Assassin’s Creed The Movie

• Director: Justin Kurzel
• Producer: Jean-Julien Baronnet, Frank Marshall, Micheal Fassbender
• Distribution: 20th Century Fox
• Cast: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Michael K Williams
• Release Date: 1st January 2017
• Runtime: 116 Minutes

Apple Of Eden

Assassin’s Creed is the first big budget live action film that is loosely based on the popular video game franchise by Ubisoft Studios. It centres loosely along the same sort of lines of the first few games in the series whilst also offering a different perspective of the story.

Video game movies don’t really tend to have a good track record when it comes to them. For every Resident Evil or Doom which aren’t too bad overall you then have films like Super Mario Bros and Double Dragon which are awful as films. For this reason I was hesitant going into this, whilst I did like the look of the film from the trailers the doubt was always there in my mind that this would be another waste of treasured source material. Thankfully this was not the case at all. Instead we actually get arguably the best video game movie yet.

We have a plot very similar to that of Assassin’s Creed 2 but with different characters in the lead. Instead of Desmond Miles we have Michael Fassbender’s Callum Lynch, and like Desmond’s ancestor Ezio Auditore we are introduced to Callum’s ancestor Aguilar de Nerha for the flashback/animus chunks of the film.

This new addition to the Assassin’s Creed lore is easily the strongest lead character we have had since the Ezio days. He’s part of an ancient Spanish bloodline sworn to protect the object the film revolves around – the Apple of Eden.  This object has popped up in quite a lot of the earlier games as the big MacGuffin piece throughout that the Templar Order want to retrieve to eliminate freewill from the human race and eradicate the Order of the Assassins.

Animus

This premise brings us directly to the focal point of the story. Callum from an early age has been a troubled child and ends up on death row, during his execution the situation is rigged so the Templar’s can transfer him to the Abstergo Industries lab/prison in Madrid and through the Animus system trace his memories back to the location of the Apple. It comes down to the simple three act structure films tend to lean on. Act one introductions, act two placements are made and lead character still undecided by motivations, act three lead character see the right path they need to take and all hell breaks loose in final set piece.

It’s pretty much the entire plot of Assassin’s Creed 1, 2, Brotherhood and Revelations all rolled into one really this film. Simple enough and very familiar at first but then this is where it gets interested as unlike the games we get to see Abstergo and the Templars from a different point of view and spend a considerable amount of time with them.

Mainly Marion Cotillard’s  Sophia Rikken who is a driven member of Abstergo but with mixed feelings and motivations throughout and a sort of weird evil fondness for Callum and his past lives. We also have her father Alan Rikken played by Jeremy Irons as a driven member of the Templar Order with a drive and rush to find the Apple at all costs who comes across more as a shady character than an evil one.

The Animus is also vastly different in this film than the games but for the better. In the games it is just really a couch you’re led on and plugged into. In this it’s a more weird sci-fi looking claw machine which whilst you are in the synchronisation allows the person to freely move about mirroring what you are doing in the past life which makes for a very cool visual aspect.

Death By A Thousand Cuts

The real highlight of Assassin’s Creed the Movie is Callum’s past life as Aguilar in 15^th Century Spain. Like with the games the fleshed out world of the past is always the crux of the series and it is evident in these scenes. We see Aguilar’s life as a mirror opposite to how Callum has lived. He’s a driven hardened member of the Assassin’s and loyal to the Creed where Callum is an outcast who has drifted through his life with no meaning.

We see all the staples from the games such as the free-running and parkour, scaling buildings, different means of stealth assassinations, blending through crowds and of course Eagle Vision and the Leap of Faith. The fact that these stunts where actually real really does shine through and make it seem authentic and incredibly cool looking.

Visually 15^th Century Spain looks fantastic and very authentic. The areas in Andalucía, Granada, Madrid and Seville we see all look amazing plus the fact these periods where filmed with people speaking the native language and being subtitled added a layer of authenticity that the games lack and really made you feel like you are in that time period with the characters.

My main criticism though is that the film does lack more Assassin characters. We have Aguilar’s team in the Spanish flashbacks that whilst doing all the fancy Assassin skills don’t really get fleshed out. This also applies to the team Callum puts together in the Abstergo lab/prison.

