Video game movies don't have the best track record, but sometimes a new project comes along that gives hope that, hey, maybe this time they'll do it right! Maybe video games, like comic books, can have good adaptations after all!
Assassin's Creed might be one of those projects. It's got a good leading cast (boasting Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Irons), an accomplished director (Justin Kurzel, Macbeth) and what seems to be a solid budget.
And so far, it sure looks like a movie based on the video game series.
The plot of Assassin's Creed deals heavily in historical events tinged with a maybe-not-so-historical secret war between the Templars (comma, "Knights") and the Assassins, who in the shadows wage an ideological war about free will and control of humanity. This is all told through the lens of science fiction -- with a modern day company named Abstergo diving into the memories of people's ancestors by unlocking hidden code in their DNA.
It... makes more sense in context. Mostly.
The first trailer debuted on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Wednesday night. and with the possible exception of the soundtrack choice (Kanye West? Really?), they seem to be nailing the look and feel of the blockbuster series.
This story isn't a direct adaptation of any of the games, which have taken place in a variety of time periods (the Crusades, the Renaissance, the American Revolution, etc.). Fassbender plays a new character, Callum Lynch, whose ancestor was apparently instrumental in the Spanish Inquisition. Nobody expected that. (Sorry.)
All the Assassin's Creed bullet points are here: Parkour, hoods, a shadowy corporation, an impossible leap from a very tall building ... Yep, that's Assassin's Creed.
There are differences, though. Most notably the animus, which in the games is more ... bland? It's pretty much just a chair, except in cases where it's more like a cryogenic tube. The movie version of the animus looks much more involved -- I mean, that think lifts Fassbender into the air.
Still, I think the whole thing looks pretty cool, and I'm on board to see the full thing when it hits theaters on December 21.
