Opinion: Michael Fassbender and what it means for the Assassin's Creed movie

I don't think im speaking out of turn here when I say that there are very few video game adaptations, if in fact any are worth even watching, let alone could be considered as good films. Studios for one reason or another just haven't embraced video game adaptations in the way they have comic book movies in recent years and with the limp efforts they've been putting out, it's not entirely surprising that neither have audiences.

What the genre needs is a studio willing to commit to making a huge tentpole movie that will open the flood gates and prove that this is an endless well that is ready to be exploited. I thought for a while that Disney's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was going to be the film that finally did it, but despite it having all the right ingredients- a famous director, a great cast and the Pirates of the Caribbean formula sprayed all over it, it just turned out to be too generic and frankly it was crap. Now, after seeing one of its biggest franchises failed attempt at being adapted unenthusiastically for cinemas it's no wonder that Ubisoft is taking a stance and launching its own creative development enterprise as to have more control over their intellectual properties.

 Now this week Variety has reported that Michael Fassbender, fresh off his stand out role in Prometheus is signed on to star in the upcoming feature film adaptation of Assassins Creed- Ubisoft's current most successful franchise. With this in mind you can be certain that they won't be wanting to half-ass the job and by picking a talent like Fassbender it's a definite step in the right direction.


At this stage it's unlikely that development won't be fast tracked as Fassbender's star power only continues to rise. Fassbender is a hard working actor starring in several films a year since his eye opening turn as Bobby Sands in Steve McQueen's critically lauded Hunger in 2008, however his schedule is likely to fill up quickly and with 2 other franchises on his plate in X-Men First Class and Prometheus, Ubisoft are going to want to be laying down a shoot date sooner rather than later.

As Prince of Persia showed though having a big name actor on board isn't enough to sell a movie these days. It needs a good story to captivate the already established fan base of the IP and bring in and effectively allow new comers to participate, and whilst there's no doubt that the premise of the Assassin's Creed franchise is ripe material for adaptation to the big screen, perhaps a straight conversion isn't exactly what would be best.

The central unique element of the Assassin's Creed universe is the Animus, a machine which allows the user to connect with his or her ancestors and relive their memories. That alone is enough of a connection to the games and a great plot device that seems perfect in a post-Matrix world where cinemagoers are craving the next Inception. Combine that with the ongoing hidden war between the Assassin's and the antagonistic Templar's and there isn't really any reason to have to retread the same story told in the games, that of Desmond Miles. There's so many potential stories to be told in this mythology I think it would simply be a lazy decision to translate the games straight to film. Instead stick to the roots of the franchise, the sci-fi/period amalgam, the conspiracy theory backstories and of course the climbing and jumping, and give the fans something fresh to get excited about which takes place alongside the games, and gives newcomers an easy way in.

Of course any story speculation would be hard to do at this point as Assassin's Creed III is just around the corner and promises to be a major entry into the canon, but I think possibly the smartest way to do the aforementioned would be to take the idea of the Animus and tweak it so that it more appropriately suits the context of the medium its in. In the games the concept works well as the games user interface correlates with that of the Animus, in that for whoever is using the Animus its almost as if they're playing a game. Perhaps in the film the memories of the Animus user could be viewed and edited as though it were a piece of film. To me this sounds as though it could be an earlier version of the Animus, a perfect opportunity to do a prequel to the games offering a fresh but none too inconsistent evolution of the source material.

The only think lacking then would be to find a suitably creative and well honed filmmaker to direct. For years now Darren Aronofsky- director of Black Swan and The Wrestler - has been on the verge of jumping on a franchise, first with Batman, then Wolverine and then Robocop. It's obvious that he wants to be broken loose on big material like this, but I don't think studios are brave enough to let him run wild with his vision of these characters. What videogame film adaptations need is to take a risk in the way Warner Brothers did with letting Tim Burton direct Batman back in 1989, an action which forever changed the way people regard the genre. It's time for someone to take the jump, and if Ubisoft were brave enough between Fassbender and Aronofsky I don't think there would be anybody who wouldn't get excited over Assassin's Creed.

