Do you remember the most interesting parts of the Assasin's Creed games? You know, the parts where you are scouting targets and moving around the ancient world (choose which one depending on the game), climbing up things that shouldn't be climbable and experimenting with abilities?
Well, at least you know the interesting parts, unlike whoever decided to make this movie. This movie has most of its plotting firmly centered on the near future, where the main character Cal is going into the Animus (a device to make him live his ancestors memories). Which is weird, as he goes back to play another character. So effectively, the most interesting part of the movie is divorced from the part given the most story and character developments.
The story and character progression is set in the most boring part of the games. Which is a shame, as this feels like 2 different movies not really given enough time to merge or work well together. While movies like Avengers take a bunch of different narratives and make them work well together, this just ends up a mess. You have the most interesting action and set pieces with no emotional investment, and the investment in the present is about a bland dystopian future
This film really suffers for this blandness. The entire story isn't even anything to be proud of anyway, with some half-cooked revenge plot and allot of things trying to set-up sequels, especially the inconclusive ending. This feels like a case that the writers should've known what to cut out, focusing the action on the past only and perhaps putting in a post-credits stinger about how he was in the Animus all along. Instead, they have made a movie that will go down as just another bad video game adaption.
1.5 out of 5 Waffles of the Creed.
Showing posts with label video game adaptions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video game adaptions. Show all posts
Sunday, 9 December 2018
Tuesday, 10 April 2018
MOVIE REVIEW: WARCRAFT (2017)
Warcraft is a movie based on the popular Blizzard entertainment games that have spawned real-time strategy and MMO games. This is essentially a story right at the beginning of the games, and that is probably one of its major failings. There may be some spoilers below.
The story follows the Orcs and the Humans as they make contact with eachother. The Orcs are massive beasts that easily overpower the humans as they invade. The humans are struggling to defend their lands, learn about the threat, and form the Alliance made famous by the games.
The movie moves along at a good clip. The main characters are the human Guardian, the kings brother, an Orc female runt or half-orc or something, an orc shaman, and an orc chieftain. The plot mainly suffers from 2 things. One of them is that it is just too convuluted for a movie.
There are so many subplots going on and intertwining that the movie struggles to make any feel particularly important. For example, the close of the chieftains final arc is designed to expose a truth to the Orcs. However, he exposes that truth.... and it leads to nothing. Because the other plots and the movie demand a fighting climax. Similarly, there is a big showdown that happens after the final climax that makes no sense in the course of the movie and how other events wrapped up.
The other problem is it is set before the games. This means that "open for sequel" is splayed across the middle and ending of the movie. For example, the races are reluctant to form an Alliance with the outmatched humans, for no discernable reason. Similarly, one Guardian is given high status in the council and deferred to for all... but for no real reason. No story arcs are really concluded for the movie, which is a major problem.
Which is a shame. Because, when the movie works, it works incredibly well. It looks great, the fight scenes are visceral, and the characters are done well (for the most part). However, what this movie needed was to choose a tighter, more focused story and cut some stuff out. Instead of trying to set everything up for a future movie, it needed to be a good self-contained movie.
2 out of 5 For The Waffles!
The story follows the Orcs and the Humans as they make contact with eachother. The Orcs are massive beasts that easily overpower the humans as they invade. The humans are struggling to defend their lands, learn about the threat, and form the Alliance made famous by the games.
The movie moves along at a good clip. The main characters are the human Guardian, the kings brother, an Orc female runt or half-orc or something, an orc shaman, and an orc chieftain. The plot mainly suffers from 2 things. One of them is that it is just too convuluted for a movie.
There are so many subplots going on and intertwining that the movie struggles to make any feel particularly important. For example, the close of the chieftains final arc is designed to expose a truth to the Orcs. However, he exposes that truth.... and it leads to nothing. Because the other plots and the movie demand a fighting climax. Similarly, there is a big showdown that happens after the final climax that makes no sense in the course of the movie and how other events wrapped up.
The other problem is it is set before the games. This means that "open for sequel" is splayed across the middle and ending of the movie. For example, the races are reluctant to form an Alliance with the outmatched humans, for no discernable reason. Similarly, one Guardian is given high status in the council and deferred to for all... but for no real reason. No story arcs are really concluded for the movie, which is a major problem.
Which is a shame. Because, when the movie works, it works incredibly well. It looks great, the fight scenes are visceral, and the characters are done well (for the most part). However, what this movie needed was to choose a tighter, more focused story and cut some stuff out. Instead of trying to set everything up for a future movie, it needed to be a good self-contained movie.
2 out of 5 For The Waffles!
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