Assassin's Creed is a film based on the video game series of the same name. It holds promise, starring Michael Fassbender and tells an original story set in the universe, focusing on the Spanish Inquisition period. Unfortunately, it drops the ball early on and never recovers but only getting worse. The protagonist is Cal, whose ancestor Aguilar was one of the last to handle the artifact Apple of Eden. This makes Cal an Assassin and naturally, in the present day, he is captured by the Templars and forced into the Animus to relive his memories to find where the Apple is currently. First of all, the way the Animus is presented, some sort of mechanical arm that moves along with Cal as he jumps and rolls is ridiculous as well as highly impractical, this makes it hard to take seriously. Second, the story is so basic. Split into two parts, the film constantly shifts between present day and the past, this makes both portions incoherent and with horrible pacing. Aguilar's story is inconsequential while Cal's story is a mess with characters acting mysterious but ultimately holds no weight. It never feels like the film builds up to a climax and the ending falls flat. Assassin's Creed is a disappointing film that expects too much of the viewer to already know some of the terminology and significantly of certain items but doesn't quite make sense either.
