But then there’s the part of you that’s still interested; that wants to know if it can deliver what an Assassin’s Creed fan wants from a game movie. It’s the little part of you that’s spent the small matter of hundreds of hours in the Animus. The tiny part of your brain that suffers from its own personal Bleeding Effect when you look at real world architecture and knows where the feathers are. Sound familiar? 

So could it be possible that the misguided film press is actually just taking out its personal frustration on the games industry with a swift air assassination instead of some constructive criticism? Possibly. If the review you’re reading puts the word ‘gamers’ in italics, you might want to add a star or two to the score.

But the movie. Is it any good? Well, yes actually, it is. Our largely positive Assassin’s Creed movie (opens in new tab) review isn’t wrong when it says it suffers from script issues, but this level of exposition was always going to clunk like a hidden blade in a washing machine, whether it fell out of Marion Cotillard’s mouth or not. Where the Assassin’s Creed movie excels is exactly where you’d expect it to; the past. This is a franchise that’s always taken great delight in throwing you into history. You’ve crept around the dusty rafters of Notre Dame, clambered up a sun-drenched St Mark’s Basilica and taken in the view from Big Ben’s Elizabeth Tower – I can see my house from here. Now it’s time to take a trip to the previously unexplored Spanish Inquisition where director Justin Kurzel actually gets to ignore the story we’ve all been ignoring for years and just get to down to the business of freerunning, stabbing and hunting for Apples of Eden. And guess what? It’s bloody exhilarating. 

Fassbender’s tattooed Aguilar and his hooded companion Maria – an intense eye-linered Ariane Labed who I would happily watch a whole movie about or play a whole game with, Ubi – hurtle across rooftops in action sequences that put the majority of this year’s superheroics to shame. Breathless hand to hand combat, ridiculous uses of vertical surfaces, absurd jumps between clotheslines, and, of course, leaps of faith. It’s like having Assassin’s Creed injected into your eyes without holding R2 and sometimes getting stuck on a wall. Sure, they’re rather serious compared to some of our more recent Assassins and I could have done without the repeated eagle references which Kurzel layers on far too thick, but throw in his brother Jed’s pounding score and the adrenaline on offer is palpable. 

It’s a shame then that there’s more of Fassbender’s very own Desmond, the incarcerated Callum Lynch, looking like everything hurts and having the whole plot explained to him. As navigating an alien race and genetic memory goes – don’t worry, she doesn’t go into Those Who Came Before – Marion Cotillard is more than up to the task and does what she can with the script, but the first half of the movie left me screaming to just be able to go back into the Animus. Where exactly is a ‘going into the past montage’ when you need it? Kurzel clearly delights in showing off dual Fassbenders flicking back and forth between the past and the future as the new improved claw Animus puts Cal through his ancestor’s movements. I’d have happily seen twice as much.  

While Aguilar creeps into the future in some blatant but enjoyable rewriting of the Bleeding Effect, the history from the improved Animus is tantalisingly out of reach. Rather than all the exposition, to be truly bold the Assassin’s Creed movie could have done all this without a bit of explanation. Critics would have eaten it up like an Assassin-flavour sandwich. Mmm, cheese and Apple of Eden. The questions would have been what drove it forward. Instead it’s paint by numbers in terms of plot but still confidently and stylishly directed enough to elevate it above the dross of this year. Want a disastrous narrative? Try Suicide Squad (opens in new tab) for size. Thankfully, the third act saves the day somewhat and ties everything in a nice (bloody) bow, upping the ante in both the future and back in the 15th century. 

Those expecting series Easter eggs won’t really find any here and it’s almost refreshing. Assassin’s Creed stands on its own two gravity defying feet. While the game’s voodoo poisoner Baptiste from Liberation and Shao Jun from Chronicles China are in attendance (genetically at least), there’s no grand reveals for them. I think we catch a glimpse of Jun’s signature foot blade at one point but I can’t be sure. It’s enough to know that they’re there, rather than showy nods and winks to the fans. We’re grown ups. There’s hoods, jumps, and Templars played by Jeremy Irons and Charlotte Rampling. What more do you want? 

So no, it’s not perfect but it doesn’t have to be. It’s bogged down by an obsession with exposition, but the historical sequences positively sizzle and Fassbender and co are never less than entertaining. Plus, it so blatantly lines up a sequel that it feels like it could be what the original Assassin’s Creed is to the (far superior) AC2. And that’s enough.

The post The Assassins Creed movie is getting bad reviews, but does it matter if you love the games? appeared first on Game News.

