The Flickering Myth team reacts…
With a flood of movie news coming in (Just Cause, Centipede and Missile Command and Splinter Cell to name but a few), it’s easy to forget we got our first look at Assassin’s Creed yesterday [watch it here]. The movie is set for release in December and sees Michael Fassbender (X-Men: Apocalypse) star as Aguilar alongside Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons and Brenden Gleeson.
But what did the Flickering Myth staff make of it?
Tony Black: Really really good. Gets the weirdness inherent in the games, looks gorgeous, seems to understand the flow of the series, and importantly it gives just the right amount away without spoiling anything of import. Give it me now!
Eddy Gardiner: Visually, it looks perfect. Doesn’t give much away, Fassbender well cast. Might we actually be about to see a good video game movie?
Thomas O’Connor: Could do with a different soundtrack, but by the looks of things Justin Kurzel is bringing the same gorgeous visuals to this that he brought to Macbeth. The fact that it isn’t tied to any one game, and is therefore free to create a narrative tailor-made for film, is also a good sign. Video game movies have burned us in the past, but color me cautiously optimistic about this one.
Luke Owen: NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION! Ahem. I was never a fan of the games as I found them extremely repetitive, but the trailer feels like it captures what makes the idea of Assassin’s Creed exciting. We’re in a very interesting time for video game adaptations where the developers are working closely with the filmmakers and it will be fascinating to see where that leads. Aside from the awful soundtrack (when I think of the Spanish Inquisition, I always think of Kayne), the visuals and style look pretty cool. Plus, Fassbander is always awesome.
Eddy Gardiner: I’ve always kinda wished the games didn’t have any of the modern day Animus stuff. Just hoping the film doesn’t have a scene where Fassbender’s mission is to walk around switching on plugs.
Tony Black: I’m hearing we spend more time in the present than the past, I have to warn you.
Matthew Skeen: They’ve really nailed the look down, Spanish Inquisition is a great choice of setting as it reflects the feel of the first two games to make it feel familiar to the fans whilst still giving something new. I’m intrigued by how they manage the balance between the past and present day scenes as that may be where the film can fall down.
Chris Cooper: Aside from the music I’m impressed. Fassbender obviously has the range and physicality to do it justice and it looks stunning. There’s clearly a knowledge of the games here. It looks more like the earlier games to me too (Ezio forever!) A good start.
Oliver Davis: I love you Kanye, and Imma let you finish, but that track made the movie look like a generic 2000s action film. And, seriously, is Kimmel sleeping with the physical manifestation of Hollywood or something? How does he keep getting all these trailers?
James Garcia: Right?! I wondered the same thing. And it’s not like Kimmel was ever a film star or anything. It’d make more sense for someone like Jimmy Fallon to get all these exclusives.
Ricky Church: I think its because Kimmel is considered to be the most popular night time host right now (I could be wrong, but the studios could think that) and want to branch out to the mainstream audience. After all, they’re not the ones who go on YouTube searching these trailers out or anxiously awaiting the next trailer drop/big movie release. Why its always been Kimmel though and not split up among other late night hosts is a mystery to me.
James Garcia: To be honest, I wasn’t expecting the Spanish Inquisition. But, alas, I guess NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION. I also wasn’t expecting to be so impressed with what I see in this trailer. It’s funny, a typical adaptation of a popular video game shouldn’t attract the kind of talent, in front of the camera and behind it, that this one did, but am I glad for the cast and crew here! They seriously have the talent to elevate this material, and finally give us a good video game movie. Visuals look stunning, Fassbender looks incredible as always, and the trailer makes it feel like an Assassin’s Creed game. The music choice totally took me out of it, but hopefully Kanye West won’t be anywhere near the final product.
Tony Black: It’ll probably be one of those things where Kanye contributes a song only dickheads listen to that’ll be on the end credits. I imagine Kurzel will give us a twisted little score for most of this, like he did Macbeth.
Luke Owen: I’ve seen a lot of people online complain that we’ve not had a good video game movie yet. Have we all forgotten Mortal Kombat?
