REVIEW: “Assassin’s Creed” does not impress

By Roland Li,                                                                                                                                                                                                                         BlueDevilHUB.com Editor–

Warning: contains spoilers

“What is going on?”, as protagonist Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) said, resonated in my head throughout “Assassin’s Creed.” Cal dies, gets revived, put on a machine for three-quarters of the movie, and then kills the Templar who steals the Apple of Eden. Wait. What does the Apple of Eden actually do under the vague description “the solution to violence”?

The plot of the Justin Kurzel-directed movie was completely confusing as someone who has never played the game before. After a friend, a Creed fan, explained it to me after the movie, I finally got the gist of it.

The movie begins with a moment in 1492, during the Spanish Inquisition, briefly explaining the ongoing war between Assassins and Templars. Fast forwarding to 1986, Cal witnesses his mother’s death by his father’s hand. Then skipping to 2016, Cal is sent to a “human perfection” program run by Abstergo Industries after being “executed” for murder.

Scientist Sophia Rikken, played by Marion Cotillard, puts Cal through the Animus, a large mechanical arm that lets one journey back to their ancestor’s life. For Cal, that ancestor is Aguilar (Michael Fassbender), a member of the Assassin’s Creed during the Spanish Inquisition. Aguilar was last known person to have held the Apple of Eden.

As Cal travels back in time, head scientist Allan Rikken (Jeremy Irons) watches his movements in order to locate the Apple of Eden, apparently a mind-controlling device. It turns out Abstergo Industries is the modern representation of the Templars. Upon finding out his lineage and his duty, Cal kills Rikken, taking the Apple with him and ending the movie.

Many moments in the movie were laughable. Not for being funny, but for how terrible portions of the script were. As Cal chokes Sophia Rikken, demanding to get out of the program, Rikken questions: “Why the aggression?” Cal responds with simply “I’m an aggressive person.”

Despite the very confusing plot line and, at times, horrible script, Assassin’s Creed does have its good points, mainly the scenes of Cal’s flashbacks to the time of Aguilar. The fights and escapes are amazing.

In one scene, Aguilar is seen with fellow assassin Maria (Ariane Labed). The duo is about to burn at the stake when Aguilar breaks out of his chains and pours oil towards the audience. A conflagration pops up and amidst the chaos, Aguilar saves Maria. A fantastic sequence follows as the assassins go on rooftop runs, go through underground tunnels and fight off the Templars in their escape.

However, they end up cornered in a room with the Templar leader (Javier Gutiérrez) and military commander (Hovik Keuchkerian) stare them down. Aguilar gets a hold of the leader while the commander keeps Maria as a hostage. Promising to release at the same time, Aguilar honors the promise while the commander stabs Maria. An epic fight ensues between the two and ultimately ends in Aguilar’s victory. A dying Maria tells Aguilar to escape, leading to the franchise’s iconic “Leap of Faith” when Aguilar gets cornered.

Not only well thought out, the action scenes were completely engaging. Besides Aguilar’s “Leap of Faith” run, there was a full out battle between Assassins and Templars in which the Assassins attempted to save the Prince.

Assassin’s Creed delivers to its video game fans. However, for the others, the movie is an amazing sequence of action with an underdeveloped, unclear plot.