Assassin's Creed (2016)
Justin Kurzel
Writers:
Michael lesslie, Adam Cooper, Bill Collage. (Screenplay); Patrick Desilets, Corey May, Jade Raymond; (Video game).
Cast:
Michael Fassbender (Cal Lynch), Marion Cotillard (Sofia), Jeremy Irons (Rikkin), Brendan Gleeson (Joseph Lynch), Charlotte Rampling (Ellen Kaye), Michael Kenneth Williams (Moussa), Denis Menochet (McGowan), Ariane Labed (Maria), Khalid Abdalla (Sultan Muhammad XII), Essie Davis (Cal's Mother), Matias Varela (Emir), Callum Turner (Nathan), Carlos Bardem (Benedicto), Javier Gutierrez (Tomas de Torquemade), Hovik Keuchkerian (Ojeda), Crystal Clarke (Samia), Michelle H. Lin (Lin), and Brian Gleeson (Young Joseph).
Opening Credits:
First let my start with simply saying i absolutely love the Assassin's Creed video games, i played them, and their stories are not simple, the complex designs and locations are difficult to control. The characters in the game are not humdrum, they'll keep you on your toes from the start of the first Act to the third and final Act. Desmond Miles the main protagonist in the video game series went through hell and back, gathering all the information within different parts of the world, the many stages of the game made you think. Even though he used the Animus, he still was careful with every step. The video game series had that beauty about it. The hidden features, artifacts, was there, you just needed those pieces to put the puzzle together, and continue on. The 15 Century world that the game story was in, despite the characters, and places Desmond miles was in, it still managed to keep secrets in such a way that the game became epic. The hero Ezio, and Desmond were two of a kind, one behind the animus, while the other managed become something more.
Review:
Spain: 1492
The scene opens with the Assassin Brotherhood gathered, chanting, another recruit. Aguilar de Nerha (Michael Fassbender) recites the Assassin's Creed, "We work in the dark to serve the light. We are Assassins." Everything is dark, the only light is the candles lit in the large room. Maria (Ariane Labed) glances at Aguilar, her stare is innocent enough, for she is glad another has taken the oath against the evil Templar's.
Aguilar (Fassbender) has taken a mission to destroy the Order of the Knights of Templar, they're in search of the Apple of Eden, a artifact that has incredible power. (Fade to black)
Callum Lynch (Angus Brown) rides his bicycle across rooftops, the sun beats down at him. His confidence is overwhelming, focused on the next rooftop. he gathers enough strength to push himself forward. The jump had failed, but the only thing that was broken was his spirit. The bike flips as the boy falls hard on top of the roof. He to rides back home, thinking of ways to perfect his jumps, but what he finds is silence instead. He drops his bike, Callum looks to the man forward. His senses tells him something is wrong. He wants to tell his mother about the failed jump, but something about the silence that makes him nervous.
He walks in slowly, and finds blood, his mother is perched up, blood trickling down her neck. The boy looks up, a man with a hood, an assassin warning the boy to move, run...
(Present Day) Callum (Michael Fassbender) awaiting to be executed, for murder. Lethal injection, an end he did not want. The cell seems empty, the only memory he has is this particular moment. The moment everything flashes before you. Death is waiting, his memories are flooding fast enough to give him a migraine. His breath is deep, and everything seems to isolate him, yet the memories of his father, and death of his mother flood as a most recent memory. The priest in the cell gives him his last rights, but the memories continue to come. (Fade to black)
Assassin's Creed the film definitely had a different feel. Not that that's bad but when it began, the movie just flew by. Never even letting the audience know what the heck is going on. The main purpose for the Assassins is to work under the dark shadows, never to be discovered. In the film they're all discovered. The Templar's knew they're in the shadows; Granted i could understand being ready, but the way the film had it, the guards knew the exact location of the assassins. On the roof, behind the cart, inside the building which the assassin Michael Fassbender's character didn't make a peep, but still over one hundred guards came rushing in. I could understand if Tomas de Torquemade (Javier Gutierrez) had thousands of guards on him, but seeing that both Cal / Aguilar (Fassbender), and Maria (Ariane Labed) had made it to the Sultan Muhammad XII (Khalid Abdalla) home and by the way if anyone had guards this dude did. He would've killed all the Templar's on site. Instead he gave away the Apple of Eden that quickly. His son was the one in play here, so in a way i get it. But not without some consequences, which really didn't come. The character was a paper cut out without life.
