It’s long been tradition that video game adaptions to film have been average at best. Assassin’s Creed looked promising from the opening five minutes and it’s trailers, depicting some breathtaking set pieces, looked set to possibly buck that trend. Unfortunately for Assassin’s Creed, weak storytelling and an inability to gain an emotional attachment to it’s character is it’s biggest downfall. The film follows Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) who discovers he is a descendant of a secret society of Assassins. Through the use of the Animus, a kind of Matrix-esque machine that allows him to travel back to 15th Century Spain, he works with other Assassins to battle the oppressive Templar Organisation and search for the “Apple”, a precious artefact. The film’s story will be confusing those not familiar with the source material, with weak explanations given for anything going on within the film. It’s hard to see exactly who the target market was for this film. The story is average at best and the lack of emotional attachment toward any of the characters make the battle scenes lose any sort of tension or substance they would otherwise have achieved. Despite this, The leap of faith and the battle on the rooftops are impressive and give a good nod to the game series, which is the only reason I didn’t score this one lower. However, it’s not enough to redeem the mess the film turns into. Furthermore, the open ending teasing toward a sequel is yet more frustration as with a satisfying ending, it might not have left such a sour taste in my mouth at the end. There’s nothing inherently terrible about the film but there’s equally nothing good about it either. With the exception of a few set pieces, there really is nothing to get excited about here. At just under 2 hours, the film feels both dragged out and rushed which is strange to say the least. With its pacing problems and confusing story line, its hard to recommend Assassin’s Creed to anyone.
