First, the Recap:
Cal Lynch (Michael Fassbender) is an accused murderer, sentenced to death by lethal injection–a sentence carried out with success–or so he imagined. Waking to find himself in the hands of scientist Sofia (Marion Cotillard) and her Templar father Rikkin (Jeremy Irons), Lynch finds himself part of a fantastical experiment in unlocking genetic memories and then, through technology, experiencing the life of his ancestor, Aguilar (also Fassbender) in 15th century Spain. Additionally, Lynch also becomes privy to the fact Aguilar was part of a secret society of Assassins, whose goal was to protect a powerful relic from the Templar Knights, both then and through the ages. Soon, Lynch realizes his place amongst this brotherhood, and makes a new pledge to defend it in the present.
Worth Seeing: NO
With sincere apologies to director Justin Kurzel and the admittedly legions of gaming fans who adore the Ubisoft series the film was based on, the ways this film failed for me were in themselves legion. Kurzel himself has done better work (see last year’s intense “Macbeth” with Fassbender & Cotillard), Fassbender, Cotillard, and Irons have done FAR better work, and frankly, the way in which the narrative was presented promoted confusion and boredom. Yes, there are some cool-ish action sequences, but they don’t make up for the tediousness in between them. Why is it that past attempts at videogame-based films, which also consistently flopped, didn’t teach Hollywood anything?? A total, utter disappointment that thankfully WASN’T this reviewer’s final theatrical film of 2016! IF it had been, talk about going out with a whimper.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
