For those who have no background on the franchise, any confusion that might result from the movie's plot can be cleared up by a quick brush-up on the story-line of the Assassin's Creed games. This possible confusion that might result due to a viewer's inexperience with the story-line is the only reason this movie does not merit a 10/10 review. A word of advice that might help to clear up confusion centers of the Animus. The purpose is not to alter the past, but rather observe it through the eyes of an ancestor in order to pick up on clues and hints which could aid in present-day tasks. The task that Sofia (Marion Cotillard)is attempting to complete is the discovery of the Apple of Eden--basically a very important artifact desired by both the Templars and Assassins. Thus, the Animus sequences that appear to lack much background or a concrete plot are intentional due to the fact that only the sequences hinting or involving the Apple are viewed. If the entire life of Aguilar (Michael Fassbender) was necessary to finding the Apple, the movie might as well have just been about him.
The choreography was done in such a way that I believe a lot of young enthusiasts will even attempt to take up parkour and some form of martial art. The shot transitions were revolutionary if I may use that word, when Cal enters the past via the animus there is a transition done in such a smooth way that I believe this will be a trend setter for many new movies of 2017.
But, the movie feels very incomplete. It moves along way too fast, without any room for character building. Things happen in this movie, and characters do things, that legitimately make no sense for who their character was set up to be previously. Motivations aren't clear, and it feels like two hours of footage was left on the cutting room floor. It seems to me that the producers wanted the movie to be lean and fast paced, when in reality it would've been a much better film if it were slower paced and more character driven.
And also, the action scenes had no context, and thus, no emotional involvement, and because of this, they weren't exciting to watch. It was really like watching separate video game cutscenes. Remember "Sucker Punch?" Remember how people complained that it was like watching a video game? That may be true, but at least "Sucker Punch" had engaging characters, depth, characterization, and an interesting storyline. "Assassin's Creed" has none of this, and because of this, everything feels bland and boring.
Assassin's Creed also benefits from some committed performances. It really seemed like Michael Fassbender was throwing his all into this and it was good they got an actor of his calibre to play Callum. I thought Marion Cotillard was a calming presence and she did a good job playing a conflicted character. Jeremy Irons hit the right tone even though there wasn't a lot required of him. I was happy to see Michael K. Williams, he was great in his supporting part. I liked Ariane as Aguilar's right hand woman as well.
