Ah, Assassin’s Creed… The movie tie-in to a video game franchise I have enjoyed from time-to-time, and starring Michael Fassbender, no less. At the time, I was shocked to see Fassbender, an actor who is definitely above this material, starring in this type of movie. My thought is he must’ve received oodles of cash… if that is the case, good on him.
I’ve never actually sat down and watched this one despite being intrigued by its existence, largely because video game movies are generally pretty dumb. Not that I don’t enjoy them, but to see an actor of this caliber stooping to this material just seemed… a bit sad. I can enjoy the Angelina Jolie “Tomb Raiders” because at the time, that was her “bit” and the movies really embraced it. The same with the “Resident Evil” franchise, where the creators openly admitted to trying to make “beer & pizza” movies. These movies CAN be enjoyable if the creators lean into the ridiculousness of it, but with a quality actor like Michael Fassbender, “Assassin’s Creed” doesn’t appear to be one of those films. Maybe it is and I love the film; I guess we will see. Here is the flippy-kick heavy trailer..
This is a hard movie to talk about because it is overwhelmingly mediocre. I hate to put the cards on the table this early in the write-up, but here, I think it is necessary for everyone to know where I stand on this. Let’s start with the cast.
Michael Fassbender is the main character, playing both the modern day Cal and the Spanish Inquisition era Aguilar. Fassbender cannot help but bring a gravitas to every role he takes on, but in this movie it just seems forced. I get that he is playing 2 serious characters, but this is literally a movie about modern day person reliving a relative’s life from 500 years ago. Would it hurt him to have a little fun?
Second character of note is Marion Cotillard, another classy actress who generally elevates the films she is in. Definitely not here… I don’t even think this is the actors fault; this concept does not lend itself to film. Cotillard plays an overly serious scientist who essentially invented the technology for Fassbender to live his ancestral line. She acts with tremendous weight, but this sort of movie needs to be more fun.
Lastly is Jeremy Irons. He isn’t a major character here, but i love the guy and he plays the main connection of Abstergo to the Templars. Again, he acts this very seriously, and it makes the movie no fun.
Speaking of fun, lets talk about this story in general, and how it relates to the video games. Basically, outside of the Spanish Inquisition (no game has actually been in that period), the overarching plot is pretty well standard for Assassins Creed-fare. Basically, the Templars and Assassins fight throughout time, and the Animus allows the Assassins to see the past to help them fight in the future. This is a retelling of the first game where we find out all the overarching plot points.
Now, if you play that first game, you find that there is very little humor in it. It definitely is a fun game, but that comes from playing the role of the Assassin and not the actual story. As you get later into the series, the plot tends to lighten up a bit, and you get a couple of different humorous outlets. But this movie is like a retelling of that first, humorous dredge of a game; interesting concept, but joyless. It can work for a game, it doesn’t work well for a movie.
I also found this movie confusing when trying to figure out the stakes. Can someone in the “Animus” die? Why do they have to act out the memory? And what is this “bleeding affect”? All of these things make sense to someone who has played these games, but the filmmakers have to be trying to get people who don’t enjoy these games to show up to the movies too; without owning an Xbox or Playstation, people would probably be stumped about what is going on.
This movie is just flat out boring. Yes, you have some pretty interesting set pieces. Yes, the graphics are well-ish done. But nothing really seems like this property was built to be enjoyed by anyone but those who have already played the franchise.
It’s late, lets do final thoughts. I am not going to fight against people watching this movie, but I also cannot recommend it. It is a perfectly passable attempt, but I constantly was checking to see how much time was left. I actually considered taking a nap for 20 minutes. I recommend this to someone who likes the games and wants to expand their interaction with it, but it isn’t good enough to warrant a watch with the significant other but it isn’t bad enough to laugh at the plot with the boys. If you have a copy of the film and have nothing else to do, give it a shot. Otherwise, you are probably doing just about anything that will make you more productive.
Ain't That Bad - Movie Blog 