Movie Review: 20th Century Fox's Assassin's Creed - #AssassinsCreedMovie

ASSASSIN'S CREED
Action-Adventure
Release: December 21, 2016
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Justin Kurzel
Screenplay by: Michael Lesslie & Adam Cooper & Bill Collage (Credits not final), Based on the "ASSASSIN'S CREED" Game Series
Producers: Jean-Julien Baronnet, Gérard Guillemot, Frank Marshall, p.g.a., Patrick Crowley, Michael Fassbender, p.g.a, Conor McCaughan, Arnon Milchan
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, Charlotte Rampling, Michael K. Willaims, Khalid Abdalla
Runtime is 115 mins
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#AssassinsCreedMovie

Through a revolutionary technology that unlocks his genetic memories, Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) experiences the adventures of his ancestor, Aguilar, in 15th Century Spain. Callum discovers he is descended from a mysterious secret society, the Assassins, and amasses incredible knowledge and skills to take on the oppressive and powerful Templar organization in the present day.

ASSASSIN'S CREED stars Academy Award® nominee Michael Fassbender (X-Men: Days of Future Past, 12 Years a Slave) and Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard (The Dark Knight Rises, La Vie en Rose). The film is directed by Justin Kurzel (Snowtown, Macbeth); produced by New Regency, Ubisoft Motion Pictures, DMC Films and Kennedy/Marshall; co-financed by RatPac Entertainment and Alpha Pictures; and distributed by 20th Century Fox . ASSASSIN'S CREED opens in theaters worldwide on December 21st, 2016.

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As in the much beloved video game, historical fiction meets science fiction when a descendant of a secret medieval society called the Assassins, uses revolutionary technology to access genetic memories and live out his ancestors' adventures. In this case, former criminal Callum “Cal” Lynch (Michael Fassbender) is recruited to unlock the memories of an Assassin during the Spanish Inquisition so the society can gain the necessary skills to take down their enemies, the Templar Order, who bears a great similarity to the Illuminati.

Walking into a video game movie, I understand that I am not looking for strong substance in the film, but rather usually a passable action-adventure fantasy that plays off of my interest in the characters from the game. Although I will say their method of trying to tie together the time period from the 1400’s to the present day was intensely creative, it simply produced too many holes in what could have been a decent story line. The story was forced to spend too much time explaining what they were doing rather than developing some (seemingly) pretty cool characters. It was more focused on The Apple of Eden rather than really showcasing the Assassins, which I feel was a mistake. 

Cinematographer Adam Arkapaw deserves a special nod for his work on this film, visually it is stunning. I really enjoyed the intense combat scenes and the fighting choreography. It more than made up for difficult to follow story line. Beautiful Greek actress Ariane Labed played Maria, Cal’s Assassin partner, and was well suited for her part. While she didn’t do a lot of speaking, I would have liked to see more of her story in the film. Known for her physical acting, she was fantastic during the action sequences and definitely caught your attention.

I cannot say it was a great movie, but I had fun watching it and would be willing to see the next installment should they decide to move forward with the story.