Assassin's Creed BD [Blu-ray]

First things first, an essential disclosure: I'm a veteran Assassin's Creed fan. In fact, I'm currently playing through the digitally re-mastered 'Ezio Collection' on the PS4 Pro (awesome, by the way.) So my critique of the movie will naturally have a different bias to someone who's watching it having never played an AC game.And as for the movie itself? Wow, I was far more impressed than I thought I would be. You see, far from automatically loving any film that has been scripted from a game franchise, I usually hate them for not capturing the soul of the game itself. This one actually does a pretty good job of that. Would I have preferred the narrative to revolve around Ezio Auditore? You betcha. Did that fan-perspective spoil the movie? Nope.Michael Fassbender is great, Jeremy Irons is magnificent. The narrative worked really well, so congrats to the writers of the screenplay (Michael Lesslie, Adam Cooper and Bill Collage) as well.I can't help but feel most of the bad reviews are from fans who really wanted it to be more like the game. That just doesn't really work on screen though, there is a reason that films based on plays say screenplay 'adapted from' rather than just throw the play script at actors. Same goes for game crossovers, only more so.My summing up would have to be to give it a chance. I've seen better films, and many far, far worse. This is a good swashbuckling romp with an interesting narrative. I'm already looking forward to the sequel, with Eizo in a starring role of course...

It takes to know (and love) the original games, it takes to know enough of history to understand where they try to play with it, it takes to understand that other languages and subtitles are NOT a bad thing, it takes to appreciate the style of the director (if you find this one boring try the wonderful rendition of Macbeth from the same director and cast, you thick head!!), it takes some effort, like all the great cinema, the rest is just entertainment.Bringing this series to live action was a challenge, could have been made in the usual, sterile and action packed Hollywood style, but thankfully, the tastes of the director preferred to explore the complex themes behind the concept of the game, like free will, power and the fight for truth and freedom and still created some thrilling scene of chasing and fighting.Probably who have found this movie boring never played the games, or just abruptly skipped all the dialogues in the games.

Assassin's Creed tells the rather bonkers story of Callum Lynch, a death row inmate, who when 'executed' wakes up in Abstergo Institute in Madrid and is to be used as a guinea pig in a program that will help the company owners look into the his ancestors past, by strapping Lynch into a device known as the Animus, where he will renact his anscestors actions, all the while the company men and women will be observing and hoping to retrieve an artifact known as the Apple, which supposedly contains the gene code of humanity's disobedience and freewill.Why didn't we notice this crazy plot before? Back in 2008 Assassin's Creed was a game that was lapped up by many gamers and became a must have title on the consoles of the day. Looking at the plot now with the film adapation, it really is totally ridiculous and has a Macguffin that is probably the most laughable in history. Yet this film is so darn admirable and so entertaining that you wonder where has enjoyment from movies gone.The film is a total subliminal guilty pleassure, so much so that you almost feel guilty for enjoying this supposed senseless dreg in the first place. Sure the film has flaws; the present day sections of the film drag come the film's halfway mark, the cinematic syndrome known as shakey cam destroys some of the action scenes set in the past and the cutting to from between present day Madrid and 1492 Andalucia where Callum's ancestor does battle, does hinder the film somewhat. The shakey cam is the biggest culprit since the action scenes look phenomenally choregraphed and would have been a marvel to see, but obviously PG-13 happy editors have hindered this art from being fully shown.Asssassin's Creed has everything going for it casting wise. Michael Fassbender, one of the best actors working today, and who has been attached to this project as producer and star for years, goes through the motions, Marion Cotillard, on the verge of hamming it, survives by giving a straight laced and naive performance, Jeremy Irons, villian extrodinare, does what he does best; and backed up by cameos by Brendan Gleeson and Charlotte Rampling, it is obvious the film is striving for something else. Director Justin Kurzel, the Austrailian indie director of Snowtown, and Macbeth was the seal approval that elevated the films expectations to the stratosphere, admirably Kurzel dives in head on and delivers on the surface a beautiful looking, a phenomenally sounding (Jed Kurzel's score is sensational) utter mess of a film that somehow delivers the entertainment factor and will no doubt give you one of the best times at the cinema, but to do so please leave all your seriousness at home and go for the hell of it.After many delays and announcements, Assassin's Creed finally arrived on our cinema screens. The film that was to change the face of video game adaptations, the film that would finally try and stop the storm of negativity sadly didn't get a chance to. The expectations that were so high literally made the critics hungry for negativity. No matter how great Assassin's Creed was as a game, it was always going to face an uphill struggle with die hard gamers moaning about its differences to the game, and snobbish critics who were just itching to get their laptops and pitchforks and create a bloodbath. This sadly happened, and along with a poor box office, Assassin's Creed's chances for a sequel, which throughly deserved one, are pretty much nill. Assassin's Creed will always remain an oddity, a film where respectability met hand in hand with a reviled genre, and created a film that was polorising, but so entertaining that you wish all blockbusters were like this.

Brilliant film great story line and action with an excellent cast of actors. Its not often films that go back in time and back to modern times keep me interested but Assassins Creed definitely did. I would d love it if there is a follow up with sane actors. If you like action a great story line this is definitely for you

There were whispers that this could be the video game movie that finally broke big and brought in a movie that could please gamers and the uninitiated. Yes, well, in terms of the parkour action and building bouncing that we expected it has that. But in terms of a plot or any semblance of relationship to the game world it's tenuous at best. Michael Fassbender is Callum Lynch, a murderer with a typically troubled past. He awakes after his execution in an institution. The local residents are being used to try to uncover an ancient McGuffin that holds the secret to reducing humanity's violent tendencies. They wisely avoided trying to cast Michael Fassbender as Altaïr as they would have had to bend so far backward that even CGI wouldn't have helped. We flit back and forward in time as things happen and some sort of plot unravels. I really loved the game franchise and wanted this to be the film that finally made video game movies something that worked on film. The CGI doesn't help save the high flying antics.