Assassin's Creed (film)

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Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed film poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Justin Kurzel
Screenplay by
Based on Assassin's Creed
by Ubisoft
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Adam Arkapaw
Edited by Christopher Tellefsen
Music by Jed Kurzel
Production
companies
Distributed by 20th Century Fox [1]
Release dates
  • December 13, 2016 (2016-12-13)(New York City)
  • December 21, 2016 (2016-12-21)(United States and France)
Running time
115 minutes [2] [3]
CountriesUnited States [4]
France [5] [6]
Languages
  • English
  • Spanish [7]
Budget$125 million [8] [9]
Box office$240.7 million [9]

Assassin's Creed is a 2016 dystopian science fiction action film [9] based on the video game franchise of the same name. The film is directed by Justin Kurzel, written by Michael Lesslie, Adam Cooper and Bill Collage, and stars Michael Fassbender (who also produced), as well as Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, Charlotte Rampling and Michael K. Williams. The film is set in the same universe as the video games but features an original story that expands the series' mythology. The plot revolves around Callum "Cal" Lynch (Fassbender), who is abducted by the Abstergo Foundation because of his heritage. Cal's ancestor, Aguilar de Nerha, was a member of the Assassin Brotherhood—a fictional organization inspired by the real-life Order of Assassins—active during the Spanish Inquisition in the late 15th-century, who swore to protect the Apple of Eden, an artifact believed to contain the key to humanity's free will. Cal must accept his Assassin heritage and stop Abstergo, the Templar Order of the modern-day, from finding the Apple and using it to enslave humanity.

Contents

Filming began in late August 2015 and concluded in January 2016. Assassin's Creed was released by 20th Century Fox on December 21, 2016, in the United States and France. It generally received negative reviews from critics that were primarily aimed towards the plot and writing, [10] though some considered it an improvement over previous video game film adaptations. [11] The film underperformed at the box office, grossing $240.7 million worldwide against its $125 million budget. [12] A sequel was planned, but due to the film's negative reception and disappointing box office result, it was cancelled by Disney after its acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019.

Plot

In 1492 Andalusia, during the Granada War, Aguilar de Nerha is accepted into the Assassin Brotherhood and assigned to protect Prince Ahmed de Granada from the Templar Order. In 1986, adolescent Callum "Cal" Lynch finds his mother killed by his father, Joseph, an Assassin. Gunmen led by Alan Rikkin, CEO of the Templars' Abstergo Foundation, arrive to capture Joseph, who persuades his son to escape.

In 2016, Cal is sentenced to death for murdering a pimp, but Abstergo fakes his execution and takes him to their research facility in Madrid. The Templars are after an Apple of Eden, an artifact built by a long-lost civilization. Using the Apple's code, they can control humanity's free will and eliminate violence. Cal is a descendant of Aguilar, the last person confirmed to be in possession of the Apple. Sofia, Alan's daughter and the head scientist, puts Cal in the Animus, a machine which allows him to relive (and the scientists to observe) Aguilar's genetic memories, so that Abstergo can learn the Apple's whereabouts.

In 1492, Aguilar and his partner, María, are deployed to rescue Ahmed, who has been kidnapped by the Templar Grand Master Tomas de Torquemada, to coerce Ahmed's father, Sultan Muhammad XII, to surrender the Apple. Aguilar and María intercept the Templars, but are overpowered and captured by Torquemada's enforcer, Ojeda. Sofia then pulls Cal out of the Animus.

Cal encounters other Assassin descendants held captive at the facility, most of whom are suspicious of him, with the exceptions of Lin, a descendant of 16th-century Chinese Assassin Shao Jun; and Moussa, a descendant of 18th-century Haitian Assassin Baptiste. Cal begins experiencing hallucinations, dubbed "the Bleeding Effect", of both Aguilar and Joseph. During their sessions, Sofia confides in Cal that her mother was likewise murdered by an Assassin, sharing his hatred of the Brotherhood.

Back in the Animus, Aguilar and María are scheduled for execution at an auto da fe but he manages to free them, leading to a rooftop chase in which they escape through a "Leap of Faith". Cal's mind reacts violently to the session and he is temporarily paralyzed. After learning that Joseph is also at the facility, Cal confronts him over his mother's death. Joseph informs Cal that the Bleeding Effect will allow him to gain Aguilar's skills. He also reveals that Cal's mother was an Assassin and chose to die by Joseph's hand rather than be forced into the Animus. Unconvinced, Cal vows to destroy the Assassins by finding the Apple. Meanwhile, Alan is pressed by a Templar Elder, Ellen Kaye, to shut down the multibillion-dollar Animus Project because they have already "won ... people no longer care about their civil liberties ... they're content to follow", leading Sofia to question her father's true intentions.

