The Assassin’s Creed movie comes out later this week, and now that I’ve played four and a half games and actually know the story, I decided to revisit it.
Given how bad video game movies usually are, I feel like I should be much more hesitant to see this adaptation. But it looks good so far, and I’m holding out hope that it will also be good.
Our main character this time around is Callum Lynch. The story follows him as he is saved from execution by the modern-day Templars, only to be plugged into the animus. This trailer delves more into the plot than the previous ones—the Templars are looking for something called the Apple, or rather an Apple. In the games, Apples are powerful relics left behind by Those Who Came Before, and they have the ability to control people’s thoughts. With an Apple, the Templars could theoretically take over the world.
In order to find it, they need Callum’s ancestral memories from a Master Assassin who lived 500 years ago. As the bleeding effect kicks in and Callum starts to gain his ancestor’s abilities as well, he and the other Assassin prisoners fight back against their Templar captives.
There are a lot of similarities between this movie and the first game. Callum, like Desmond, finds himself a prisoner of Abstergo, the corporate front of the Templars; he is plugged into the Animus against his will in order to find an Apple; and all the while he finds himself assisted by a female Templar scientist. Desmond had Lucy, but Callum has Sophia, who is the daughter of Abstergo’s CEO, Rikkin. Thus far, we haven’t really seen Rikkin in the games—it’s possible that he’s one of the Templars Desmond spies on during a board meeting in the first game, but we don’t know all that much about him.
I read somewhere that only 30% of the movie will take place in the past, and the rest in the present. At first this put me off, but I’m hoping that this will be a good thing. I mentioned in the previous post that a big problem with video game movies is their pandering. The movies get over-saturated with too many things from the games for the sake of appeasing the fans, but the lack of time needed to properly explain everything easily alienates any other potential viewers. Then what you end up with is a series of shots more concerned with Easter eggs than it is with telling a story.
Spending more time in the present gives me hope that the Assassin’s Creed movie will take the time to set up its plot and characters in a believable way—it will be able to better explore the Templars and their leader and engage in more worldbuilding. The movie is also set to be the first part of a trilogy, which is another positive, since it means they’ll have more time to delve into everything without rushing through the plot.
Assassin’s Creed comes out on the 21st, and I know that I’ll be in the theater to see it. But this is my last post before we break for the holidays, so I’ll give all of you my thoughts when we come back in January.
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Lady Geek Girl and Friends 
I’m new to Assassin’s Creed, never played the video games, but I love the illustrations of the characters. I was curious about it so I went to see the movie and I loved the bits that took place in the past. I think the story is more engaging there.
I wish I could learn more without having to play the games.
Since you’re interested, here’s a guy who does a complete walk-through of the games on Youtube. There are also books for the series as well.
Thanks for the link. I really appreciate that because I do want to learn more. And I’ve placed the first book on my TBR.
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