Assassin's Creed is a 2016 action adventure film based on the video game franchise of the same name. The film is directed by Justin Kurzel, written by Michael Lesslie, Adam Cooper and Bill Collage, and stars Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, Charlotte Rampling and Michael K. Williams.
The film is set in the same universe as the video games but features an original story that expands the series' mythology, taking place during the Spanish Inquisition. Filming began in late August 2015 and concluded in January 2016. Assassin's Creed was released on December 21, 2016 in the United States and France, received negative reviews and has grossed $95 million worldwide.
Cast:
Michael Fassbender as Callum Lynch and Aguilar de Nerha
Marion Cotillard as Sophia Rikkin
Jeremy Irons as Alan Rikkin - The character previously appeared in the first Assassin's Creed game.
Brendan Gleeson as Joseph Lynch
Brian Gleeson portrays Young Joseph Lynch.
Charlotte Rampling as Ellen Kaye.
Michael K. Williams as Moussa - Moussa is a descendant of Baptiste, a Haitian Assassin who uses voodoo poison against his enemies. Baptiste previously appeared in Assassin's Creed: Liberation.
Ariane Labed portrays Maria, an assassin in 15th century Spain, working with Aguilar, and Matias Varela appears as both Emir, and his ancestor, Yusuf. Additionally, Michelle Lin portrays Lin, a descendant of an assassin, and another test subject at Abstergo, while James Sobol Kelly appears as Father Raymond, a priest. Denis Ménochet appears as McGowen, the head of Abstergo security.
In 1986, Callum Lynch returns home to find his mother dead at the hand of his father, Joseph Lynch, a modern-day member of the Assassin Order. As gunmen led by Alan Rikkin, CEO of the Abstergo Foundation - a modern day Templar front - approach to capture Joseph, he orders his son to run.
Thirty years later, in 2016, Callum is due to be executed for the killing of a pimp who tried to mug him; he is rescued from his own execution (his death being faked) by the Abstergo Foundation and transported to their facility in Madrid, Spain. There he learns that they are searching for the Apple of Eden, created by an ancient civilization, which contains the genetic code for free will, in order to put an end to the disease that is violence by subjugating the human race. The company's head scientist, Dr. Sophia Rikkin, reveals that Callum is a descendant of Aguilar and conscripts him to the Animus Project, in which Callum is connected to a machine that allows him to relive Aguilar's genetic memories so that Abstergo can learn the current whereabouts of the Apple of Eden.
In Andalusia, Spain Aguilar and his partner Maria are deployed to rescue Prince Ahmed de Granada, who has been kidnapped by the leader of the Templars, Tomas de Torquemada, to coerce Prince Ahmed's father, Sultan Muhammad XII, to surrender the Apple of Eden. Aguilar and Maria intercept the chariot transporting Ahmed but are then overpowered and captured by Torquemada's enforcer, Ojeda, just as Callum is pulled out of the Animus by Sophia.
In captivity, Callum befriends other descendants of assassins, led by Moussa, the descendant of an 18th-century Haitian Assassin named Baptiste, and begins experiencing hallucinations (dubbed ‘the Bleeding Effect’) of both Aguilar and his father. Callum and Sophia build a rapport over their sessions, in which Sophia reveals herself as the daughter of Alan Rikkin, Abstergo's CEO, and confides with Callum that her mother was likewise murdered by an Assassin.
Back in the Animus, Aguilar and Maria are scheduled for execution, but Aguilar manages to free himself and Maria, leading to a rooftop chase in which they perform a Leap of Faith to escape. Callum’s mind reacts violently to the session, and he is temporarily paralyzed. He then learns that his father, Joseph, is also present at the facility. Confronting Joseph for the death of his mother, Callum is informed that as a result of the Bleeding Effect, his and Aguilar's memories are merging, allowing Callum to tap into Aguilar's combat abilities; he also learns that Callum's own mother was an Assassin who chose to die by Joseph's hand, rather than be subjected to the Animus by the Templars. Despite his father pleading with Callum not to re-enter the Animus, Callum vows to destroy the Assassin's Creed by finding the Apple. Meanwhile, Alan is pressured by his superior, Ellen Kaye, to shut down the Animus Project due to its lack of results, leading Sophia to realize Alan cares more about the eradication of the Assassins than using the Apple of Eden to rid the world of violence.
