Directed By Justin Kurzel
Screenplay by Michael Lesslie, Adam Cooper, Bill Collage
Starring Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, Charlotte Rampling
Did I write ‘epic’ above? I’m sorry, that was a mistake. Anemic might be more like it.
Aimless. Pointless. Makes-Little-Sense.
Video Games: Epic YES.
Movie: Epic NO!
Let’s get right down to the Brass Knucks on Assassin’s Creed. It is an adaptation of the mega selling (and personally awesome) video game franchise. But you probably knew that, didn’t you?
Of course, if you’re a fan of the video game franchise, you probably dived in expecting said adaptation . . . only to wonder ‘Where in Hell is it?’
As an adaptation, the film is bad. There is only surface level resemblance to the source material and even that is questionable. It’s like the filmmakers never bothered to found out what the film was based on, or didn’t care.
As just a film – taking out the fact that it is an adaptation – it is still plain bad.
Even with the always reliable Michael Fassbender in the lead, this film never rises above mediocrity. It is pointless, aimless and doesn’t seem to have any real reason to exist. It seems to want to be an action film, but at the same time doesn’t – as the action scenes and fights just don’t deliver.
The Video Games have a sense of purpose and discovery about them, the world grows as you play and they are not action only games – one actually has to figure things out for themselves and use their intelligence and wits to play.
All this is sorely missing from this ‘movie.’
As is a script and any real sense of direction.
If this was truly an Assassin’s Creed film, it would be filled with intrigue, politics, mysteries to be solved, a goal and purpose for the main character. Then it could be Epic.
As is, it’s not.
Final Thoughts:
You can’t spell Assassin without ASS, ASS.
RATING: 4
