Assassin's Creed shows video game movies still have a long way to go

Movies based on video games generally have a tough time living up to their source material. Rarely does Hollywood do a direct adaptation of the story, and instead adds little nooks and crannies to make things flow or realistic depending on how the script dictates things. In the case of French video game publisher Ubisoft, they decided to go the route of making films on their existing IPs by creating their own film studio in “Ubisoft Motion Pictures”.

Partnering with 20th Century Fox and New Regency, the studio’s first foray into movie making comes with one of their hit franchises in “Assassin’s Creed” - a series that deals with the titular group known as  “Assassins”, who fight for peace and free will against their aged-old enemies called the “Templars” – who seek to control everything through order. After two years in production and hiring “Macbeth” director Justin Kurzel to helm the project, “Assassin’s Creed” arrives just in time for the holiday season.

Watching a special advance screening courtesy of 20th Century Fox Philippines, fans from the games and newbies gathered at Promenade Cinema in Greenhills to catch the film based on one of the video game world’s most famous modern day properties.

Starring a diverse and very talented cast that is lead by Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, and Jeremy Irons, “Assassin’s Creed” separates itself from the timeline its gaming predecessors have established and adds its own chronicle and tale to benefit those looking forward to the movie experience. Fassbender plays Callum Lynch, a career criminal with a tragic past who gets drawn into the Assassin/ Templar war when a company called “Abstergo Industries” fakes his death and rescues him. With the memories of his ancestor, Aguilar de Nerha, locked inside his DNA, Lynch is put through the “Animus” - a device that allows him to relive those memories and travel back to the time of the Spanish Inquisition. Searching for the Apple of Eden, which holds the keys to controlling peace and free will for mankind, Callum learns the skills and history behind the Assassins and Templars, and the war that both sides wage that could change the world as we know it.

As the first film made by Ubisoft’s film studio that aims to branch out their most popular game titles to the movie industry, “Assassin’s Creed” feels like an unplayable adventure that looks and sounds like a pretty handy adaptation of the lore crafted in the games, yet is riddled with many unnecessary things that prevent it from shining out its best. Much of the story, particularly Callum’s past and motivations for participating in the Animus, feel a bit underwhelming and forced in execution. Marion Cotillard’s role as Sophia Rikkin leans toward the explanatory side of the narrative, and while she is just as dedicated to her role as Fassbender is to Lynch, it feels a bit muddled under the complexity of the story. Jeremy Irons works his best silent bad guy work as Alan Rikkin, Sophia’s father and the leading CEO who puts Callum through the Animus to find the Apple. The levity of the present day sequences feels squandered, and while the film’s version of the Animus tries to add believability to how one unlocks memories of the past, it looks a little bit silly compared to games and the chair used in the Matrix films.

On the other hand, the past sequences of the “Assassin’s Creed” movie are gorgeous and feel exactly like what should be translated from the games to the big screen. Fassbender plays his double role as Aguilar very convincingly, and much of the action sequences and battles are so breathtaking that one can’t help but feel like the video game movie curse can be course corrected through methods like this. Ariana Labed joins in this period as Maria, a fellow Assassin of Aguilar who fights just as swiftly and elegantly against the Spanish Inquisition and the Templar order. If the entirety of the movie was set in 15th Century Spain alone and didn’t bounce back to the present day, the film would still look beautiful and awesome. This is the part of the film adaptation process that Ubisoft could take advantage of in future installments.

Overall, Assassin’s Creed doesn’t land on its feet perfectly like the bold leap of faith jumps and free run risks that its video game brethren take, but it certainly does its best to take the idea behind the games and translate it to a big screen adventure that can surely follow up with more adventures that are polished up and given improvements over its flaws. Much like how the first Assassin’s Creed game’s mechanics improved with the release of every subsequent sequel and side story, Ubisoft’s first foray into Hollywood is a good try and holds a lot of potential for the future. — TJD, GMA News