Callum willingly enters the Animus once again, whereupon Aguilar and Maria ambush a meeting between Muhammad and Ojeda to exchange Ahmed for the Apple of Eden. They succeed in killing the Templars and retrieving the Apple of Eden, though Ojeda captures Maria in order to force Aguilar to surrender it, but Maria chooses death, and Ojeda fatally stabs her before Aguilar kills him in return. Aguilar then escapes, performing another Leap of Faith, the force of which causes the Animus to which Callum is connected to violently malfunction. Aguilar then gives the Apple of Eden to Christopher Columbus, who promises to take the Apple to his grave. Meanwhile, Moussa and the other Assassin prisoners start a riot in order to escape the facility.
Callum stands in the Animus chamber and is met with the projections of a number of his Assassin ancestors, including Aguilar, his father Joseph, and his mother. Callum fully embraces his Assassin heritage and, having fully assimilated his ancestor’s memories and abilities, joins the Assassins in escaping the facility.
Alan Rikkin and his followers, having retrieved the Apple, then converge in a Templar sanctuary in London to perform a ceremony celebrating the artifact's retrieval. Inside the sanctuary, a disillusioned Sophia meets with Callum, who has come to take the Apple, and she reluctantly allows him to act. Callum sneaks behind Rikkin and kills him to retrieve the Apple of Eden, whereupon the Assassins depart, vowing to once again protect it. Horrified by her father's death and how she played a role in it, Sophia vows revenge upon Callum.
This film dropped mid-December during the height of the success of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, so you know it wasn't going to do well in the first place, but I have to applaud the film for at least making up 75% of its budget back in box office profits.
I remember seeing this come out and seeing comments on social media with people saying that it was flat out garbage from start to finish. I had a $15 gift card to use before 2017 rolled around so I used it on the 3D showing of this before New Years two weekends ago. I was mildly entertained from start to finish. Then again, I haven't had high hopes for anything Assassin's Creed related since the Ezio trilogy to be quite honest and the only thing that came close to my excitement playing that was Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. I'm in the middle of Assassin's Creed: Rogue so I can't speak about the more modern entries of the series yet.
I thought the casting for this film was great from top to bottom, but I know there's people out there complaining about "whitewashing" the characters' races but the games do the EXACT same thing so it doesn't bother me here either. Plus, it makes more sense for the actor to play his ancestor, despite the race and background difference as the models for the Assassin's Creed video games did the same thing as they recycled Desmond Miles' model and most of his basic movement animations for Altair, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, and Connor (somewhat).
I'm still not crazy about the whole 3D movement Animus in this film. That was completely unnecessary but I guess the filmmakers didn't want to draw parallels to The Matrix from casuals. That being said, that doesn't excuse how stupid it was to arm Callum with hidden blades prior to every session. He could have easily broken free and murdered most of the handlers in that room thanks to the bleeding effect if his hallucinations grew wild enough. I felt that the consequences of so much exposure to the Animus was really glossed over in this film at the cost of the narrative. Hell, the timeline that Callum's ancestor, Aguilar, was really glossed over too. Fans of the series are treated to experiencing the bulk of these ancestors' lives not just snippets here and there. The whole concept of reliving past lives is lost here for the most part at the cost of the real world, modern day component, which is rather ironic that the video games have abandoned that narrative clutch for a while now. As a result, it was rather jarring to see this live-action film recycle the same tactic.
