Assassin’s Creed 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review
I only have a passing familiarity with the Assassin’s Creed video game series. I found it to be a fun game that allowed you to do cool things, but I haven’t played it enough to comment on the running storylines found in the games. So maybe that hurts my ability to appreciate the film adaptation of ASSASSIN’S CREED, but if being well versed in the video games is a prerequisite to enjoying the film, then the filmmakers lost before they even began. I’m not sure how faithful ASSASSIN’S CREED is to the video games, but I can tell you that it doesn’t make for a very good film. But it’s not the fault of the video game or lack of originality, it’s due to an overly convoluted plot and a MacGuffin that was hard for the audience to get behind, right from the opening scroll.
Cal (Fassbender) is being executed for murder, when he wakes up in a strange place and is told by Sofia (Cotillard) that he has a second chance at life, if he helps her and her corporation find “The Apple”. Confused, Cal doesn’t quite know what to make of his new situation, but things start getting clear when he’s connected to the Animus. The Animus is a machine that uses a person’s genetic code to relive memories from their ancestor’s past. From here, we learn that there’s a secret society of assassin’s that have sworn to protect The Apple. From what we can gather, The Apple is a device that contains the genetic code of humanity’s free will. And it can somehow be used to control people. Anyway, while in the Animus, Cal discovers his true purpose and seems to learn how to fight, thanks to his ancestor Aguilar, who he “meets” back in the late 1400’s.
As you can see, this is overly complicated. But the source of my frustration is with the MacGuffin, The Apple. Maybe I missed it behind the dusty and cloudy cityscapes or maybe I needed to have played the video games, but The Apple was very poorly explained and it was never clear what, exactly, would happen if the bad guys got a hold of it or how they would use it. It’s just a metal sphere and when it is finally used, it emitted a green glow that had zero effect on anyone standing around it. Keep in mind that the entire film is based around The Apple and the assassin’s oath to protect it, yet the audience never has a fear of it falling into the wrong hands.
If The Apple wasn’t enough, there’s the Animus and Abstergo company, which is also a convoluted mess for the audience to buy into. Towards the end of the film, we learn that the Abstergo company was basically tracking down all of the descendants of assassins and using them in the Animus to find The Apple. But this was unraveled as if it were a mystery and it didn’t need to be. This leads into my biggest overall problem with ASSASSIN’S CREED, which is that it tries way too hard. There was no need to establish such a complex plot for what really boiled down to a simple story.
The basic idea of ASSASSIN’S CREED is pretty great and there were plenty of fun moments, especially as Cal was living through Aguilar, but the fun moments got lost with a story that didn’t work and elements that the audience struggled to connect with. It’s a frustrating film since Fassbender actually did a great job and some of the action sequences were pretty impressive. Unfortunately, ASSASSIN’S CREED will go down as another failed video game adaptation.
4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: Throughout all of the CGI scenes (mostly in the late 1400’s), there’s a dust cloud that takes up about 40% or more of the screen. At first blush, you might think this is part of the style of the film. But we’ve seen this trick before and it’s more than likely a tactic used to make up for sub-par CGI. By hiding the cityscapes behind a cloud of dust, the effects team didn’t have to finish them and therefore, saved money. This is frustrating on any format, but it creates an interesting problem on 4K. On the Blu-ray, the dust/smoke feels like it smears the image and just creates a bit of a distortion. On the 4K, that dust is distracting because as you’re watching the action, the dust scrolls across the screen, which is very distracting. But if we put that issue aside, this is a fantastic looking 4K UHD. The non-dusty scenes are crystal clear and this is a significant upgrade over the Blu-ray. The increase in 4K detail adds a whole new dimension to the film.
Audio: The Dolby Atmos track is a nice upgrade over the Blu-rays DTS track. All of the action scenes get a nice added touch with better use of the overhead speakers.
This title was reviewed using a Samsung UBD-K8500 with a Sony XBR75X850C TV.
The 4K UHD does not contain any exclusive features, but it does include a Blu-ray of the film, which includes the following special features:
Take the Pledge: Behind the Scenes of Assassin’s Creed (41:05): I had to laugh because as this featurette started, I saw what I thought were a lot of cool scenes from the movie that I didn’t remember. Turns out those scenes were from the video game, which just reaffirms my original thought that they had some good source material. This is a five part featurette that covers the basic making-of aspects of the film.
Conversations with Justin Kurzel (20:22): Kurzel sits down to talk about four different aspects of the film, like the score, the effects and the editing. This feels like a mini-commentary.
Deleted Scenes Conversation (22:23): I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this before, but instead of including deleted scenes, they included a featurette where the director talks about the deleted scenes. Very odd.
Deleted Scenes (15:44): And here are the deleted scenes. Well, some of the ones they talked about earlier.
Gallery
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