The ‘Assassin’s Creed’ And Video Game Movies

The “Assassin’s Creed” movie starring Michael Fassbender was arguably one of the most anticipated titles of 2016, particularly for the gaming community. And considering the marginal success of Blizzard’s “Warcraft: The Beginning,” Ubisoft can’t be blamed for wanting a slice of the cake. Hopes were very high for the film, as well. With the release — and undeniable failure — of the “Assassin’s Creed” film however, one is left to wonder: what went wrong?

The Problem With Video Game Movies

Consider this: A person watches Star Wars: A New Hope. As an avid fan, that person wishes he had the chance to live in the Star Wars universe. To such a person, a video game may allow him that exact experience. He may play titles such as Knights of the Old Republic, creating a virtual representation of himself to live the Star Wars life. The fan finds a kind of fulfillment because he can visualize himself as part of the story.

Now consider the opposite scenario. Suppose a person plays a story-based video game such as Starcraft. He feels attached to the characters, even feeling genuine guilt as Sarah Kerrigan is left on her own to fend off against an endless horde of Zerglings. He feels a disgusted empathy when she becomes the Zerg Queen of Blades. He then wishes he could actually be a part of that universe, and he wonders what he would have done were he in the position to help her. Can he watch a movie to do so?

No, of course not. He can’t control the actors’ movements on-screen. If he watches a movie, it will either be the same story he already knows, or a spin-off altogether. This brings up the first problem of video game movies: if a person has already gone through the story, why watch others go through the same?

The Rise And Fall of Assassin’s Creed

It should be noted that the original Assassin’s Creed video game was a gem of its time. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood only cemented the franchise’s place in history. But the truth is… almost every other installment that followed was a lazy attempt to milk the title for more money. Assassin’s Creed 3 had very unlovable characters. Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag only had one redeeming feature in the form of naval mechanics. Assassin’s Creed: Unity was released incomplete and in a state where it was nearly unplayable. Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate was a slight improvement, but not by much.

The point is that while the original two titles were undoubtedly great, Ubisoft has been releasing a new sequel every year since then, hoping fans still remember that the originals were great. They forgot to focus on quality, and by the time the Assassin’s Creed movie came out, burned-out fans felt little motivation to watch.

Assassin’s Creed Movie Bombs

Michael Fassbender did his best for his dual roles in the movie as Callum Lynch and Master Assassin Aguilar de Nehra. And in all honesty, the film itself had strong points. Specifically, every bit of the Spanish Inquisition portrayed on the big screen was a joy to watch.

The trouble is… every now and then, the movie would cut to the present. And that was where the movie completely missed its mark. The scenes involving the Abstergo corporation were just plain boring. To make maters worse, the film treats the audience like idiots by constantly shifting back and forth between past and present mid-combat. It was as if the director didn’t trust the audience to be intelligent enough to understand what was going on.

Rather than making past and present segments felt like a single continuity, the effect was a nauseating, disorienting, and broke tension on more than one occasion.

It was bad enough that the film is based on a tiring franchise.

The End of Video Game Movies

Will video game movies always be bad? It’s highly unlikely. Stories are only as good as the storyteller. And as long as games come up with good stories, that motivation to portray them on-screen will be there. To say that game-movie adaptations will always be bad is like saying “creativity has limits.”

So no. Video game movies won’t always inherently be bad. Unfortunately, Assassin’s Creed’s failure tells Hollywood one thing: Video game movies are a risk. Even when successful, that success is often by a very slim margin. Honestly speaking, it is a terrifying thought that Hollywood might stop trying to make more adaptations in the future.