Chris Cooper: MORTAL KOMBAT!!!!
Luke Owen: Exactly.
Vilordsutch: I have never been a fan of the games and I’ll be brutally honest this parkour video with Kanye West over the top of it quite frankly bored me senseless. I even took to looking at the time remaining to see how much of this silliness I had to take it, then finally Kanye’s ego song fades out with, “I am God” to really finish the trailer off for me! I hated it! Really did.
Ben Rayner: I’m excited! They’ve clearly embraced the most bat-shit crazy elements of the franchise and taken all the best cinematic shots that the game offers. I doubt it’ll be Oscar worthy but as long as it isn’t another Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time then I’ll be pretty happy! (The Kanye track laid over the top is just nonsense though..)
Gav Logan: It’s probably as close to the game as you’re ever going to get. As some have already said the visuals look amazing. Really nailed the whole look and Fassbender will rock the shit out of this role. It’s tainted by the inclusion of that awful Kanye West song. I know it won’t be in the finished movie but it did sorta take me out of the moment a little. Looking forward to it
Scott J Davis: Looks very promising from that trailer. Early days for sure, but the essence of what made the games so interesting seems to have been captured. That said, the Kanye song makes the skin crawl. Early signs are good…
Kirsty Capes: Surprisingly good casting in Fassbender. I’m on the fence about the inclusion of the Kanye song – it kind of inhibits immersion in my opinion, which is a problem when AC in itself is such an immersive game. I get what they were trying to do but there are SO many other Kanye songs which would have been a better fit – BLKKK SKKKNHEAD or No Church in the Wild would both have been great choices. On that note, putting a contemporary hip hop track over a trailer for a historical or period film has already been done to death (see: The Great Gatsby, Gangster Squad, etc.) so this isn’t a very original idea. But I appreciate the effort and I love Kanye so whatever. In terms of the trailer itself, I think there was a real lack of substance which was saved by stunning visuals and some sick acrobatics. It really captures the spirit of the games, and it’s making me excited for the movie. I just want to know what it’s going to be about!
Tony Black: To be fair, the Kanye inclusion is probably the studio being a bit wobbly in their target audience; outside of gamers, the concept of Assassin’s Creed may be a bit weird to a mass audience so if they’d lobbed Jesper Kyd’s weird, synthetic choral chanting all over it, people may have been unsure. Kanye is a safe bet. I doubt he or any such shitty noise like that will have a lot to do with the final product.
Ricky Church: I didn’t have high hopes for this movie because of the very high ratio of bad video game movies, and because I’m not that big a fan of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, but this trailer did impress me. It looks like the video game come to life with some cool-looking choreography in the action and great visuals. There’s that wonky bit of CG at the start with the shot of that army and the odd choice of accompanying music, but after that everything looks great. This succeeded in getting my interest when I previously had none.
Helen Murdoch: Trailer left me a bit cold. Everything in it just looks okay and nothing special. Clunky CGI at the start will hopefully be sorted before release. It does look better than your average game to movie film.
Well there you have it – a mostly positive reaction from our writers. Most of us were impressed with what was on show, but it seems the Kanye West soundtrack has rubbed a few the wrong way (Kirsty notwithstanding). There’s a few nigglging doubts due to the lack of a ‘good’ video game movie, but Assassin’s Creed shows some promise.
What did you make of the trailer?
Through a revolutionary technology that unlocks his genetic memories, Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) experiences the adventures of his ancestor, Aguilar, in 15th Century Spain. Callum discovers he is descended from a mysterious secret society, the Assassins, and amasses incredible knowledge and skills to take on the oppressive and powerful Templar organization in the present day.
Assassin’s Creed is set for release on December 21st 2016. The film reunites Fassbender with Macbeth director Justin Kurzel and co-star Marion Cotillard, while the cast also includes Michael K. Williams (Ghostbusters), Jeremy Irons (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice), Brendan Gleeson (Calvary) and Ariane Labed (The Lobster).
