Review of Assassin's Creed (2016) by Chris S — 04 Jan 2017

A yawn-worthy start forces Assassin's Creed to constantly play catch-up. Eventually the film gains its footing and things get interesting and quite thrilling. Fassbender and Rampling command their roles with excellence, enough to earn back some of audience's love lost early in the film.

The rest can be earned through fantastic action sequences - some of the best I've seen in a movie from recent memory. There is a lot that could have gone wrong, but just as much could have gone right.

I'm stuck landing somewhere in the middle, thinking that Assassin's Creed doesn't avoid the pitfalls of a video game adaptation while also thinking the movie succeeded enough to leave me wanting more.

The critics were aggressive in their dislike of this movie and that is somewhat fair. However, anyone thinking this is a washout of a film would be mistaken. There is going to be a lot of people that like/love the movie while there will be plenty that just never got hooked in.

If Assassin's Creed is to move toward a sequel, or move to the TV space, I'll definitely be following along to see where things go. In terms of rich backstory, Assassin's Creed is a universe worth exploring in-depth.

There's so much to engage the imagination, it only needs the right team behind it. I hope Fassbender could continue with the film, but who knows if that's a realistic endeavor or not.