Review: Killer Joe (2012, Dir.William Friedkin)

Despite The Exorcist being my absolute favourite film of all time I was surprised to note that prior to seeing Killer Joe I had never seen another of William Friedkin's films. Not even The French Connection. Nor Sonny & Cher in "Good Times". So seeing Killer Joe was an almost daunting experience. Standing in the shadow of the Goliath that is The Exorcist I had high hopes that Friedkin didn't just hit a fluke in my consideration of The Exorcist being the greatest film ever made.

At the start of the film I wondered if the intimate scope of the film and the reasonably simple premise of a family seeking to knock of their mother/wife/husband's ex (delete where applicable) so that they could inherit her substantial life insurance, would be able to deliver something that would stand out in the middle of Summer Blockbuster season. By the time the film had finished however those thoughts were far from my mind and I felt a pang of self-contempt for doubting Friedkin.

If you've read any previous reviews for the film, or in fact heard just about anybody talking about the film you will likely have heard of a certain shocking scene involving a piece of fried chicken. I'm not going to spoil you the fate of the piece of chicken but rest assured you won't see anything else like it in a cinema this year or possibly ever. I was completely unprepared with the level of violence this film would descend to as were numerous members of the audience who upon exiting the cinema at the end of the film complained of feeling ill and wanting to walk out but simply couldn't due to being so captivated.

I've no doubt that part of that is down to the genius casting of Matthew McConaughey as the titular contract killer Joe Cooper. No doubt misleading many members of the audience after a career of recognition in mostly insipid chick flicks (despite numerous roles in grittier pieces). He absolutely steals the show here though displaying a likeable charisma despite the perverse maniacal tendencies of the character he's portraying.

I had heard a lot of people complaining that Juno Temple seemed miscast but I certainly couldn't see it myself. This is certainly a challenging role for a young actor and she seemed to handled the material as well as could be hoped. The other surprise for me being Thomas Haden Church who for once has picked a decent film to put his considerable acting chops to good use. His character is every bit as jaw dropping as McConaughey's in the final scenes. Oh, and whilst I think about it I have to take my hat off to Gina Gershon for THAT scene.

Whilst not an exceptional film it's not without its numerable merits which make for a curious character piece and a great change of pace at this time of the year on the film calendar.

Review: Cosmopolis (2012, Dir. David Cronenberg)

At this point it's pretty obvious that Robert Pattinson is desperately keen to escape his Edward Cullen tween idol image and move onto mature material. I've always championed him as a decent actor with a great screen presence and I was really hoping that by attaching himself with director David Cronenberg for Cosmopolis he could finally metamorphosis to the highly regarded performer he deserves to be considered as.

I thought the trailers and clips from the film I saw prior to release looked a little ropey, but I had faith that upon watching the completed film it would be an off-kilter but challenging piece that one has come to expect from the usually reliable Cronenberg. Sadly however that isn't the case. In fact I find it very hard to say anything good about the film at all. The acting and cinematography are all well and good but as far as the actual content of the film itself goes it's nothing short of an absolute mess. I can't think of any other film that has tried to touch on so many different topics, be it socioeconomics, religion, technological reliance or in fact just about any other prominent issue the world is facing right now, and fail so pitifully to represent or shed light on any of them in any impacting or thought provoking manner WHATSOEVER. Sitting there watching it, I couldn't help but feel that everybody involved in this soulless production had thoroughly lost themselves in their own asses, and judging by the reactions of the rest of the theatre upon exiting the screen I can assure you that I wasn't alone.

I really like the thought of the Pattinson/Cronenberg team-up and I think with better material to work from it could mutually benefit both their careers. Maybe the time is right for Cronenberg to return to his body horror roots.

Coming Attractions- The Rest of 2012

So the first half of 2012 has come and gone and we've so far had a fairly "meh" year, with a few surprises along the way. The latter half of the year though is where everything looks to really kick off, starting of course in just under 2 weeks time with The Dark Knight Rises.

Advance Preview screening opinions have started rolling in and despite the NDA they're all overwhelmingly positive, which has more or less caused me to go into an utter frenzy of anticipation making everyone around me a little annoyed. I will have my reviews for the rest of the Batman films complete and on the blog within the next week or so as well as reactions prior to and straight after watching the film, before finally uploading the full review sometime later in the weekend after release.

