In Assassin's Creed, criminal Callum Lynch is administered a lethal injection only to wake up inside a mysterious facility ran by a shady organization, Abstergo. Abstergo recruits Callum for a research project known as the "Animus Project" where he's asked to relive the memories of his ancestor in hopes of locating the lost Apple of Eden artifact, a device with the power to eliminate freewill. Calum is soon enlightened that his ancestor Aguilar Nerha was a member of a secret Assassin's brotherhood involved in an eternal struggle opposite a rival Templar society during the Spanish Inquisition.
Assassin's Creed is the latest cinematic adaptation of a popular video game franchise following this year's summer release Warcraft and while I was unfamiliar with the lore behind the fantasy massive multiplayer online role playing game, I have indeed played a few Assassin's Creed games and so I'm familiar enough with the mythology that I had an easier time jumping into this world.
Assassin's Creed re-teams 2015's Macbeth director Justin Kurzel and lead stars Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard in an effort to make a credible adaptation but only do so half-heartedly, nailing the aesthetic but falling short when it comes to character depth and storytelling. The slick well-choreographed action sequences are admittedly one of the the best aspects of Assassin's Creed as the combat and practical parkour brilliantly materializes crucial game mechanics and the style hardcore fans are familiar with while director of photography Adam Arkapaw offers gorgeous escapist views of renaissance Spain.
Unfortunately, unsteady shaky-cam and jarring jump cut editing detract from the grandiose nature of the action as viewers will find it difficult to keep track of what's happening amidst the chaos. Kurzel flourishes in the exhilarating 1492 Spanish synchronizations but the present day Abstergo facility sequences are dull, lifeless, and characters feel restrained in their flat environment. The script penned up by Michael Lesslie and rewritten by Adam Cooper and Bill Collage disappoints in almost all regards; the story's generic, the characters aren't fully fleshed out, lack development, and simply aren't likable.
Neither the present day characters or those running around Spain in 1492 receive substantial arcs or any real character growth for that matter. One really nice touch for the Spanish Inquisition sequences though was that all the dialogue was spoken in Spanish which makes logical sense because it's always a bit odd to see foreigners depicted as unrealistically speaking English with ease in many blockbusters.
Despite all the problems present in the film's story, the acting talent doesn't slouch with the material. Michael Fassbender inhabits dual roles as both Callum and Aguilar and makes both at least look cool amidst the action but due to the lackluster screenplay fails to really bring out any human element in Callum and lack of screen-time for Aguilar doesn't afford him enough to explore the character.
Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Irons exchange some interesting dialogue highlighting their opposing viewpoints and make a compelling father-daughter pairing as Sofia and Rikkin but aren't allowed a character journey for them to accentuate and even they can't improve their dour surroundings in the Abstergo facility.
Ariane Labed has little dialogue, primarily serving as Aguilar's companion in his mission to keep the Apple out of Templar hands. She has some cool action moments but other than that probably won't register with the viewer and remaining cast members have even less to do than Labed as the focus is placed on the three headliners.
In conclusion, Assassin's Creed's insistence and focus on being faithful to the source material prevents it from reaching the heights it could have as the Spanish Inquisition sequences show promise for a better film. About a year ago Assassin's Creed and Warcraft were poised to potentially be the first great video game film adaptations but fast forward and both seem to have fallen flat. Assassin's Creed doesn't fall short because it's a video game movie, it fails because it doesn't have the right end goal in sight. Assassin's Creed leaves the door wide open for a sequel but failed to convince me future installments would be worthwhile.
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