Questions without answers 20 minutes of the movie, 30... it’s coming to a climax, and I look at the screen and I wonder, who are all these people, and what’s going on?! Although I've been through a series of games and should be in the topic.
The film struggles to catch up with mystery, to create a tense atmosphere. The plot one by one makes riddles, and the characters communicate in incomprehensible incoherent dialogues. However, no one is going to answer these riddles and explain strange dialogues, and therefore, instead of interest, passion and empathy, the film causes only questions and irritation from the fact that there are no answers to them. What kind of apple are the heroes trying to get, why is it needed, who are the assassins and how they differ from the Templars? For those who don’t play, it will be a dark forest. Players may wonder how the plot of the film is related to the plot of the games, why there are so many inconsistencies in it and why they watch it at all. They won't get an answer.
Attempts to enlighten the viewer who is not familiar with the game will certainly be, but they will look like this or that third-rate character, like a security guard, suddenly begins to read a help from Wikipedia. Suddenly, without any connection to what is happening around you, just reading information. Which, however, does not clarify the turbidity of the plot.
The main part of the plot, unfortunately, does not consist of medieval battles and spectacular parkour on the roofs of temples, but of a very boring modern reality, consisting of walking along the corridors and pathetic conversations. The few battles in 15th-century Spain look vivid against the background of walks and dialogues, but it is better not to compare them with the battles in other historical and other films where there are battles - the local swordsman will lose hopelessly in entertainment.
The characters of the film can not even be called clichéd – they are simply nothing. What a hero, that villains are boring and expressionless. Motivation is like a straw house of Nif-nif – deflated at the first impulses of logic. And in general, something is wrong with the logic of what is happening in the film - people armed with pistols lose to people with arrows and bows; the leaders of the experiment are going to stop it just when it begins to bring tangible results; dangerous criminals and professional killers are allowed to walk almost free among their ideological enemies, and then they are surprised that they staged a massacre ... Question ' Why?' too often unanswered.
Of the actors, it is worth mentioning Cotillard, for she was most annoying. Not only the lack of meaning in actions and empty mystery in dialogues, but also the fact that in the Russian voiceover every phrase (including “I will avenge you!!!”) she pronounces in such a tone as if she confessed love during an erotic scene. Well, the emotionlessness of her face can envy Kristen Stewart herself. I expected more from Fassbender in terms of acting. It is as if he did not try - played a pathetic brick somehow to quickly get a fee and do another project.
The source itself does not shine with a complex plot, and it is long time to get used to the fact that the adaptation of games at best turn out to be average. This film borrowed a considerable budget, attracted decent actors and quite a good director, but still did not pull even to the level of the average, which is worth spending time.
2 out of 10
Original