I loved the nods to characters and events (i.e. Aguilar impaling one of the guards was a throwback to the Ezio trilogy of the series) in the franchise as well, especially with Alan Rikkin as the major antagonist of this film. I don't know why but I was thinking that they were going to pull the plot twist where his daughter Sophia Rikken was going to become an Assassin, but I'm glad that she didn't go into that direction. This film was rather predictable enough as it is, especially with the film's climax where Callum accepted his Assassin heritage after expressing doubt the entire film and joined his brothers in arms as they collectively used all of their abilities to escape the facility. It was pretty damn stupid of Abstergo to not have any Templars on hand to deal with the Assassins on their level of combat but whatever. The games always seem to have that problem as well that seems to plague this franchise since the initial outing. I haven't played Unity nor Syndicate so I stand corrected if anything has changed since they killed off Desmond Miles. Speaking of which, I had to mentally remind myself that there are multiple pieces of Eden in the world so the Apple isn't the only one anyway. I'm sure I'm not the only fan of the series who had to remind themselves of that.
I know it seems like I'm talking down on this movie but there's one thing I absolutely adored about this film outside of the acting and casting - the action sequences. From the fight choreography to movement throughout the action set pieces, it felt like a sequence from an Assassin's Creed video game from start to finish. They performed those moments of the film flawlessly. If sequels of this film mean more action, then I'm all for it. I feel bad that most people will just shit on this film and don't give mention to this aspect of the film, but if you're a fan of the games in any shape or form, the action sequences are worth the viewing alone in my humble opinion.
For me, this film wasn't BloodRayne, Double Dragon, Street Fighter, nor even Super Mario Bros. bad when it comes to film adaptations of popular video games. It's more of the same vibe as Prince of Persia and Dead or Alive (pretty sure I'm the only one who remotely cared about those too) where solid casting and attempting to stay faithful to the source material garners lukewarm reactions from most viewers as the film wasn't that bad. Acceptable but something you wouldn't go out of your way to see. You can't go in expecting a lot from these live action adaptations of particular games that had mediocre narratives to begin with, so that's why I don't go in with the bar raised high. If Ubisoft's mission was to introduce the world of Assassin's Creed to broader audience while reminding fans of the franchise why they love this series, then they did that wonderfully on a visual level.
I can totally understand the negative reviews, but at the same time, I can offer a counter argument. Why are you surprised? For a video game franchise with a rather weak narrative to begin with, especially with the real life/non-Animus portions of those games, it wasn't a surprise that a live-action adaptation of the same narrative with VERY few changes would be much different. That's one reason why I went into this film without high expectations. The Animus sections are always the highlights of the games and they didn't disappoint here without a shadow of a doubt. If you're a fan of the franchise, then definitely go see this for the action sequences alone, but for everyone else I have to say don't bother. This was a film tailored towards its fanbase, with a lot of insider references and subtle nods to the video game's narrative that will be lost on newcomers.
Charlotte Rampling as Ellen Kaye.
Michael K. Williams as Moussa - Moussa is a descendant of Baptiste, a Haitian Assassin who uses voodoo poison against his enemies. Baptiste previously appeared in Assassin's Creed: Liberation.
Ariane Labed portrays Maria, an assassin in 15th century Spain, working with Aguilar, and Matias Varela appears as both Emir, and his ancestor, Yusuf. Additionally, Michelle Lin portrays Lin, a descendant of an assassin, and another test subject at Abstergo, while James Sobol Kelly appears as Father Raymond, a priest. Denis Ménochet appears as McGowen, the head of Abstergo security.
The Plot: (FULL Spoilers)
In 1492, during the Spanish Inquisition, Aguilar de Nerha is accepted into the Assassin's Brotherhood, a secret order of assassins that for centuries have opposed the Templar Order. His ring finger is cut off to make way for his hidden blade, and he is given a mission to protect the Prince of Granada.In 1986, Callum Lynch returns home to find his mother dead at the hand of his father, Joseph Lynch, a modern-day member of the Assassin Order. As gunmen led by Alan Rikkin, CEO of the Abstergo Foundation - a modern day Templar front - approach to capture Joseph, he orders his son to run.
