Assassin’s Creed
This release requires a leap of faith
The world may never live to see a great videogame movie, but Assassin’s Creed comes closer than any film since Silent Hill. Sniffy reviews unfairly pegged Michael Fassbender’s historical stab-’em-up as a disaster of Assassin’s Creed III proportions. Though it’s unlikely to be the Apple of anyone’s eye, the big-screen Creed isn’t far off Full Synchronisation.
Taking its cue from the first game, Fassbender stars as death row inmate Callum Lynch, who is ‘saved’ by the shady Abstergo and hooked up to a snazzy new Animus. In the past, Callum explores the memories of his ancestor – 15th-century Spanish Assassin Aguilar de Nerha (also Fassbender) – unwittingly leading the shady Templars to the all-powerful Apple Of Eden.
Steadfast in its faithfulness to the games, it’s difficult to imagine a more respectful Creed adaptation. The Inquisition-set ‘regression’ sequences are the high point. Featuring balletic combat, freerunning and, of course, a Leap Of Faith, the for-real action is thrillingly realised.
But focusing primarily on the present day proves a mistake; Callum’s journey of discovery is both overly familiar and po-faced. The key problem is one inherent in the premise – splitting its scant two hours between two main characters means neither is adequately fleshed out. With the film underperforming at the box office there’s unlikely to be a sequel. We’re hoping the upcoming adaptations of Tomb Raider and Uncharted can finally crack the videogame movie code. Jordan Farley