The video game movie genre has never found success with critics, or delivered a truly competent blockbuster. The Tomb Raider and Resident Evil franchises (coincidentally both headed by female leads) were huge financial successes, despite not being able to rise above their B-movie status. Hollywood is taking another swing at the genre and the two strongest contenders to make some noise in the near future, are Warcraft and Assassin’s Creed.
Those two properties have the depth in story and mythology to make a truly great film. That is exactly what director Justin Kurziel and actor Michael Fassbender (X-Men: Days of Future Past) are attempting to do with their feature film adaptation of the smash-hit video game franchise, Assassin’s Creed. The pre-production process has been arduous, marked with multiple setbacks and release date changes. Today we got our first visual confirmation that progress is being made as the movie prepares for its debut in cinemas in late 2016.
The look of the costume is completely faithful to the various iterations of the Assassins found in the game series. The layered textures, which along with the help of well-placed shadows, keep the face shrouded in darkness and hard to identify. The game’s signature weapon of choice, retractable blades hidden in sleeves, has been faithfully brought to life also. This small attention to detail signals that we should expect an exciting recreation of the game’s dynamic action beats, that will include parkour and breathtaking feats of gymnastics.
We were also gifted with the film’s first synopsis via Yahoo, which shed more light into the upcoming production and the approach that they will be taking.
Official Synopsis:
Lynch discovers he is a descendant of the secret Assassins society through unlocked genetic memories that allow him to relive the adventures of his ancestor, Aguilar, in 15th Century Spain. After gaining incredible knowledge and skills he’s poised to take on the oppressive Knights Templar in the present day.
The story could have been lifted from any game in the series, except for one glaring exception, the name of the lead character. While there have been various protagonists, due to the multiple spin-offs and branching storylines, the lead character has always traditionally been Desmond Miles. Fassbender will play Callum Lynch and presumably his Spanish ancestor Aguilar as well. Changing the character to one which doesn’t pre-exist, will hopefully give the filmmakers some latitude to craft an original story capable of achieving critical acclaim. The one thing we haven’t seen from a video game movie.
These reveals do not come as a surprise, since the production goes before the cameras this Monday. However, this is a clear signal to fans that the movie is getting off on the right foot for long-time fans of the franchise. Fortunately we only have to wait a little over a year.
Assassin’s Creed opens on December 21st, 2016.
Do you like the look of Fassbender in Assassin’s Creed? Are you okay with the changes that they have made so far? Let us know on the comment boards, , , and !
Source: Yahoo