Assassin's Creed

I find myself disagreeing with critics more and more lately, and that is certainly the case with this film. Assassin's Creed is a truly one-of-a-kind film that posits some lofty, thought-provoking ideas while simultaneously providing a mesmerizing, high-octane action experience the likes of which I guarantee you haven't seen before. If you like action movies, parkour, top-notch stuntwork, or thought-provoking stories, then I guarantee the film is worth at least one watch, and I honestly think it's good enough that you'll want to watch it again.There are plenty of reviews/other places you can get a basic synopsis of the film so I won't go through the trouble of copy-pasting that here. Instead, having already recommended the film itself, I will review the film's available formats. I have both the 4K UHD Blu-ray as well as the 3D Blu-ray, and both are quite impressive in their own right.The 3D version holds impressive detail, contrast and color at all times while constantly providing multiple planes of depth in every shot. The highlights of the 3D version include the historical regressions, particularly the second regression (the chase through the city). Additionally, though, even the slower modern-day sequences consistently provide immersive depth at all times. On my equipment (LG Passive 3D LED 4K TV), there was no crosstalk/ghosting and no artifacts at any point throughout the film. Overall, the 3D in this film is more impressive than many other Hollywood films, so if you like 3D then you should definitely get this one. Though it only includes a 7.1 track, the sound is still impressively immersive.There has been an odd and somewhat annoying trend of most 4K Blu-rays actually containing movies that were mastered at 2K and then upconverted to 4K- what some people refer to as "fake 4K." With that in mind (and having watched many other 4K Blu-rays), I can honestly say that Assassin's Creed is an absolute testament to the potential of the format. You see, the entirety of Assassin's Creed was actually shot in 6K and then mastered in 4K, so this is one of the few films that is actually true 4K, and it shows. The level of detail is simply astounding, and the HDR impresses as well. In addition, the native Dolby Atmos soundtrack is incredible. If you have the equipment, you should definitely add this one to your collection.Honestly, especially if you can get them for good prices and if you do indeed enjoy the film, it is definitely worth getting in both 3D and 4K as both versions are impressive testaments to their respective formats. The film itself is well worth your time, and both versions come with a standard Blu-ray that includes a fascinating five-part documentary on the making of the film; it is especially impressive to see the footage of them doing absolutely EVERYTHING for real, very little CGI. Highly recommended.

Life has been life’n, so I honestly didn’t know they even made this movie—but as someone who played the hell out of Assassin’s Creed back in the PS3 days (yes, dorm room vibes and Bad Girls Club in the background), I gotta say I was impressed. The actors, the sets, the energy—they really executed it well. Usually, when they adapt games like this, they fumble HARD, but this one? It actually followed the game pretty closely and felt true to the world. It gave me such a wave of nostalgia I almost forgot where I was for a second.I seriously wish they’d made a sequel. They just didn’t advertise it well at all—and that’s a shame. This movie deserved better promotion, and honestly, it deserves more love. I had to leave this review because who knows how long I got left—this was part of a core memory, and I’m glad I found it.

Alright... this was unexpected. I really liked this movie and I did not expect that it would be the case. I love the Assassin's Creed franchise of their main games - but there is a whole history of games made into movies that simply were disastrous. And to be honest, the trailers did not convince me at all.But, I tried it, and was so happily surprised. First of all; it is a very well made movie. Visually it is stunning. And I think that they have made some very solid design choices to make the premise visually work.The story is very solid as well, and really feels like an Assassin's Creed installment. Even though some decisions were made to make it into a 2-hour story instead of a 50-hour game. So, yes, you do miss all the historical background that make you feel as if you were there making decisions during massive moments in history. But it still feels authentic.A quick non-spoiler introduction to the story: as with the earlier games in the series; there is a present-day story and a historical story; and the main character from the story is being sent to relive the memories of his ancestor that was part of the group called the Assassin's by use of a machine called the Animus. And as in the games, the Abstergo Foundation, funded by the Templars, has built this Animus to search through these memories of the Assassin ancestors to find so-called Pieces of Eden; powerful artifacts that are left by the First Civilization (although in the movie this is left to the viewer to decide).The historical story plays during the Spanish Inquisition near the city of Grenada. I am so glad that they have decided to use Spanish as the language during these scenes, without ever changing back to English. The settings are beautiful, and wisely filmed in a different color scheme as the rest of the movie.The present day part of the story is where the story is going back to the earlier Assassin's Creed games; where the Animus is still a real contraption, and that Abstergo Industries did not yet use the entertainment industry to discover the pieces of Eden. The Animus machine in the movie is quite different than that of the earlier movies, and it is clear why; the original Animus from the games would be boring in the movie. Where this version is visually really nice for an action movie.What I am very happy about is that they have taken the time to tell the story. There is a nice pace between action and backstory, and a lot of times to set up the mood. I also expected that the parcour elements of the games would play a much bigger part in the movie, but it kept it nicely balanced with other elements that are great in the game.For a movie based on a game, this was really well done, well written and acted. But it lacks the depth the games have. Where one of the great part of the games is that you really feel part of the memories, that part lacks in the movie. This is not a negative to the film, but simply the lack of interactivity with the medium.Another small negative is that although the story explains a lot, I think it is a little too difficult to get into the story for people who are not know with the concept of the Animus and the memories. It is being explained, but pretty late in the movie, while the game practically started with it right from the start.So if you are an Assassin's Creed nut like I am, rent it, buy it, you will like it. If you are not known with the concept, I can still recommend it as an action movie with actually a good story and good acting - but you might need some time to pick up on the story.

I have actually played the games before I saw this movie. I think the movie was pretty good given it being a video game adaptation. Asides from the cgi, I feel the actors were chosen well for their characters and it had a good balance of action. I have watched this movie several times in my life and I would watch it again. Give it a watch!