ASSASSIN'S CREED Reviews - What Are The Critics Saying?
Is Assassin's Creed the video game adaptation to break the curse? Based on this first wave of reviews, no, as critics have taken aim at what sounds like one of 2016's most disappointing blockbusters...
Warcraft: The Beginning was supposed to break the bad video game movie curse, but even with a filmmaker as talented as Duncan Jones at the helm, it still disappointed. As a result, all eyes turned to Assassin's Creed and...well, that too has seemingly let down fans based on the first wave of reviews to have surfaced today! One or two are relatively positive, but most really don't go easy on the film.
Despite having a team behind the camera every bit as impressive as in front of it, it appears as if the decision to focus on setting up a franchise has ultimately hurt Assassin's Creed, though the story and tone honestly don't sound very good either. While fans of the games may end up liking the movie, this reviews are bad news for its chances of box office success, but great for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Have these reviews put you off seeing Assassin's Creed? Let us know in the comments section.
Minus the material with Aguilar and Maria, Assassin’s Creed operates in cruise control. A similar sequence of events happens over and over again, and all you can do is just sit back and look at the pretty picture. And yes, Assassin’s Creed often does look fantastic, especially the costume design and the chase sequences that take place in the 15th Century. But all the riveting roof-top running and hand-to-hand combat in the world won’t make a movie worthwhile if you don’t give a damn about the characters. [C] - Collider
It’s rare to see a film quite so lacking in animus. It exists only to gouge money out of gamers. They might well want to stick to the game. [1*] - The Guardian
2016 has been full of surprises, so in some ways Assassin's Creed, Hollywood's latest attempt to mine gold from an industry that rakes in more dough than it does, is a reassuring tonic: Video game adaptations remain plodding affairs. Directed by Australian helmer Justin Kurzel, reuniting with his Macbeth stars Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, Assassin’s Creed is resolutely stone-faced, ditching the humdrum quips that are par for the course in today's blockbusters. But this is almost two hours of convoluted hokum that might have benefited from a few self-deflating jabs. "What the f*** is going on," wonders Fassbender at one point. If only you could discern the shadow of a wink. - The Hollywood Reporter
Assassin's Creed has probably done the very best it can with the hand it's been dealt with and, really, this might be the best video game adaptation yet. Mind you, that's not saying a huge amount. [3*] - The Independent
Since the Assassins are painted as the heroes in this film, is “Assassin’s Creed” implying that maintaining free will means accepting man’s inherent violence? So what of Sofia’s mission to bring an end to violence in general? One suspects that none of the filmmakers gave such ramifications any thought. Instead, it’s all window-dressing for an ending that reveals this alternately goofy and self-serious big-budget Hollywood product to be little more than a two-hour prelude to a potential future franchise. [C-] - The Playlist
Michael Fassbender is a good actor who can carry a franchise, and the film serves as a compelling origin story for Sophia Rikkin, as well as Callum Lynch. Clumsy exposition didn’t ruin a film that had a strong visual identity, fantastic action sequences, and characters that I’m ready to spend more time with already. - Polygon
The 15th Century wasn’t a great time to be alive, and it’s not even such nice place to visit. We went all the way back in time with Assassin’s Creed and all we got was this lousy apple. It’s not even a real one. - Time
Of course, the set-up suggests a sequel may be forthcoming – but the very past/present nature of the Assassin’s Creed games suggests the difficulties that blight this adaptation would dog any future film. Still, credit Kurzel and his regular DoP Adam Arkapaw for recreating the spirit of the series. In an age when Hollywood has apparently little regard for video game tie-ins, Kurzel's team – along with Ubisoft – has tried admirably to protect fan interests. If only they’d had a better script... [3*] - Total Film
Maybe someday a distant relative of mine will be hooked up to one of these machines, then they can come back and watch me watch Assassin’s Creed. “Oh, look at this human being from 2016,” they will say about me as I watch Assassin’s Creed, “he looks so sad.” They won’t know the half of it. - Uproxx
There’s inevitably a hint of shameless money-grab to any film adaptation of a ludicrously popular video game franchise, especially one that specifically appeals to people who must uncover every secret in the mythos. Still, Assassin’s Creed’s creators have the courage to always take themselves seriously, even when they’re working with material that sounds fundamentally silly. There’s no great leap of faith in Assassin’s Creed, but a surprising amount of the time, it at least finds steady footing. - Verge
As in last year’s “Macbeth,” Kurzel fares best in battle sequences highlighting the ashen ugliness of imagined history in rich detail. When they finally come, sequences in which Fassbender bounds through antiquated environs and lives up to his oath provide a few spare thrills; a public execution, meanwhile, recalls the heightened reality of Ken Russell’s “The Devils” (minus the heresy). Elsewhere, though, “Assassin’s’ Creed” is like playing a bad game and longing for the sweet release of the “game over” screen. - The Wrap
How times have changed. “Assassin’s Creed,” in which Michael Fassbender plays some sort of leaping, fighting, time-tripping — but still moody and sullen — bare-chested historic warrior dude, is a mediocre video-game movie that has branded itself in a most revealing way. The film is coming off 20 years of soullessly trashy and forgettable video-game spinoffs (the “Mortal Kombat” and “Streetfighter” films, “Max Payne” and “The Book of Eli,” the “Lara Croft” series, this year’s “Warcraft”). But “Assassin’s Creed” isn’t fighting the junkiness of that pedigree — it’s using it to prop up its own pretensions. The hook the producers are selling is, “Here, at long last, is a video-game movie that’s a cut above the others.” - Variety