting quite repetitive with the choice of character she has been playing in most of her films. Brendan Gleeson was a welcome and strong presence in the film. I was happy to see Michael Kenneth Williams; he was great in his supporting part. Jeremy Irons was his awesome manipulative as always. On the whole, “Assassin’s Creed” as a film may not break the video game adaption curse due to its missing elements, but is without a doubt a delight for action film lovers.