Movie review 'Assassins Creed': The wonderful world of virtual reality

Cast: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Justin Kurzel
Rating: 3.5 stars

Forget about the plot or the action, forget how cool Michael Fassbender looks and just tell me where to get the machine. The robotic arm that takes you in the virtual world with such reality, makes you flip, jump and crash is so wonderful. The gaming experience is going to a whole new level. I am not a videogame addict, but now I know what I have been waiting for.

Justin Kurzel’s conceived mechanics of a machine that is deeply embedded with not just human mind but the human body too is way too interesting. I think it just made the whole Matrix series look weak. What’s more, the machine also does a DNA mapping, memory sync and not just of two individuals in the present but two individuals separated from each other by five centuries. Although the obvious drawback of this might be the absolute distortion of one’s reality this still presents a wonderful model of entertainment to look forward to.

One wonders if there exists something as genetic memory that travels through the gene pool and preserves in great detail the happenings of ones life, and if it does so, then should it not get over-written/merged with the numerous members it passes via before reaching the present descendent?

Anyhow, it will be great to have something like this in future where it is possible to go back in history with the help of genetic memories and bring out all the hidden treasures of knowledge and throw away all that is nonsense and has piled up on the way. The story of Assassins Creed is not very enriching and it also paints a scary picture of religious and sectarian battles that still continue, albeit in a technologically-advanced age and, therefore, less messy but still very disturbing. So much fighting for an apple which is not even edible, if the apple is so important and the only thing preventing from total domination of the human race, why keep it. The assassins had it back then, so why not destroy is completely? This is one thing I cannot understand about the human race, we know the nuclear weapons are dangerous, but we still continue to keep them. Who knows when someone is going to get access to them and press the button? The Assassins Creed is not a very palatable story; at places it also feels jumpy and abrupt for people who are not into gaming. It is aggressive and sharp, just like the blades used by the assassins.

The remarkable achievement of the movie is the apparent passage from the present to the past, for the viewer it is such a delight, but I do worry for Callum (Michael Fassbender) who had to really keep his mind in control to be able to remain in the fight. Dr Sophia Rikkin (Marion Cotillard) is a strange character though, she happens to be a scientist par excellence, someone who designed the whole machinery but failed to understand the motives of her own father.

Although incredible in its presentation, the Assassins Creed does not allow much participation and coveys a lot of information in a very short time. One can definitely pick up the game to participate more so I think that too is taken care of. But on a serious note, the film does portray the Templar organisation in very bad light, as the ultimate oppressors, who would do everything to crush any kind of free will, heck they also tried the method of consumerism to keep people from questioning things and being disobedient, I think that is an inadvertent hint for the viewers but I am not sure how many will be able to get it. I am just planning to get the Animus, and perhaps be able to look back into centuries of genetic memory someday.

The writer is founder, Lightcube Film Society