The inherent problem with movies based on video games is that, by the nature of the medium, a movie makes a passive narrative out of an active one. For anyone who's played the Assassin's Creed video games, who can deny the thrill of scaling Renaissance architecture or the sweaty-palmed excitement of your first "leap of faith?" These are seminal moments that have made Assassin's Creed a hallmark of developer Ubisoft's oeuvre. The results of this highly-anticipated, game-to-screen translation are, perhaps unsurprisingly, decidedly average.
Featuring most of the same creative team behind last year's astounding Macbeth, Assassin's Creed seemed to be a surefire hit in the making. Director Justin Kurzel tries too hard to elevate the material to some twisted form of higher art. I found myself growing more and more exhausted as the film went on and thought that its biggest sin was self-seriousness. But then I remembered that the games - aside from some silly dialogue with the Florentines in Assassin's Creed II - are kind of the same way. Going back to the inherent flaw of video game movies, it's one thing to take part in a self-serious slog yourself. It's entirely different to be forced to sit idly as one plays out in front of you. Not even solid acting - of which there is plenty here - can save an absurdist plot that doesn't know when to embrace its silliness.
Michael Fassbender plays Callum Lynch, an entirely new hero in the franchise. He is the direct descendant of Aguilar de Nerha (also Fassbender), a 15th century assassin working to overthrow Templar rule during the first years of the Spanish Inquisition. The connection between Cal and Aguilar is amplified by the Animus, a device that synchronizes his senses and memories with those of his ancestor. Through this connection, Abstergo Industries hopes to find the location of the Apple of Eden - a device that many believe contains the key to free will. Sofia Rikkin (Marion Cotillard) is in charge of the Animus project and hopes to use the Apple of Eden as a cure for violence. Her father Alan (Jeremy Irons) wants it for more nefarious purposes.
Even with a cast of star thespians, the Abstergo scenes are far less interesting than the action sequences with Aguilar. It's no secret that the stunt work on this film has been some of the most ambitious in cinema history. The "leap of faith" sequences alone required the highest controlled free falls ever attempted on a movie set. Kurzel should have given the action more room to breathe, though. Too much of the stunt work is masked by editing save for a climactic confrontation between Aguilar and Templar forces inside a temple. There's an electrifying shot with fellow assassin Maria (Ariane Labed) beating down several enemies with a few quick strikes from her gauntlet blades. Later in the scene, we get a brutal hand-to-hand fight sequence between Aguilar and Ojeda (Hovik Keuchkerian), a Templar henchman. With the games chock full of R-rated content, I was worried that the film's PG-13 rating may ruin it. Thankfully that wasn't the case. Buckets of CGI blood would've contributed nothing of any of the violent sequences.
Another thing I liked very much about the Aguilar scenes were that they were presented entirely in the Spanish language. I've always found the games slightly absurd for their adherence to the English language. In Assassin's Creed II, t's hilarious to listen to Leonardo Da Vinci speak with a British accent in Florence, Italy. Other side characters do the same during the French Revolution in Assassin's Creed: Unity. All characters in the film spoke Spanish when the setting required it, making the action feel more authentic. Great creative decision by the director and screenwriters.
The last fifteen or so minutes of the film present a clever, somewhat full-circle way to marry the Abstergo scenes with the more exciting assassin sequences. Overall though, It's too bad that Assassin's Creed revels in the more laconic aspects of the video game campaigns. Nobody plays the games for those scenes with Kristen Bell.
The ball's in your court now, Uncharted.
C
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