We have a few characters in there like Michael K William’s Moussa as the lead in these particular scenes looking and acting cool and hopefully will be more expanded on in the sequel but currently from this film it does seem like a one Assassin show for the time being.

Virtual Insanity

Overall there wasn’t a ton to complain about really with the film. The casting was spot on and the source material was honoured even though the majority of the cast admitted pre-release to never having played any of the games.

The locations where used to great effect and overall they made it original enough whilst still maintaining all the staples of the games people loved to the degree where it comes across as good fan service but also something new and fresh. It also leads directly into territory to where a sequel would be obvious and a utter disservice if they don’t follow through.

Final Thoughts

• Casting spot on throughout – Michael Fassbender shines as two opposite characters, Marion Cotillard provides a different type of villain to the traditional method
• Locations all looked fantastic and authentic
• Use of Assassin’s skills from the game look very cool in film, stealth assassinations and Leap of Faith being the standout
• Could of used more Assassin’s and more background information on the Creed in general
• Great original story idea whilst also paying homage to the series

Rating

8/10

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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

• Director: Gareth Edwards
• Producer: Kathleen Kennedy
• Distribution: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
• Cast: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Mads Mikkelson, Ben Mendelsohn
• Release Date: 15th December 2016
• Runtime: 133 Minutes

A Long Time Ago…

Rogue One: A Star Wars story is the newest instalment in the Star Wars franchise. It marks the first of the new ‘anthology’ line of films happening in between the standard episodic Star Wars films. The film acts as a brand new story in the universe and a bridge gap between Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Episode IV: A New Hope.

Rogue One is now the second Star Wars film we have had in the past 12 months which for a lifelong Star Wars mega fan like me is a massive deal and a blessing in disguise just like a rogue Rebel. Excitement for this film was always incredibly high from the moment this film was announced and from my opinion it did not disappoint one bit.  I managed to be one of the few lucky people to see this film a few days early at the UK premiere so I’ve had time to search my feelings for my opinion of this film and it has not fallen to the Dark Side once since seeing it.

The premise of this film is one we all know about from hearing about it in A New Hope but we haven’t technically seen it yet until this film. The Rebel Alliance manage to find the location of the blueprints to the Empire’s galactic super weapon The Death Star and start a mission to recover these documents to help destroy this immerse force of power. What we don’t know is how they get this information or how this particular story pans out.

Empire of Dirt

We have a former Empire engineer living in hiding Galen Erso forced back into the Empire to continue work on the Death Star by the evil Orson Krennic but not before Galen can send his daughter Jyn into hiding with a veteran soldier of the Clone Wars Saw Gerrera. Once this simple premise is set up we get to the main bulk of the film.

Jyn is an adult bouncing around Empire detention camps/planets before being broke out by the Rebel Alliance and used to intercept information from a secret message her father has passed on in regards to the structural plans of the Death Star to help the Rebels from inside the Empire high command.

The plot is fairly rudimental from this point forward once all the main ground work is laid out. Empire completes work on Death Star, Rebels want it destroyed, Rebels put a team together to go rescue Galen and extract plans, plan doesn’t work and the Alliance give up hope, a small band of Rebels rebel against their orders and orchestrate a massive stealth mission to steal the plans, big battle ensures etc.

The main worry with this film was the fact we know how A New Hope starts and the thought was always there that there wouldn’t be enough depth or suspense to carry over into a film we ultimately know the outcome too. This was a very wrong opinion. Even though we do know the end result the fact that the majority of characters here where completely original meant it feels as suspenseful and exciting as you would want out of a giant Space-Opera like Star Wars.

Many Bothans Died

The main cast is fantastic throughout and overall the casting is phenomenal in this film. Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso is a very hardened street smart lead character with a troubled past and mixed emotions. Diego Luna is very mysterious throughout as Cassian Andor and has the biggest character turnaround in the film with coming across as quite shady and untrustworthy at the beginning but by the end he’s a far more sympathetic and likeable character you can relate too.