Reaffirmed by his encounter with Joseph, Cal enters the Animus. Aguilar and María ambush a meeting between Muhammad and Torquemada; they kill Torquemada's men and recover the Apple, but Ojeda captures María. She chooses to die to protect the Apple and stabs herself on Ojeda's blade, allowing Aguilar to kill Ojeda and escape through another Leap; the force of which causes the Animus to malfunction. Aguilar later gives the Apple to Christopher Columbus, who vows to take it to his grave. When Moussa and the modern Assassin prisoners start a riot to escape, Alan orders the facility purged. Abstergo security kills Joseph and most of the other prisoners. Cal stands in the Animus chamber and is met with projections of his ancestors, including Aguilar, Arno Dorian, Joseph and his mother, while Sofia glimpses the projection of an Assassin resembling her. Persuaded by his mother, Cal embraces his Assassin heritage and, having fully assimilated Aguilar's abilities, joins Moussa and Lin in escaping the facility.

Having retrieved the Apple from Columbus' burial vault, the Templars convene at a ceremony in their London sanctuary to celebrate their triumph. Inside the sanctuary, a disillusioned Sofia meets Cal, who has come to take the Apple, and she reluctantly allows him to act. Cal retrieves the Apple, killing Alan in the process. As Sofia vows revenge, the Assassins depart, swearing once again to protect the Apple from the Templars.

Cast

Production

Development

You know, we absolutely want to respect the game. There's so much cool stuff in the game that we're actually spoiled for choice in terms of what we can use and what we can't, but we also want to bring new elements to it and perhaps our own version of things that already exist in the game. But we're definitely making a feature film, and we're approaching it as a feature film, as opposed to approaching it as a video game. But I love the world ... When I met up with the guys from Ubisoft and they started to explain this whole world and the idea of D.N.A memory—you know, I think it's a very feasible scientific theory. I just thought, 'This is so rich,' and about the possibility of it being this cinematic experience. So I'm really excited about it, and we're working very hard to make sure that we've got the best and most exciting, original package.

Michael Fassbender, star and producer of the film, on how much of the film would remain faithful to the game and how much would be an original story. [29]

In October 2011, Sony Pictures was in final negotiations with Ubisoft Motion Pictures to make a film version of Assassin's Creed, [30] to be released in 3D. [31] In July 2012, Michael Fassbender was announced to star in the film, as well as co-produce, through his DMC Film banner, with Conor McCaughan. [14] Jean-Julien Baronnet, CEO of Ubisoft Motion Pictures, said Fassbender was the studio's first choice to star in the film. As well, negotiations between Sony Pictures and Ubisoft Motion Pictures were put on hold, with Ubisoft executives planning to develop the film independently to maintain greater creative control. Sony was able to still distribute the film, but Ubisoft Motion Pictures would not resume talks until packaging the project with a writer and director. [32] In October 2012, Ubisoft revealed the film would be co-produced with New Regency and distributed by 20th Century Fox. New Regency financed part of the film's production, for Ubisoft to not shoulder much financial risk, yet still be able to be involved creatively; [33] RatPac Entertainment and Alpha Pictures also co-financed the film. [28] Baronnet also revealed Ubisoft hoped to release the film along with a new game launch for the series. [33]

In January 2013, Michael Lesslie was hired to write the film. [34] In June 2013, Frank Marshall entered negotiations to produce the film, along with Fassbender and McCaughan, for DMC Film, and Eli Richbourg for Ubisoft. [35] In July, Scott Frank revealed he was rewriting the script. [36] In January 2014, a LinkedIn profile for executive producer Fannie Pailloux stated filming was scheduled to begin in August 2014. [37] In April 2014, Adam Cooper and Bill Collage were hired to rewrite the script. [38] By the end of April, Justin Kurzel was in talks to direct. [39] In June, Olivia Munn expressed interest in appearing in the film. [40]

Pre-production

The film was originally projected to be the first of several films. [41] On February 12, 2015, Ubisoft's CEO Yves Guillemot confirmed that New Regency had begun production on the film. [42] The following day, Marion Cotillard revealed that she had joined the cast. Filming was expected to begin in late 2015. [17] In April 2015, Fassbender revealed that filming was scheduled to begin in September 2015. [43] In May 2015, Alicia Vikander was in talks to star in the film, [44] though in the following month, she took a role in the fifth Bourne film, Jason Bourne , instead, [45] and Ariane Labed was cast in her place. [28] Producers on the film include Baronnet, Patrick Crowley, Fassbender, Marshall, Conor McCaughan, and Arnon Milchan. [28] In July 2015, Michael K. Williams was added to the cast. [25] Initially thought to be cast as recurring protagonist Desmond Miles, Ubisoft clarified in July 2012 that Fassbender would play a different character instead. [46] In late August 2015, Fassbender's role was revealed as Callum Lynch in the present day and Aguilar in 15th-century Spain; filming locations for the film were also announced. [15] [47]

