Review: Assassin’s Creed (2016)

Assassin’s Creed

Rating

Director

Justin Kurzel

Screenplay

Michael Lesslie, Adam Cooper, Bill Collage, Patrick Desilets, Corey May, Jade Raymond

Length

115 min.

Starring

Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, Charlotte Rampling, Michael K. Williams, Denis Menochet, Ariane Labed, Khalid Abdalla, Essie Davis, Matias Varela, Callum Turner

MPAA Rating

PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, thematic elements and brief strong language

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Review

The problematic road to production of any video game adaptation is a byproduct of attempts to please too many parties at once. Assassin’s Creed is hamstrung by its inability to sync the interests of the various subsets that want it to succeed.

Based on the hit video game franchise of the same name, software manufacturer Ubisoft Entertainment, the maker of the games wants to make sure that the property is well represented and that fans around the world will see in it exactly what they expect. As its production partner, 20th Century Fox also has very specific requirements for films they put their imprimatur on. They are interested in making sure that international audiences will flock to the film.

Add in the director and stars and you have a hodgepodge of interests that are bound to clash over the content of the film. Their agreed-upon approach is set in a quasi-futuristic world where the Knights Templar, long removed from power, have been secretly searching for a Biblical artifact that can help them dominate the public and thereby prevent crime and violence. Their somewhat noble aims to gain the Apple of Eden lead them to the doorstep of a violent criminal (Michael Fassbender) who they hook up to a symbiotic mechanical device called the Animus that manipulates the subject’s DNA to help the victim travel into a past life where it is hoped the can uncover the location of the Apple.

Heading the scientific operation working on the Animus, Marion Cotillard’s Sofia nobly hopes that her work will help bring peace to the world whereas her father (Jeremy Irons), and the current head of the Templars (Charlotte Rampling), more specifically want to remove all free will in order to control the public. Cotillard initially has great compassion for her subjects, which enables Fassbender’s Callum Lynch to manipulate her over the course of the film.

As Cal embodies his own ancestor Aguilar, a member of a group called the Assassins, he unravels the mystery of the location of this mysterious artifact, but will he willingly reveal the location to his captors or break free to lead his fellow Assassin decedents in a coup against the Templars?

In development since 2011, Fassbender was brought on initially as the star and co-producer. As the production shifted from Sony to 20th Century-Fox, Fassbender ended up bringing along Macbeth director Justin Kurzel and co-star Cotillard. The war over creative control appears to have hindered the development enough to stymie its success. The various fingers in the pot helped dilute the property in the end.

Another factor hurting the film is that its stars don’t seem to take it all that seriously, with the exception of Fassbender. Cotilliard seems disinterested for much of the film, Rampling doesn’t appear to be enthused about her underwritten character, and Irons, who already went down the gaming route and failed to impress in Dungeons & Dragons, brings his stoic egoism to the role, which works, but doesn’t feel realistic. Fassbender commits amazingly to the role. Although his character is poorly written, he tackles each scene like a dedicated thespian searching for meaning even when one isn’t there. His performance is solid, but ultimately hollow.

Set partly in 15th Century Spain, one of the greatest elements of the video games is getting transported into the guise of a long-dead ancestor. There, you get to navigate the richly detailed streets as you seek to accomplish the goals set before you. While the leaping, climbing, and falling that make up a good portion of the game’s mechanics are there, the lavish settings are ill-used. The film takes the audience into the past, but applies a hazy, dingy element to the environment, making its gritty, grimy backdrop a lifeless bore. The only element of the production design that works is the scenes involving the Animus. As Cal navigates his ancestor’s memory, the two environments collide in a fascinating blend of effects and choreography. Unfortunately, those elements are overused and the events going on in the present overshadow and diminish the events of the past.

Assassin’s Creed is a movie that would greatly benefit from being crafted as a miniseries. The two time periods are given limited screen time, which prevents the audience from becoming invested in the adventure. Spread across several short segments, the mystery could have unfolded with compelling detail and narrative expansiveness. Instead, we have a movie that’s chopped together as quickly as possible to move the action forward without giving the audience a chance to invest itself.

For a video game adaptation to succeed, perhaps it’s time to look to the examples of shows like Westworld and Game of Thrones. Give the properties space to build in intensity, then drive your plot home in a thrilling conclusion. Assassin’s Creed might have some of those elements on display in the film, but the ultimate product doesn’t live up to anyone’s expectations, the hazardous byproduct of too many interests and not enough time or creative energy.