Thirty years later, in 2016, Callum is due to be executed for the killing of a pimp who tried to mug him; he is rescued from his own execution (his death being faked) by the Abstergo Foundation and transported to their facility in Madrid, Spain. There he learns that they are searching for the Apple of Eden, created by an ancient civilization, which contains the genetic code for free will, in order to put an end to the disease that is violence by subjugating the human race. The company's head scientist, Dr. Sophia Rikkin, reveals that Callum is a descendant of Aguilar and conscripts him to the Animus Project, in which Callum is connected to a machine that allows him to relive Aguilar's genetic memories so that Abstergo can learn the current whereabouts of the Apple of Eden.
In Andalusia, Spain Aguilar and his partner Maria are deployed to rescue Prince Ahmed de Granada, who has been kidnapped by the leader of the Templars, Tomas de Torquemada, to coerce Prince Ahmed's father, Sultan Muhammad XII, to surrender the Apple of Eden. Aguilar and Maria intercept the chariot transporting Ahmed but are then overpowered and captured by Torquemada's enforcer, Ojeda, just as Callum is pulled out of the Animus by Sophia.
In captivity, Callum befriends other descendants of assassins, led by Moussa, the descendant of an 18th-century Haitian Assassin named Baptiste, and begins experiencing hallucinations (dubbed ‘the Bleeding Effect’) of both Aguilar and his father. Callum and Sophia build a rapport over their sessions, in which Sophia reveals herself as the daughter of Alan Rikkin, Abstergo's CEO, and confides with Callum that her mother was likewise murdered by an Assassin.
Back in the Animus, Aguilar and Maria are scheduled for execution, but Aguilar manages to free himself and Maria, leading to a rooftop chase in which they perform a Leap of Faith to escape. Callum’s mind reacts violently to the session, and he is temporarily paralyzed. He then learns that his father, Joseph, is also present at the facility. Confronting Joseph for the death of his mother, Callum is informed that as a result of the Bleeding Effect, his and Aguilar's memories are merging, allowing Callum to tap into Aguilar's combat abilities; he also learns that Callum's own mother was an Assassin who chose to die by Joseph's hand, rather than be subjected to the Animus by the Templars. Despite his father pleading with Callum not to re-enter the Animus, Callum vows to destroy the Assassin's Creed by finding the Apple. Meanwhile, Alan is pressured by his superior, Ellen Kaye, to shut down the Animus Project due to its lack of results, leading Sophia to realize Alan cares more about the eradication of the Assassins than using the Apple of Eden to rid the world of violence.
Callum willingly enters the Animus once again, whereupon Aguilar and Maria ambush a meeting between Muhammad and Ojeda to exchange Ahmed for the Apple of Eden. They succeed in killing the Templars and retrieving the Apple of Eden, though Ojeda captures Maria in order to force Aguilar to surrender it, but Maria chooses death, and Ojeda fatally stabs her before Aguilar kills him in return. Aguilar then escapes, performing another Leap of Faith, the force of which causes the Animus to which Callum is connected to violently malfunction. Aguilar then gives the Apple of Eden to Christopher Columbus, who promises to take the Apple to his grave. Meanwhile, Moussa and the other Assassin prisoners start a riot in order to escape the facility.
Callum stands in the Animus chamber and is met with the projections of a number of his Assassin ancestors, including Aguilar, his father Joseph, and his mother. Callum fully embraces his Assassin heritage and, having fully assimilated his ancestor’s memories and abilities, joins the Assassins in escaping the facility.
Alan Rikkin and his followers, having retrieved the Apple, then converge in a Templar sanctuary in London to perform a ceremony celebrating the artifact's retrieval. Inside the sanctuary, a disillusioned Sophia meets with Callum, who has come to take the Apple, and she reluctantly allows him to act. Callum sneaks behind Rikkin and kills him to retrieve the Apple of Eden, whereupon the Assassins depart, vowing to once again protect it. Horrified by her father's death and how she played a role in it, Sophia vows revenge upon Callum.
