The highly anticipated movie adaptation of the video game series, Assassin’s Creed, hit the big screen December 21 starring Michael Fassbender and directed by Justin Kurzel. Unfortunately, it disappointed fans upon arrival.

The film failed to capture the feel of the Assassin’s Creed games where the main story is set in the past with a small story in the present- unlike the movie. The movie is more for fans, and those going in without knowledge will find it hard to follow because the movie doesn’t show how the feud between Assassins and Templars began. One of the few good things in the film was Michael Fassbender.

The only performance that stood out was Michael Fassbender as Aguilar and Cal. Though, Cal is more the center of the story than Aguilar. Marion Cotillard is great as Dr. Sophia Rikkin who is assigned to Cal at the abstergo headquarters, but she didn’t outshine Fassbender. The rest of the actors weren’t given enough screen time to live up to their performances, but they weren’t that bad. 

Though the story of the film didn’t receive great reviews, the cinematography was one of the better parts of the movie. The dark filter gave the movie a gritty tone and served its dark PG-13 story well. The special effects of the movie were great, and the action scenes made it feel like the hand-to-hand combat in Assassin’s Creed gameplay. The sequences set in the past fit the time period of 15th century Spain. The dialogue between characters was the language used in that era.

Instead of portraying a story from the games, the movie stood alone. The story dragged since the first act was slow with character development. It isn’t until the second act when the Animus is introduced was the audience able to see how it worked. The final act was within the last 15 minutes of the movie, and the ending was anticlimactic. The story wasn’t terrible, but didn’t portray the plots seen in the games.

Being a disappointment to the Assassin’s Creed franchise, the movie failed to make back the cost of the movie, $120 million, with both domestic and foreign intakes of $87,305,721. It currently sits at a 17% on Rotten Tomatoes and is shunned by movie critics. However, fan reviews on Fandango say otherwise. With references to the games, it entertained just enough.