‘Assassin’s Creed’ Movie Trailer Serves the Light

The Assassins Creed Movie

Ubisoft Motion Pictures dropped the first official trailer for their debut release, Assassin’s Creed, on May 11. Aside from a slightly odd choice of music, which I’ll come back to, it looks like exactly what the world wants from an Assassin’s movie. Check out the trailer below first before we go further.

Michael Fassbender stars as Callum Lynch, a descendant of the Spanish Assassin, Aguilar de Nerha (also played by Fassbender), alongside a mammoth cast, including Marion Cotillard, Michael K. Williams, and screen legends Jeremy Irons (as Alan Rikkin! Yes, Scar is running Abstergo!) and Brendan Gleeson (Mad-Eye’s here too!). Justin Kurzel, of 2015’s successful adaptation of Macbeth (also working with his two leads from Macbeth), directs.

In our time, Callum Lynch is enduring an experience very similar to that of Desmond, forced to delve into the genetic memories of his ancestor. But instead of always lying on that extremely uncomfortable looking Animus, Callum gets an entire room in which to dive, jump, and Leap of Faith his way to becoming a Master Assassin. Aguilar, on the other hand, is working during the Spanish Inquisition in the 15th Century, a time of severe religious oppression and intolerance (in other words, the perfect setting for an Assassin’s Creed story).

As film trailer, it’s pretty traditional, featuring a blend of minor exposition and action and even including the oft-used but still effective “slow-mo leap across a large gap.” But, as an Assassin’s Creed trailer, it’s excellent. It looks exactly like the game, a testament to the amount of time that Ubisoft and Fox have been working on this movie. If I didn’t already know that the film was real, I could easily see this as an E3 reveal. It’s heartening to see so much source-authenticity in an adaptation of such a beloved (usually) franchise. And maybe if they succeed with this movie, it’ll bring back some of the alienated players of the last few years.

Plus, let’s be honest, the Leap of Faith at the end of the trailer was AWESOME. According to an interview with GameSpot, some of the freerunning stunts, including real Leaps of Faith, were performed in-studio by Damien Walters, one of the most well-known freerunners and stuntmen in the world.

Now, while receiving mostly good reviews, the trailer has the Internet pretty confused by the use of Kanye’s “I am a God” in the background. Though I’m neither a Yeezus fan nor an “I am a God” fan, the chorus’ lyrics do have a sort of Assassin’s Creed ring to them; not to mention the fact that the setting of the historical action is overtly religious. And besides, it’s not like Ubisoft has shied away from using popular music for trailers. Remember Lorde’s cool cover of Tears for Fears for Unity a couple years ago?

Are you as excited as I am to see Magneto work in the dark to serve the light? Let us know below, and, as always, stay tuned and stay shiny!

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