The Verdict:
This film dropped mid-December during the height of the success of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, so you know it wasn't going to do well in the first place, but I have to applaud the film for at least making up 75% of its budget back in box office profits.I remember seeing this come out and seeing comments on social media with people saying that it was flat out garbage from start to finish. I had a $15 gift card to use before 2017 rolled around so I used it on the 3D showing of this before New Years two weekends ago. I was mildly entertained from start to finish. Then again, I haven't had high hopes for anything Assassin's Creed related since the Ezio trilogy to be quite honest and the only thing that came close to my excitement playing that was Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. I'm in the middle of Assassin's Creed: Rogue so I can't speak about the more modern entries of the series yet.
I thought the casting for this film was great from top to bottom, but I know there's people out there complaining about "whitewashing" the characters' races but the games do the EXACT same thing so it doesn't bother me here either. Plus, it makes more sense for the actor to play his ancestor, despite the race and background difference as the models for the Assassin's Creed video games did the same thing as they recycled Desmond Miles' model and most of his basic movement animations for Altair, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, and Connor (somewhat).
I'm still not crazy about the whole 3D movement Animus in this film. That was completely unnecessary but I guess the filmmakers didn't want to draw parallels to The Matrix from casuals. That being said, that doesn't excuse how stupid it was to arm Callum with hidden blades prior to every session. He could have easily broken free and murdered most of the handlers in that room thanks to the bleeding effect if his hallucinations grew wild enough. I felt that the consequences of so much exposure to the Animus was really glossed over in this film at the cost of the narrative. Hell, the timeline that Callum's ancestor, Aguilar, was really glossed over too. Fans of the series are treated to experiencing the bulk of these ancestors' lives not just snippets here and there. The whole concept of reliving past lives is lost here for the most part at the cost of the real world, modern day component, which is rather ironic that the video games have abandoned that narrative clutch for a while now. As a result, it was rather jarring to see this live-action film recycle the same tactic.
I loved the nods to characters and events (i.e. Aguilar impaling one of the guards was a throwback to the Ezio trilogy of the series) in the franchise as well, especially with Alan Rikkin as the major antagonist of this film. I don't know why but I was thinking that they were going to pull the plot twist where his daughter Sophia Rikken was going to become an Assassin, but I'm glad that she didn't go into that direction. This film was rather predictable enough as it is, especially with the film's climax where Callum accepted his Assassin heritage after expressing doubt the entire film and joined his brothers in arms as they collectively used all of their abilities to escape the facility. It was pretty damn stupid of Abstergo to not have any Templars on hand to deal with the Assassins on their level of combat but whatever. The games always seem to have that problem as well that seems to plague this franchise since the initial outing. I haven't played Unity nor Syndicate so I stand corrected if anything has changed since they killed off Desmond Miles. Speaking of which, I had to mentally remind myself that there are multiple pieces of Eden in the world so the Apple isn't the only one anyway. I'm sure I'm not the only fan of the series who had to remind themselves of that.
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| Aguilar honors the mantle of being called an Assassin in this film. |
For me, this film wasn't BloodRayne, Double Dragon, Street Fighter, nor even Super Mario Bros. bad when it comes to film adaptations of popular video games. It's more of the same vibe as Prince of Persia and Dead or Alive (pretty sure I'm the only one who remotely cared about those too) where solid casting and attempting to stay faithful to the source material garners lukewarm reactions from most viewers as the film wasn't that bad. Acceptable but something you wouldn't go out of your way to see. You can't go in expecting a lot from these live action adaptations of particular games that had mediocre narratives to begin with, so that's why I don't go in with the bar raised high. If Ubisoft's mission was to introduce the world of Assassin's Creed to broader audience while reminding fans of the franchise why they love this series, then they did that wonderfully on a visual level.
Watch It or Don't Bother?
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| A cooler poster than the ones I saw promoting the film in my local theater... |
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