Filming

Principal photography on the film began on August 31, 2015, with filming taking place in Malta, London, Spain, and the 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios. [15] [48] [49] [50] Adam Arkapaw serves as cinematographer, while Andy Nicholson was production designer. [51] In October 2015, Jeremy Irons and Brendan Gleeson joined the cast. [18] In December 2015, shooting took place in Spain, [52] and Irons' role was revealed to be Alan Rikkin. [22] Principal filming ended on January 15, 2016, [53] with further filming taking place in Ely Cathedral in July. [54]

Music

The film's musical score is composed by Justin's brother Jed Kurzel and released through Verve Music Group on December 21, 2016. [55]

Connections to the video games

Aymar Azaïzia, head of Assassin's Creed content at Ubisoft, stated that the film, which is "a brand new story, [with] new characters set in our universe", had the possibility to feature "some familiar faces", and that the present day element would feature Abstergo. [56] Fassbender said, "We really want to respect the game[s] and the elements to it. But we also wanted to come up with our own thing. And one thing I've sort of learned from doing the franchises like X-Men is that audiences, I think, want to be surprised and to see new elements of what they already know, and different takes on it." [16] The Animus, the machine used to experience ancestors' memories, was redesigned for the film, from a chair, to a machine that lifts the user in the air, allowing for a more modern, interactive and dramatic experience. Fassbender also noted the change was made to avoid comparisons to The Matrix . [57] The Abstergo compound in the film features an artifact room that holds an assortment of weapons from the games beyond the traditional Assassin wrist blades. Fassbender also stated that Ubisoft was "very keen" about elements being created for the film, and were considering incorporating them into future games. [16]

The film also features the games' signature "Leap of Faith" jump, performed by Fassbender's stunt double, Damien Walters, rather than a digital double, as the production team wanted to make many of the elements in the film as "real" as possible, without the use of visual effects. The 125-foot (38 m) freefall was described as "one of the highest freefalls performed by a stuntman in almost 35 years". [58]

Release

Assassin's Creed was released on December 21, 2016. [59] The film was originally announced in May 2013 to be released on May 22, 2015, [60] a date that was pushed back the following month to June 26, 2015. [61] In November 2013, the film was pushed back once again to a new release date of August 7, 2015. [62] In September 2014, the film was pushed to an unspecified 2016 release date, [63] which was later revealed to be December 21, 2016. [59]

Home media

Assassin's Creed was released onto Blu-ray and DVD on March 21, 2017 [64] and Digital HD from Amazon Video and iTunes on March 10, 2017.[ citation needed ]

Reception

Box office

Assassin's Creed grossed $54.6 million in the United States and Canada and $186.3 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $240.9 million, against a production budget of $125 million. [9] The Hollywood Reporter estimated the film lost the studio $75–100 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues. [12]

In North America, Assassin's Creed opened alongside Sing and Passengers , and was initially expected to gross $25–35 million from 2,902 theaters over its first six days of release. [65] [8] However, after grossing $1.4 million from Tuesday night previews and $4.6 million on its first day, six-day projections were lowered to $22 million. [66] It went on to gross $10.3 million in its opening weekend (a six-day total of $22.5 million), finishing fifth at the box office. [67] It fell 15% in its second weekend to $8.7 million, finishing in eighth, and over 50% in its third week, grossing $4.2 million and finishing tenth. [68]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, Assassin's Creed has an approval rating of 18% based on 229 reviews, and an average rating of 4/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Assassin's Creed is arguably better made (and certainly better cast) than most video game adaptations; unfortunately, the CGI-fueled end result is still a joylessly overplotted slog." [69] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 36 out of 100 based on 38 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". [70] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. [71]

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian wrote, "I bet playing the game is much more exciting. But then getting Fassbender to slap a coat of Dulux on the wall of his hi-tech prison cell and monitoring the progressive moisture-loss would be more exciting." [72] Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph was equally scathing, saying, "For everyone who thought Dan Brown's conspiracy novels were just lacking a spot of parkour, Assassin's Creed might be your favourite film of the year. But for the clinically sane 99.9 percent of the rest of us, it's rather less exciting." [73]

David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a B−, and said "declaring this to be the best video game movie ever made is the kind of backhanded compliment that sounds like hyperbole, but the description fits the bill on both counts". [11]