Mads Mikkelson as Galen Erso is a fiercely loyal and proud character throughout playing it perfectly as the Yin to Ben Mendelsohn’s Orson Krennic’s Yang who just wants to succeed in helping the Empire carve more of an evil shadow over the Galaxy for the Empire. The absolute standouts though are three of the side characters to the story. Alan Tudyk as K-2SO the reprogrammed Imperial droid is the perfect comic relief throughout the film with some brilliant one-liners and Donnie Yen and Jiang Wen as Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus are the pure badass warriors in the film who excel in every fight scene they have.

There are a few prominent cameos from the prequel trilogy and original trilogy throughout the film which I won’t go into spoilers for as the reveals are great fun to see but the Vader material here truly shows how powerful and deadly he really was and only enhances the legend of the character. The cameo based characters use a fantastic blend of CGI to recreate real life actors which is amazing to see and despite a few rough shots feel great and like the character is actually there in the film which works wonders when you consider who these characters and actors are. It’s a nice little bit of fan service which will harken back to feelings of nostalgia from the original trilogy.

That’s no moon

Visually this is another stunning entry in the Star Wars universe and like The Force Awakens before it perfectly incorporates practical effects with digital effects which really make the locations and settings pop on the screen. The use of the actual practical effects makes the worlds feel real and alive and add greatly to the overall feel of the film, something the prequels missed out on completely.

No shots are more true of this than the final act showdown on the planet Scariff on the beaches with Rebels, Stormtroopers, Deathtroopers, X-Wings, TIE Fighters and AT-ATs raining fire down on each other in one of the best sci-fi battle scenes ever seen on film.

In regards to the score it did feel very strange to see one of these films without the standard John Williams score but overall with the darker nature of the film it really wouldn’t of fit. Instead we get a fantastic haunting score by Michael Giacchino which fits the tone perfectly. He manages to not only create a far darker set of music but at the same time keep what instantly is a very Star Wars feel to the soundtrack which is no easy task.

Overall I find it hard to think of any negatives really from my initial reaction bar a few choice lines of dialogue from certain characters but ultimately this film has succeeded in being the prequel film we deserved originally. Star Wars since returning last year is back in a big bad way with now two huge blockbusters which have been fantastically received both by critics and fans alike and if this is the quality of the spin off films I have 100% faith in the force that the Han Solo origin film will be another masterpiece waiting to happen.

FINAL THOUGHTS

• Manages to create a fantastic original story out of a plot point we ultimately know the ending too
• Fantastic casting choices throughout with Mads Mikkelson, Ben Mendelsohn and Alan Tudyk as the standouts
• Visually stunning and beautiful location shots specifically Scariff and Jedha
• Haunting and chilling score which still encapsulates the Star Wars feel

9/10 AMAZING

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Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV

• Distributor: Sony Pictures
• Release date:  30^th August 2016 Digital, 3^rd October 2016 Physical
• Runtime:  1 hour 55 minutes
• Cast: Aaron Paul, Sean Bean, Lena Heady

A New World of Final Fantasy

Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV is the latest home release movie of the Final Fantasy series and follows previous entries The Spirits Within and Advent Children. Like previous movies and games in the series it bears no connection to the sibling movies bar the Final Fantasy title. It serves as both a standalone feature and also a prequel story to the highly anticipated Final Fantasy XV video game from Square Enix.

The film is a story based around two countries in the world of Eos who have been at war for 12 years – Lucis and Niflheim. The story is told from the view of the Kingsglaive, a security unit for Niflheim who are tasked at protecting the borders from attacks and monsters sent by the people of Lucis to take over the city, in particular a recruit by the name Nyx Ulric voiced by Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul.

Story Time

The story is a fairly rudimental story and not overly complex by any standards. Two warring countries, one good (Niflheim), one evil (Lucis), the good guys have a magical McGuffin piece the Ring of the Lucii, the bad guys want it for themselves, big fight ensues, twists start appearing etc. The simplicity of the story works in their favour though as it allows the film to flow and excel at the parts it needs too which is the visuals.

The visuals are really where this film stands out as like all the previous games and movies it is stunning to watch and see. The cities and characters truly feel alive with the level of CGI used in this film. The fact that the majority of main characters were motion-captured for the film adds weight to them, though most where performed by different people to the actual voice actors. The summons and monsters have always been standouts for the Final Fantasy series as a whole and this film does not disappoint on that front. We get to see monsters from the series such as Ahriman as well as other fantastic beasts throughout.

