This movie can be looked at in two different ways, so I’m going to write two separate opinions in this post, you’ll see why as I go on.
A movie that for the most part stays true to the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Hidden blades, leaps of faith, Assassins, Templars, Abstergo, the Animus, parkour and a collection of weapons with different fighting styles in a quest to find the artefact; which in this case is the Apple Of Eden. From a long term fan’s point of view this sounds fantastic so far.
The plot focuses largely on the modern day Templars as they have rebranded themselves as Abstergo and are seeking out Assassin descendants to explore the memories hidden in DNA. For our hero this results in abusive treatment leading to experience of the Bleeding Effect (which hasn’t really been mentioned in the games since Desmond). The present day character will learn from his ancestors as memories are experienced, even seeing a ghost version in their everyday life. Then by the end the Templars must be stopped.
Sadly, we don’t get much of the ancestor from this film. We see a bit of combat and we know that he operated in Spain but he’s not the focus of the movie like he would be in a game. We do get a lot of present day stuff which is done quite well, explaining Abstergo’s goals and showing how some Templars aren’t really evil.
There was even some nice motivation giving backstory about an Assassin killing the mother of our protagonist, this in turn makes him more willing to help the Templars until he sees the evil in their plan.
It does end in a way that hints at a sequel.
As a long time Assassin’s Creed fan I appreciate this movie and how well it used ideas from the games. Although it rushed through some of the ideas, it did well to build a story about the Bleeding Effect and create good looking action scenes with a well acted set of characters. I liked it.
The other opinion I have is that the film is hard to follow, flicking between times with a man slowly going mad as he starts to see ghosts.
The action scenes are done well enough that people can see fighting and running, that’s easy for any viewers.
Story wise, non Assassin’s Creed fans may struggle with this as the stuff with the father may make sense but the Bleeding Effect is confusing to understand from a two hour movie that also has to explain an everlasting war and the significance of the Apple Of Eden.
As a movie without the added context of the Desmond games, this film is a pile of nonsense which could take a few watches for the average viewer to grasp. It’s a spectacle to watch but wouldn’t make much sense.
LBcreative 