Cancelled sequels

In 2016, Daphne Yang, CEO of the film's Taiwanese co-financier CatchPlay, stated that Paramount Pictures and New Regency was looking to turn the film into a franchise, since it is based on "successful Ubisoft games and would make ideal sequels". [74] Two additional films were planned, with the first sequel having entered development during the production of the initial film. [75] Kurzel said that he would like to explore the Cold War in the sequel. [76] Due to the film's negative reception, and in the wake of the acquisition of 21st Century Fox's assets by Disney, the sequels, together with other film adaptations of video games, were cancelled. [77]

See also

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Assassin's Creed is an action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the first installment in the Assassin's Creed series. The video game was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November 2007. A Microsoft Windows version titled Assassin's Creed: Director's Cut Edition containing additional content was released in April 2008.

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<i>Assassins Creed II</i> 2009 video game

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<i>Assassins Creed</i> Video game series

Assassin's Creed is a historical action-adventure video game series and media franchise published by Ubisoft and developed mainly by its studio Ubisoft Montreal using the game engine Anvil and its more advanced derivatives. Created by Patrice Désilets, Jade Raymond, and Corey May, the Assassin's Creed video game series depicts a fictional millennia-old struggle between the Order of Assassins, who fight for peace and free will, and the Knights Templar, who desire peace through order and control. The series features historical fiction, science fiction, and fictional characters intertwined with real-world historical events and historical figures. In most games, players control a historical Assassin while also playing as an Assassin Initiate or someone caught in the Assassin–Templar conflict in the present-day framing story. Considered a spiritual successor to the Prince of Persia series, Assassin's Creed took inspiration from the novel Alamut by the Slovenian writer Vladimir Bartol, based on the historical Hashashin sect of the medieval Middle East.

<i>Assassins Creed II: Discovery</i> 2009 video game

Assassin's Creed II: Discovery is a 2009 action-adventure side-scrolling video game developed by Griptonite Games and published by Ubisoft. It was released for the Nintendo DS in November 2009, and for the iOS operating system in January 2010. Part of the Assassin's Creed series, it is a spin-off to Assassin's Creed II and is set during that game's events, between Sequences 12 and 13. The story takes place from 1491 to 1492, and follows Ezio Auditore da Firenze as he travels to Spain to help his fellow Assassins, who are being hunted by the Templar Order under the guise of the Spanish Inquisition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ezio Auditore da Firenze</span> Assassins Creed character

Ezio Auditore da Firenze is a character in the video game series Assassin's Creed, an Italian Master Assassin who serves as the protagonist of the series' games set during the Italian Renaissance. His life and career as an Assassin are chronicled in Assassin's Creed II, II: Discovery, Brotherhood (2010), and Revelations (2011), as well as the short films Assassin's Creed: Lineage (2009), Ascendance (2010), and Embers (2011) and various spin-off media of the franchise. In 2016, all three major games featuring Ezio, as well as Lineage and Embers, were re-released as an enhanced bundle titled Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Collection. Throughout most of his appearances, the character has been voiced by American actor Roger Craig Smith, while Canadian actor Devon Bostick portrayed him in live-action in Lineage.

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<i>Assassins Creed: Brotherhood</i> 2010 video game

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<i>Assassins Creed Revelations</i> 2011 video game

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ratonhnhaké:ton</span> Assassins Creed character

Ratonhnhaké:ton, commonly known by his adopted name Connor, is a fictional character in the video game series Assassin's Creed. A half-British, half-Mohawk Master Assassin who serves as a central character in the games set around the American Revolution, he first appears as the main protagonist of Assassin's Creed III (2012), in which he is portrayed by Native American actor Noah Watts through performance capture, and voiced by Jamie Mayers as a young child. He also makes a minor appearance in the tie-in game Assassin's Creed III: Liberation, and is the narrator of the novel Assassin's Creed: Forsaken (2012). The character has made further appearances in various spin-off media of the franchise.

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<i>Assassins Creed Syndicate</i> 2015 video game

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Assassin's Creed, also known as Assassin's Creed: Assassins, is a comic book series published by Titan Comics. Set in the fictional universe of Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed video game series, the comic follows the same premise as the games, involving a millennia-old struggle between the Assassin Brotherhood, who fight for peace and freedom, and the Templar Order, who believe in peace through control, to decide the fate of humanity. The comic is primarily set in the modern-day and follows the adventures of Charlotte de la Cruz, a banker who is recruited into the Assassins and partakes in their fight against the Templars. Through the use of a machine called the Animus, Charlotte also occasionally relives the genetic memories of her ancestors at various points in history to acquire skills and information needed to complete her missions.

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