Jester and the King

The voice acting for the most part is quite good even with a few minor hiccups even now and then. Aaron Paul is the true standout as Nyx, with never really being a fan of his throughout Breaking Bad I was pleasantly surprised at how well he managed to portray the main protagonist of quite an epic story.

Sean Bean plays the ruler of Niflheim King Regis who is the father to the main character of the FFXV game Noctis. We get the usual Sean Bean level of performance throughout, great character and great acting but once again a character too noble and trusting for his own good which is ultimately his downfall.

Lena Heady rounds out the main cast as Lunafreya, the former princess of Tenebrae which is one of the countries which has fallen to Lucis’ rule and she serves more as a plot piece to the story to tie the peace treaty to Niflheim and Lucis together by being the promised bride to Regis’ son Noctis. We get a few other main characters throughout like Nyx’s sidekick and close friend Libertus, Drautos the commander of the Kingsglaive and Luche who is the leader of the Kingsglaive but these characters and voice overs are far more forgettable and what let the film down in parts.

Overall it is a pretty solid film and a must watch for any Final Fantasy fan. If you’re watching this as a standalone it should be an enjoyable and quite an easy watch but if you’re planning on playing Final Fantasy XV I could not recommend watching this enough. It manages to do quite a lot of world building during its near two hours runtime and for the most part does it quite well. It may not be the most perfect film in the world or the most complex but overall it’s a fun watch and would recommend it to most.

FINAL THOUGHTS

• Visually stunning, CGI and motion capture used to great effect
• Voice acting for the most part good, Aaron Paul and Sean Bean standout roles
• Simplistic plot, story easy to follow but at the same time it effects interest in second tier characters
• Great setup to the world of Eos and Final Fantasy XV

VERDICT

7/10

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Warcraft

In The Beginning…

If recent events have taught us anything is that people aren’t always as apathetic as we perceive them to be, despite whole catalogues of evidence to support it. Whether it be the EU referendum in the UK, the US Presidential nominations, or the territorial pissing contests in the European Football Championship it is clear that people do still have passion for ideologies and beliefs that they will passionately, and sometimes aggressively defend.

Any disagreement of these beliefs has needed to be approached very carefully as it would be too easy to tred a dangerous path that has pit brother against brother, mother against daughter, and tainted life long friendships.

So with all that in mind I thought I’d write a review of the recent Warcraft film.

You see the reason I started the review as I did is because, some are inevitably not going to like that which is only my opinion and possibly a guide to those still on the fence. Even the most blinkered “fan boy/girl” has to admit that we are a passionate community and often insist that which we adore should be beyond criticism (I would personally defend Red Dead Redemption til my last breath). I do expect some to disagree with this review and you are welcome to, but keep in mind nothing is perfect.

Making War..

The transfer of games to film has rarely run smoothly as most of our readers will be painfully aware of because the story telling of both need to be executed in sometimes contrasting ways. I didn’t really want to dissect this film by focusing on how true it is to its source material as I feel that would be giving it too much credit in some areas and not enough in others.

So I will start by saying; no it’s not as bad as some have branded it. In terms of other Blockbusters released so far this year it is certainly a better put together effort than a good number of others. Visually it is stunning, especially the design of each individual Orc. It is clear that much attention was given to their design and it borrows sensibly from a number of sources. Secondly, despite where your current opinion lies, it does appear to offer promise in the story telling department for future installments with its conclusion.

However, it is a film that leaves itself open to attack even more than some of the cookie cutter extras that litter each battle. Firstly, I’m not entirely sure that the studio clearly had an idea who they wanted to appease more with their approach. The film has been criticised by hardcore fans of the series for making noticeable changes to it’s deep lore that offered nothing further to the plot and it was simply not the film they were hoping for. Casual fans, myself included, felt lost in the Ocean of meaningless places, names, and history that were thrown in without context. As one reviewer quipped it feels like the second film in a series rather than the first.

Crafting Worlds..

The Lord of The Rings and Star Wars franchises constantly discussed places and people that required us to use our imagination to visualise but had characters discuss them in such a way that even the most rookie level viewer could say “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I understand what you mean”.

