Assassin’s Creed, 2016.
Directed by Justin Kurzel.
Starring Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson and Charlotte Rampling.
SYNOPSIS:
Spared a death sentence, the troubled and violent Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) arrives at a medical facility where he’s used to try out technology to unlock genetic memories. He’s taken back to his Spanish ancestor, Aguilar, in the 15th century and discovers he’s descended from a mysterious secret society, The Assassins. But he also finds he’s being used to locate an ancient artefact containing the code to human free will.
There’s a moment early in Assassin’s Creed when Michael Fassbender hits the proverbial nail with a mallet. Recently arrived at a medical facility and slowly discovering the reasons for his being there, he tucks into a large steak and wonders out loud “What the fuck is going on?” Judging from the laughter in the screening room, he wasn’t the only one racking his brains – and if he didn’t understand, the rest of us didn’t have a hope. Confusion reigned.
2016’s games-based movies have been littered with casualties, but the pedigree for this one raised hopes of something at least above average. Fassbender and Marion Cotillard re-united with their Macbeth director Justin Kurzel and cinematographer Adam Arkapaw. Surely they could deliver?
The sad truth is that they don’t – and, while the over-complicated plot is the biggest problem with the film, it’s not the only one. Anybody familiar with the original game might have been able to understand at least some of it, but for the rest of us, it was a tortuous labyrinth that made little or no sense. Or, to use the jargon, it’s all over the shop. And, as if his early line wasn’t pithy enough, Fassbender gets to deliver another portion of unintentional irony. “We work in the dark to serve the light.” It’s true. He and his assassins are most certainly in the dark. So are we.
While we’re floundering around in the dark, there’s some moral ambiguity to complicate matters. Who’s good and who’s the enemy is never clear. That, in itself, isn’t such a problem and could have taken the story in a thought-provoking direction. But if the audience is being asked to make up its own mind, it needs to have much more in the way of actual knowledge, and that just isn’t forthcoming. It isn’t given a chance.
As a start to the cinematic New Year, Assassin’s Creed is a let-down, both for the audience and, if the American box office is reflected over here, for everybody involved in its making. If you’re looking for visual style and nothing else, you’ll get what you wanted. Otherwise, this New Year’s Day has some much better offerings.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Freda Cooper – Follow me on Twitter, check out my movie blog and listen to my podcast, Talking Pictures.
Originally published December 30, 2016. Updated November 14, 2019.