Before The Dark Knight Rises however I'm really excited for this weeks UK release of Magic Mike. It seems like a very fun film that appeals to the same part of me that enjoys films like Boogie Nights and The People Vs Larry Flint. Also it's great to see Matthew McConaughey back to picking decent material. After seeing him in Killer Joe last week (review coming in the next few days) he's certainly one of my favourite actors right now.

Another cheesy film which I'm looking forward to is Dredd. I think Karl Urban is a bit of a hidden talent and I really enjoyed the trailer to this, despite everybody telling me I shouldn't. It's harmless fun. It's not going to be a masterpiece, but I'm hoping it'll be an enjoyable comic book movie akin to the Hellboy films in pure watch-ability.

I have to admit I didn't particularly enjoy Brick, but I could see a great director in Rian Johnson and with the fantastic premise of Looper being backed up by such a formidable cast I think this could stand up there with the likes of Moon and District 9 as one of the smaller out-of-nowhere sci-fi greats of the last few years.

There's not really much to go on here as little footage or synopsis for the film has been released, however you can guarantee that Paul Thomas Anderson will deliver a powerful epic with The Master which I've no doubt will cause controversy, shock audiences and spark debate for a long time come November.

Casino Royale has turned out to be one of those films I can watch time and time again, and have since it was released. I'm even one of the few people that prefer it to the Bourne films. Quantum of Solace wasn't quite as solid as Casino Royale, but it was still a reasonably entertaining romp. With Sam Mendes behind the camera of the long awaited conclusion to the trilogy however it would be surprising if this wasn't one of Bond's best outings to date. Its great to see franchise fare like this taken on by such a high calibre of talent.

I may be eagerly anticipating my return to Middle-Earth, but the real reason behind my excitement for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is my curiosity over its 48fps format. It may not sound as drastic to the average filmgoer as the likes of 3D, but I think it will turn a lot of heads when it's released. Will it be the future of cinema or a huge mistake?

Review: Batman Returns (1992, Dir. Tim Burton)

Up until very recently Batman Returns was by far and beyond my favourite of all the Batman films. I used to watch it obsessively a few years back, but until yesterday I probably hadn't seen it in 2 years-ish, so I was curious to see whether I still liked it as much. Returns is by far and beyond the most divisive Batman film as far as critics and fans are concerned and pretty much has been since its 1992 release. Some people, such as myself, love the focus on the darkest side of Gotham, whereas others find it a depressing anti-heroic excuse of a superhero film, many going as far as to say that with such a strong focus on the 3 villains the film packs into it that it's a Batman film in name only. There's no doubt that this is wholly the responsibility of Tim Burton, the returning director from Batman '89, now given full creative control of the franchise thanks to the resounding box office success of Returns' predecessor. With his new power in tow, Burton set out to create the Batman film he always wanted to make without studio interference. A darker, sinister and more adult version of the characters than had ever been seen before. A film that was so dark in fact that McDonald's famously had to recall their happy meal line of Batman Returns toys. Watching the film even now, you can easily understand why.

Having just come off of directing Edward Scissorhands, a film still seen as his quintessential masterpiece, Burton has at this point clearly found his footing in Hollywood and defined himself as an auteur and his confidence is on show in Returns' in full force. The whole feel of the film oozes the gothic expressionist influences that had such a profound effect on Burton's youth. The deco style architecture of '89 remains in degrees, but everything has a less defined, washed out and oppressing feeling which sets the tone of the film perfectly. Gone are the bright purples and greens which scantly added colour to the original, as Returns' is plunged in varying hues of black, grey and white, the iconic yellow symbol adorning the Batsuit, the only remaining small glimmer of hope and colour more or less throughout the entire film. All except for Selina Kyle's neon pink house, an aesthetic choice pulled straight from Scissorhands, showing as before Burton's philosophy of how average suburban residents are all just a hair's width away from insanity.

The criticism that there is too much of a focus on the villains and not enough development on the side of Batman/Bruce Wayne is a disparagement which I had always rebuked people for in the past, but upon finishing the film this time I felt their anguish for the first time. It's not that the villains aren't interesting by any stretch of the imagination, in fact they're as interesting as the protagonist, but with each of them assaulting Bruce's psyche in the manner they do in key scenes in the film you just end up wishing those moments weren't so few and far between. Perhaps that feeling is amplified however knowing that after two great performances from Michael Keating as Bruce Wayne, and the ambiguous ending for Michelle Pfeiffer's fantastic Catwoman that would be the last we would see of them, leaving us to imagine any future encounters between the perfect but tragically matched pair so brilliantly set up in that masquerade ball scene, whilst instead we get Batman Forever...

