Assassin’s Creed the video game series is actually one of my most purchased series, almost every time one of the games in the series gets released, I end up going to the store to purchase it. What I love about the series is that each one takes a player to a different historical period which you can explore in an open world environment and it’s always interesting to see what they’ve made. As a person who loves history, I love the series for that and there’s not many games out there like it, aside I guess from ones in the strategy genre that allow you to visit the worlds of the past. As one of the most popular video game series out there, Assassin’s Creed is now a film. But is it worth going to see?
It’s a hard question to answer really. I mean this is a game series that has so many fans and I’m sure there are so many people who are really eager to go and see it, as I was. As a film it’s got some great lead actors. Cinema attendees will enjoy performances from actors such as Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Irons, who are all great people on their own. There’s enough there to make someone want to go and see it. There’s also some pretty good action scenes and it has all the makings of a fun film.
However Assassin’s Creed for some reason isn’t that great. While it’s got some good actors and it’s based on one of the most popular game series out there that is quite rich with stories to tell. It ends up being a bit of a messy film experience. The film seems to get stuck when it comes to explaining to lore of the Assassin’s as well as the story of what the Animus is and how it works. While the game only spends a bit in that futuristic world and spends much of its time in the historical one, in the film it seems to struggle balancing between the two and the tone change between the two worlds makes it kind of a jarring film experience.
The film sees us travel to 15th century Spain and does start off strongly. I love the time period and the seriousness of the Spanish speakers, everything is so cool to begin with. But most of what we see in the past is just action scenes, which lack dialogue and any drama. We’re supposed to be learning about this assassin known as Aguilar, but apart from seeing him fight and run around, I barely know him and that’s a major issue I believe, because the video game makes a large effort for you to know the historical assassin of the past. While not all the games are perfect at executing their character development, this film seems to be terrible at it. Who was this Aguilar I wonder?
Special effects and action scenes aren’t bad. This is a typical action film experience with a lot of fighting, stabbing, assassinating and jumping around. Some of the special effects did look a bit poor though and at times it felt the movie needed a larger budget to visually achieve what it was trying to achieve on screen. There are some cool effects that remind us of the video game series, such as the flying eagle that’s always around in the game, but compared to other recent releases such as Underworld: Blood Wars which offers a similar action film experience, Assassin’s Creed seems far behind.
The actors all try their best. Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Irons are all some of my favourites. But the script doesn’t seem to give them much and sadly there isn’t much in there for them to make an impact on screen. The director had a lot of things going for him with this, but for some reason it doesn’t feel like it came together. I don’t think that this film captured the heart of what the video games were about, it does in a way, but for some reason isn’t great at doing it.
Overall this is a great film for those who might have a bit of time to waste and are curious about what it could be like watching it. It’s got some great actors such as Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Irons and some interesting action sequences. But as a film up against recent releases such as Underworld: Blood Wars, it’s maybe the least best option at the moment. It’s always fun to see a video game series get turned into a film, but as many gamers do know. That’s not always a good thing. I really wish it was better than it was.
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