The film did have great visual effects, but even with the stunning scenes, it fell short. I played the games, so with that being said this film couldn't trick me. I knew the steps into becoming an assassin. The challenges in the game, the film never even touched. Changing the story is one thing, but completely gutting it, without reason, making it a complete action film; Which it was because the main characters didn't have time to think. Sofia (Marion Cotillard) was the daughter of Rikkin (Jeremy Irons). He was a big deal to the Templar's but yet he only was observing from behind the glass, and when he finally confronted the hero, Cal (Fassbender) it was to late. The character ark was over. The final Act needed resolution, substance, instead it made a mockery of it. The main antagonist confronted Cal told him what needed to be done, but yet that scene would've been better if they had some sort of connection. The main villain, Ellen Kaye (Charlotte Rampling) had very few scenes, she wasn't needed, even though she was the leader. They had Rikkin (Jeremy Irons). Not to down play the Templar organization, but it almost felt like a wannabe corporation using Cal for their purposes, and even then the whole place where the facility was hidden was a joke. The others were assassins, used like so many. The story was like a big "B" movie gone wrong, could you imagine that. The guards at the complex were idiots, and why hire folks that can protect the millions of dollars of investments, which is the Animus. Guess the writers forgot about that, who cares, lets have the drugged up assassin wannabees take the place.
Assassin's Creed the game introduced the Animus. The computer linked the DNA of the ancestor. Only the one linked could use the animus. And they could only travel so far in time, pockets where his ancestor was within a certain time frame. The user could connect with the one inside the timeline. If the ancestor did not have a connection within lets say 1492, then the person inside the animus couldn't travel to that time. There are circumstances, a place of significance, something that could alter the timeline. The game was so intriguing, it pulled you in. The magic of the game was not the fighting, but the hiding, secrecy, all that stuff. In the film, they had jumping, fighting was the whole point, which made no sense. You didn't need an assassin, just a plain old martial artists would've done the job. The substance of the game was lost. Act 1 was great, it had a lead, a great start, but as it moved to Act 2, everything started to fall a part. The story went to fast, just like the long pointless action scenes. The audience wanted to know what was going on, but couldn't because the plot points were washed away by the senseless action.
Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, Charlotte Rampling, Michael Kenneth Williams, Denis Menochet, and Ariane Labed were all great. The acting was not the issue, but the story fell apart, and the real sad thing is this film could've had more. Imagine a world where through the eyes of a man, an assassin, blending in, sacrificing himself each time a jump is made. The artifact known as the Apple of Eden is hidden in a secret cave, but before retrieving it he must do it without being seen. Jumping, hiding, going behind the enemy, dragging the enemy to a dark spot, where nobody could see. But, even then your time is short, because the guards will eventually notice.
Inside the cave, you must locate the artifact, but as the character gets closer, the object seems like a mile away. Because the cave is filled with secrets, traps, enemy guards. Well, that is Assassin's Creed, the mystery was secret, not exposed. The feel of danger was all around, not senseless combat. If i wanted to see a martial arts film, I could've put in Enter the Dragon. The films today really have no excuse, because they have the money to make anything visual. The story fell apart because the writers wanted to remove themselves from the video game. But the film was based off of the video game, why? remove yourself. It was Desmond, Ezio, that made the games great, but the intriguing story was key. the film bypassed all that and made it an action film without any substance. I don't mind an action film as long as it has substance, a story that drives the action. Assassin's Creed could've been more, but it fell short, and as a long time fan it could've been a lot more, much more. Instead it was a huge waist of time. I really wanted to like this film, it had a lot of issues, more than i could handle. I guess hopefully the sequel will prove me wrong, and the story could be saved. Normally i would put in quotes of the film, but the film had no real epic moments. That kills me because, a film like this should've had moments, pockets of greatness that make especially a film like this rich, beautiful, intriguing. If the only thing you got are visuals, and the story suffers, then the great characters become card board cut outs. The emotion, moments that make a film move from one Act to another are lost, and to me what makes a film wonderful are those particular scenes that make you feel, see, hear, the play on the senses. Assassin's Creed could've been an epic film based on a video game, but the movie big wigs made bad calls that killed the film.
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