While Fassbender’s Callum Lynch is stuck inside a facility run by modern day Templar corporation Abstergo, the Animus itself is inside something much more significant and it’s all because director Justin Kurzel is on a quest to make the 21st century and the Spanish Inquisition flow together seamlessly. “The real challenge is how you breach the present and the past. We have many devices that we’ve worked into the present that almost feel as though the history of the film is shadowing the present day,” he explains in an interview in the new issue of SFX magazine (opens in new tab). 

“Even the Animus is built in an old Templar church. They’re surrounded by the weaponry of past Assassins and past murals of Templars. I wanted a space where you could put something very modern in, which is this Animus machine we’ve created, but for it all to seem connected to some sense of history and place in the past.” 

This on top of the fact that Kurzel decided to shoot the historical sequences in Spanish adds another string to the already deadly authenticity bow. Even better is the fact that we don’t have long to wait. The Assassin’s Creed movie is out in US cinemas on Dec 21, 2016, while we’ll have to be a little more patient until January 1, 2017 in the UK. 

Read the full interview with director Justin Kurzel, as well as stars Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard in the brand new issue of SFX magazine out now. Alternatively, subscribe to future issues here (opens in new tab). 

The post The Assassins Creed movies Animus is built inside a Templar church appeared first on Game News.

Michael Fassbender’s Callum Lynch is trapped inside Abstergo and forced to undergo Animus sessions to experience the memories of his ancestor Aguilar but he isn’t alone. Among the Assassin’s Creed movie cast (opens in new tab) there are a stack of other descendants in there, each with an Assassin in their bloodline. 

Now, we’ve already had confirmation from Michael K. Williams that his character Moussa is a descendant of Baptiste (opens in new tab), a ‘voodoo poisoner’ Assassin turned Templar who we’ve already seen in Assassin’s Creed Liberation. Presumably the fact that he is listed as playing both characters, means we’ll actively see Baptiste in Moussa’s memories. But what about the other Assassins? Here’s where things get interesting. 

In the cast list, Swedish actor Matias Verala is named as a 21st century character called Emir. However, in production notes. we’re told that he is linked to an Assassin of Middle Eastern descent who lived “where East meets West and observed and knew perhaps one of the most accomplished Assassins of all time”. Huh. 

Istanbul is often described as being as the place ‘where East meets West’. The old name of Istanbul? Constantinople which just happens to be location of Ezio’s last adventures in Revelations and where the noted Master Assassin met his wife. I don’t think it’s too much of a leap of faith to say that Emir’s ancestor knew Ezio Auditore. 

When it comes to who the ancestor actually is, I’m guessing at leader of the Ottoman Assassins Yusuf Tazim who you might remember as Ezio’s ally and the man who also dressed up as a minstrel alongside him in one memorable mission. If we’re going to see Ezio Auditore in the movie, it will be through Emir’s flashbacks in the Animus. 

In terms of other Assassins, the fun doesn’t stop there. Another member of the cast is English actor Callum Turner who plays another Abstergo inmate, Nathan. Nathan apparently doesn’t trust Fassbender’s Callum Lynch and feels like he might defect to the Templars. There are hints in the production notes that this comes from Nathan’s own regressions – his currently unnamed Assassin ancestor means he doesn’t trust anyone. 

“It’s a fascinating decision to make; to be so convinced and unwavering in your belief, and then have one little thing change your mind and put you on the other side,” says Turner. Who do we know in the game world that changes his mind and pops him on the other side? Shay Cormac from Assassin’s Creed Rogue is currently our only main Assassin who turned to the ways of the dark Templar side. This definitely doesn’t seem like a coincidence. 

And finally, there’s Lin, a Chinese Assassin linked to an ancestor who “is well travelled and hardened by the struggles of life for a woman in 16th century China”. Given that Assassin’s Creed Chronicles China’s Shao Jun travelled the world in search of Ezio and was around in the 16th century, the pieces fit into place nicely without any need to do any kind of frustrating cipher puzzles. 

To see a thorough breakdown of the movie’s characters, check out my full Assassin’s Creed cast guide. 

Seen something newsworthy? Tell us (opens in new tab)!

The post Heres how Ezio fits into the Assassins Creed movie appeared first on Game News.

Fassbender stars as both present dweller Callum Lynch and his Spanish ancestor Aguilar De Nehra and is joined by Ariane Labed as fellow Assassin Maria as they battle their way across sunny rooftops. And yes, that claw makes a serious upgrade to the animus. Trailer music aside, I have a seriously good feeling about this. 

If you’re really not a fan of that background music, never fear – we’ve fixed it. 

Directed by Justin Kurzel and starring Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Ariane Labed, Michael K. Williams, Jeremy Irons, and Brendan Gleeson, Assassin’s Creed opens in US theatres on December 21, 2016 before being released in UK cinemas on December 26, 2016.

Seen something newsworthy? Tell us!

Images: Ubisoft

The post First Assassins Creed movie trailer appeared first on Game News.