Batman Returns isn't the perfect film I had in my formative years thought it to have been, yet despite its issues with character balance it's not only a unique entry into the Batman mythos, but a great and often forgotten display of Tim Burton's talents, which although sadly never gave us a true sequel to Returns', instead gave him the time and confidence to create Ed Wood, so we shouldn't complain too much.

Review: The Amazing Spider-Man (2012, Dir. Marc Webb)

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a tweet stating that I really wasn't sure about this reboot and that I had a feeling I was going to hate it. Walking into the cinema I was really bracing myself for a tedious 2 hours sat getting angry at Spider-Man being turned into a hipster. Within 30minutes or so however my fears had completely subsided and save for a few small niggles what I instead watched was a new Spider-Man film perfectly suited to what this decade demands from a superhero movie.

When I first heard that Marc Webb was to direct the film I had really mixed feelings. On one hand I thought 500 Days of Summer was a great chick flick for guys, but on the other hand I didn't want to see Peter Parker turned into a chic dressing metro-sexual who spends the whole film moping after Gwen Stacy. I have to admit I did expect Andrew Garfield to suddenly break out into a Hall and Oates dance-a-long but thankfully that never happened. Everything was played serious and grounded yet it still managed to be persistently fun and not the gritty Dark Knight-esque wannabe that some of the marketing material seemed to imply. Surprisingly I would probably say that the high school and romance portions of the film were probably the weakest, all feeling a bit rushed and underdeveloped, a problem that the rest of the script certainly does not suffer from as the tired origin story is given numerous complex twists whilst still remaining true to the core elements of the established mythology. It's clear however that Marc Webb has one of the most dynamic and interesting directorial eyes in Hollywood right now though as the web slinging and fight scenes in particular feel refreshing and exhilarating throughout.

The cast has settled into their rolls perfectly and in many ways already seem more suited to the roles than the cast of the original trilogy. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone in particular have great chemistry and I really can't wait to see how the inevitable death of Gwen Stacy will play out. Rhys Ifans also did a fair job as Curt Connors, but I can't help but feel that The Lizard is not a strong enough villain to carry a film alone and although it worked fine here, the second film really needs to up the ante in the villain stakes. That's not to say that it diminishes just how good the first 2 Sam Raimi directed Spider-Man films were though instead I think it could quite happily sit side by side it in the manner that Tim Burton's Batman films co-exist with Christopher Nolan's. Both tell different stories in different styles which are suited for the time they were made. In this instance I'm very happy to admit that my assumptions were wrong having walked away from the cinema wanting more of this perfectly balanced new take on a franchise that a lot of people, myself included, thought should be left on the shelf.

Review: Storage 24 (2012, Dir. Johannes Roberts)

I only heard about this film for the first time about a month before it was released just last week, but I had high hopes for it being a fairly competent bit of British sci-horror. Sadly the finished product was a really disappointing, clichéd and trope ridden mess with the word "forgettable" scrawled all over it.

I have to say I am by no means the worlds biggest Noel Clarke fan, having dismissed him back in his Mickey days on Doctor Who and having seen nothing of his work since. However after all the acclaim he's gotten for his writing, directing and acting in numerous "growing up in the London ghetto's" films since then I thought this genre film turn would be a good reintroduction to the popular star. I clearly must have picked the wrong film though as his screenplay is, as I said earlier, a bit rubbish and worst of all completely unoriginal. Fair enough, Alien is the prototypical science fiction horror that all others shall forever stand against, and its inevitable that certain elements are going to be reused and in some cases paid homage too, however this is just the exact same core concept just taking place in a storage facility as opposed to a space ship. Make up your own mind as to which is more exciting. Oh, but at least the aliens don't look like Xenomorphs! But.... they do look just like District 9's "prawns".

The real tragedy for me though was the completely eye roll inducing final scene, which I won't spoil for you, but let's just say it sets the film up for a sequel which will likely never see the light of day (except maybe direct to DVD). Between the ending, the derivative plot and the boring alien concept design it just all left me with little to do except sigh.