Warcraft quickly develops a habit of alienating it’s casual audience members by merely skirting over subjects almost making them an afterthought which does nothing to help you relate to any of the characters. If you’re happy enough knowing that ‘x’ is good and ‘y’ is bad from a confusing or often non existent explanation as to why then this film is right up your street.

In terms of the actual story it is scattered at best. The premise is simple; Orks have destroyed their world so transport themselves to the Human world to survive. The Humans aren’t exactly thrilled to see a horde of hulking invaders make claim to their land. It kicks off.

Of course it’s not as basic as that in it’s execution dangling such juicy tidbits as an ancient and evil power called The Fell, a Guardian of the realm, and an Orc warrior woman who appears to bridge the gap between the warring factions. But again the lack of explanation of key components means that the basics are all you will care about.

The Fellowship

How has Gul’dan come to be supreme leader of all the Orc tribes despite possessing none of the qualities they themselves demand they want from a leader?

We know that Medivh is the “Guardian” because we are told so. All evidence in the film points to him being as useful as Ann Frank’s drum kit coasting solely on his reputation so he desperately needed to be fleshed out more.

As for Garona, the Orc “Maiden”, any passing interest in her possibly intricate origins are trampled firmly into the ground as swiftly and dismissively as the revealed real threat.

The pacing of the film does little to aid you as the film often manically cuts between events rapidly without letting you digest what you have witnessed which only adds to the frustration. It is a scatter gun approach to editing that is becoming more commonplace in cinema but drives the plot as poorly as it did in Batman vs Superman.

Stories of Yore

Both the story and editing have the attention span of a 2 year old surrounded by new toys on Christmas morning. Plot lines are inspected and then discarded before being permitted to justify their place or even be properly concluded. One character’s betrayal of another only has accidental consequences for a third but does nothing to further either the betrayer or betrayed in any way.

The last criticism I will make, before steering back to the positives, is sadly the crowning turd of my complaints. The performances of too many of the ensemble is just lazy and truly uninspired. Ben Foster has the demeanour of someone whose main battle is actually staying awake, Paula Patton seems to be constantly irritated by what I can only imagine is underwear invading aggressively from the South, and the usually impressive Dominic Cooper has the grace of a king who attained his position by collecting tokens from special packs of Dwarf Ale and is still wishing he’d taken the Jetski instead.

It’s disappointing mostly because of the performances that director Duncan Jones has drawn from actors in his limited yet impressive back catalogue, especially Sam Rockwell in the exceptional “Moon”.

But enough of the bad because I promised it wasn’t all thus. Poster Orc Durotan and his pregnant mate Draka go a long way to humanise the bestial horde and give an intriguing side to their race making them anything but one dimensional. They are trying to survive rather than conquer, they look for a better place for their families and much of the promise for the sequel(s) arises from this storyline.

Both Clancy Brown’s “Blackhand” and Daniel Wu’s “Gul’dan” fill the screen with menace on every appearance and future villains of the Marvel Cinematic Universe should be taking long notes from their demeanour. Despite the lack of explanation as to how Gul’dan became such a threat it is clear he is one and his powers offer the kind of instant threat rarely seen in modern cinema.

The climatic battle that it all builds to is satisfying in its execution, if not stunted in its conclusion. Rather than being a Transformers-esque mess of CGI it at least flirts with some form of fight choreography and offers tension in places. A well advertised showdown between two key characters is not quite as epic but it’s this that makes it just as satisfying for different reasons. It fills me with hope to see that there are film makers who realise that better doesn’t always come from bigger.

Art Of Warcraft

Sequels are likely, and not solely because the enormous success the film enjoyed in the now crucial Chinese market. As the film draws to an end it does so with promise of a bigger story to come, one which will hopefully plug the gaps for the still trying to be initiated and keep their interest high. Fans of the games have been divisive but overall elements of it have met approval.

I will say that I left the cinema very mixed because despite the background lore being treated like a Disney step child it does offer interesting shades of grey to “good and bad” away from the central antagonists. It’s an interesting attempt that I hope fires the starting pistol to better polished efforts. It’s far from perfect and does deserve a lot of the criticism levelled against it. To those still not convinced it does I’ll end with a direct excerpt from the script:

Anduin: Sounds like a trap.

Garona: It is not.

Anduin: Could be.

Garona: It is not.

Anduin: Could be.

Garona: It is not.

6/10

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