Video games and movies are closely related in many ways, and yet converting from one form to the other has proven to be a challenging task. In fact, very few film adaptations of popular video games have ever managed to become successful, while there have been quite a lot of flops over the years. And it looks like producers just haven’t learned their lesson, looking at the recently released “Assassin’s Creed” film.
While some fans actually expected the production to be a good adaptation of the famous gaming franchise, many were mostly skeptical about the film’s potential, and it looks like they had every right for that.
Reviews for “Assassin’s Creed” have been very poor so far, from both fans and critics alike. On the other hand, the financial performance of the release has been very unimpressive as well, leading many to believe that this is the last we’ll hear from “Assassin’s Creed” on the big screen.
The plot of the film has been pointed out by many critics as its weakest point, and it looks like the writers were trying to work with the same style that a video game writer would employ. However, video games and films have very different plot structures, and require a different approach in order to keep the audience captivated and produce a coherent plot in the end.
In the case of “Assassin’s Creed”, the film reportedly feels repetitive and predictable, and doesn’t leave much to the imagination. It’s not just about having played the games – even those who walk into the theater without any idea of what “Assassin’s Creed” is about will apparently not find themselves that surprised by some of the developments they will see in the film.
The quality of acting in the production is also reportedly subpar, at least from the majority of the main cast. Other than Michael Fassbender, there aren’t any other really prominent names featured in the film, which can explain the situation. Still, one can’t help but wonder why a production as important as this was left without a proper cast, something which would have probably saved it to some extent.
According to some fans, the problem isn’t actually in the film itself. It lies more in the original material from which it was inspired, as the “Assassin’s Creed” games themselves have been suffering from somewhat poor releases recently. Particularly, the games have been criticized for their plot, although the poor technical performance didn’t help either.
Last but not least, a problem that’s been pointed out by multiple critics is the fact that the film focuses far too much on a small set of actors instead of trying to paint with a broader stroke. Obviously, fans want to see the story developed from multiple different sides, but the film feels quite constricted and doesn’t really manage to expand on some of its aspects. In the end, many have described it as a “linear” experience, which should definitely say something, considering that films are supposed to be linear in the first place.
Is there a chance of seeing a sequel at this point? While some fans are surprisingly optimistic for that possibility, they seem to be in a small minority, as most people are convinced that the franchise’s life on the screen is over at this point. The film didn’t bring anything of value to the scene, and it actually seems to have had a negative impact on the popularity of the gaming franchise itself, so it would be a smart move to just let this one die down.