Just because Hollywood has arguably never made a good video game adaptation does not mean they will never make one, and Assassin’s Creed certainly has better pedigree than most. It’s got a promising director (Justin Kurzel, Macbeth) and a prestigious cast more in line with an Oscar-nominated Shakespeare drama than a big-budget blockbuster (including Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, who starred in Kurzel’s Macbeth).

Assassin’s Creed is probably the last ‘big’ film yet to come this year, at least for those in the US. The game-come film has had a somewhat unsure marketing campaign around it, but I remain hopeful that the talent on board come through to create something good. It seems Michael Fassbender wants that too, and still has enthusiasm for the series since its completion. Speaking to Cinema Blend, the actor/producer on the film said that he wants the film to end up being a trilogy, and there are ideas of where to go after this. This is the sort of origin of his story.

Michael Fassbender has a lot to learn about assassin-ing for Assassin’s Creed, and a recent clip introducing the new Animus didn’t make his prospects look very promising. But today’s new clip shows a much more capable Callum Lynch/Aguilar, who is a lot more confident in his physics-defying parkour skills. Continue reading…

We’re less than a month away from the release of Assassin’s Creed and I can’t help but wonder if anyone outside of the faithful are prepared to lay down money to watch Michael Fassbender kind-of sort-of time travel into the distant past so he can stab people in the face. While these video games have a strong following (and a few of them have been genuinely great), I’ve yet to encounter any non-gamers who have greeted the trailers with anything more than a shrug.

Can Assassin’s Creed break the “curse” of video game adaptations? It has the talent involved to pull it off, with an impressive cast led by Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, and Jeremy Irons. Director Justin Kurzel (Macbeth) has also shown a flair for compelling, visually stunning cinema. The film’s trailers suggest a spectacle of Inquisition-era action and combat, which the video game franchise is known for. Fassbender, of course, has been the main focus of the marketing push for Assassin’s Creed.