History, which is foundational to the captivatingly bonkers story of Justin Kurzel’s “Assassin’s Creed,” tells us that this should be a very bad movie. For one thing, this dense, dour, and oft-delayed holiday spectacle is based on a popular series of video games — a grim omen in a year that brought us the likes of “Warcraft” and “Ratchet & Clank.” For another, Kurzel’s moody adaptation is told on a massive scale, budgeted to compete with other franchise monstrosities like “Rogue One” and “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” — the familiar trouble with making a film like this is that it’s too expensive to afford any risks.

But “Assassin’s Creed,” in which Michael Fassbender’s blank protagonist quite literally repeats…

"We work in the dark to serve the light.
We are assassins."

Bold, cold and a mess to behold; Assassin's Creed is a fascinatingly weird movie, but one that succeeds pretty wonderfully. Video games have rarely made a seamless transition from console to cinema; they've earned themselves quite the sour reputation. What Assassin's Creed does so well is it allows the game's strengths to take center stage in the film. Impossibly high dives, historically fetishized locations, sweet kills and absurd acrobatics are why the franchise has succeeded, and naturally it's also why the film succeeds. Kurzel doesn't attempt to weave some narrative over those things, but rather he builds a story entirely composed by them. The film bravely flips from…

"Nothing is true; Everything is permitted."

Yo, check this out!
Assassin's Creed is the greatest adaptation of a video game put to the screen yet, and Aguilar could stomp Ezio's ass into the dirt. 
And if you've played as many of the games as I have, you're bound to agree. 
But! It doubles as an accessible entry into the world of the series for those who have no clue what a "Templar" or "Hidden Blade" even are. 
Is the dialogue great? Fuck no! But the Spanish is about as fluent as the English, and I learned to jive with the vibe of the film pretty quickly!
Is the acting fantastic? At times! We know that Fassy is going to be…

Part of the Scavenger Hunt Challenge.

Film #5: Assassin's Creed
Criteria: Film featuring a character that shares your first or last name (Nathan), Film featuring 2 or more languages (English & Spanish)

I've never been one to fancy the Assassin's Creed games; they're much too focused on cutscenes and cinematics for me to actually consider them as games. However, when a film was announced years ago, I thought that it would be better fit for that medium, as the premise is an interesting, albeit very convoluted one. I get that the film makes use of characters and story elements that are not found in-game, but I was shocked at how ludicrous of a premise this film turned out to have.

With…

There was a moment, when this film was starting to come together, when I thought this might be an actually good movie. Justin Kurzel was an interesting director who could have brought something new and interesting to the table. The cast was also surprising: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Irons? How could this film fail?

Then I remember watching the trailer for the first time. The writing was on the wall. The music and the visuals brought me memories of Resident Evil. Either way, I still held out a little bit of hope.

Now, this is probably one of the best video game movies, but that is not saying too much. This film forgot what was truly interesting and…