#JustaQuickiePlease: Assassin's Creed Review

Fairly unknown director Justin Kurzel brings us the cinematic incarnation of the groundbreaking video game that spawned numerous sequels; which may, in fact, be the closest this generation will come to learning anything about history.  The film follows the concept of the game fairly closely while introducing new characters and imaginatively reinventing some elements to give the feature a fresh and unique feel.  Although masterfully filmed and visually stunning, with a sophisticated and stylish script, there are two glaring issues that leave audiences quite unfilled by credits end.   The first is the utter lack of true character development.  Despite an intricate and engaging story, the players feel so one dimensional it's difficult to connect with any of them, leaving fans cheering during the magnificently choreographed fight sequences but nearly bored during any intermission and storytelling between them.  Even Fassbender's performance, while well cast, is unintentionally mechanical and definitively lackluster.  Second, I have to say; this is one of the most unsatisfying and disappointing climaxes to a flick I have witnessed in quite some time.   With such a carefully crafted build, the conclusion completely dishonors everything worked for up to its point.  It's as if the writer;s just gave up, maybe from exhaustion in fabricating the complexities of the lead in, or they were so preoccupied with building to the next film, that they had no choice, who knows.  It is a shame, as this could have been a new standard for this genre which has a less than stellar record up to now.  2 out of 5 Kernels: Oh, and by the way, with as much as they showed that damnable eagle, he, not Michael, should have gotten top billing.