Netflix’s Assassin’s Creed: Things The 2016 Movie Got Wrong That The Series Needs To Get Right

Like almost every single film based on a video game, 2016’s Assassin’s Creed was a good concept that turned out to be a failure due to bad execution. Many believe there are still reasons to give it a chance, and fans will be seeing a TV series that will take another shot at telling the story.

In order for it to be a success, the show has to avoid the mistakes committed by the film. These were the flaws that made the movie such a missed opportunity. To this end, the series has to consider these points and get them right. Let’s see what the mistakes were and how they can be fixed.

10 Changing The Animus

The Animus is part of the Assassin’s Creed identity. Even the wish lists for Valhalla don’t contain any mention of changing this up. The movie made a massive blunder by figuring that viewers would like a more visual version of the Animus and turned it into something of a virtual reality machine.

Seriously, what the heck was this thing supposed to be? The technological advancement was never clear with the film’s Animus, instead being a clunky looking machine that featured too much theatricality. The TV series needs to stick to the basics and bring in the classic Animus back.

9 No Connection To Desmond Miles

The games featuring Desmond Miles are generally agreed to be most worthy of being adapted into films of their own. The 2016 film wanted to be part of the same chronology, but this would never have come across as such without Desmond’s mention, seeing as his sacrifice in 2012 allowed the world to continue into 2016.

The TV series should not only make reference to Desmond but continue where his storyline left off. After all, the games pretty much abandoned things connected to him, leaving the series in prime position to continue from his sacrifice. If nothing else, the show has to avoid leaving any mention of as the film did.

8 Inconsistency With Established Plot Points

The film ignored the fact that Assassins had stopped cutting off their fingers around the 1470s, as they were seen in this ceremony around 1492. In the same way, it overlooked the fact that the Bleeding Effect only happens due to overexposure to the Animus, unlike how Callum Lynch instantly exhibited it.

The mistake here was that it clashed with the knowledge fans already have. Going against it makes it hard to acknowledge the film being in the same universe, which will happen with the TV series as well if it goes this route.

7 Music That Clashes With The Setting

In order to make a viewer accustomed to a certain time period, the music accompanying it needs to be appropriate to at least that culture. The movie kicked off with a very modern track that went horribly with the 1492 Spanish setting, almost instantly forming a disconnect.

The TV series should separate the present-day and past sequences through the use of music. Viewers will be put into the groove of the particular setting through this method. In the film, it made for a rather uncomfortable experience to hear such a hard-hitting soundtrack for a period setting that had nothing to do with it.

6 Making Minor Video Game Characters Important

Alan Rikkin actually did appear in an Assassin’s Creed game — in the very first one. He was one of the onlookers at the end who commissioned Desmond’s execution, although nobody would have caught this in the film since Rikkin was in the game for a few seconds.

Making someone so immaterial into a big bad doesn’t have the right flow, as it messes up with the established hierarchy as seen in the games. Plus, it’s a very silly connection to begin with, and the TV series should either bring a major character into live-action or simply go for an original one.

5 Playing The Assassin And Templar Tropes To Stereotypical Levels

In retrospect, the worst games in the series were those where things were far too thematic and didn’t have a proper storyline. The film falls into this issue, as the Assassins and Templars played the good and bad guy trope to ridiculous levels.

Stuff like the eagle following the Assassins around, the overabundance of Templar and Abstergo logos, and the extreme use of mottos and catchphrases were far too on the nose. The TV show needs to keep these things as part of the characters’ identity, not make everything about it since things just got too cheesy in the film.

4 Copying The Story Of The First Game

Callum Lynch isn’t seen as being among the best Assassins in the series because the guy was basically a live-action Desmond Miles. In fact, the film ended up copying the outline of the first game entirely. It was a story about a man kidnapped by Templars, forced into the Animus, having a sympathetic female character, a devious older villain, and an ending where the main character escaped.

The movie played it too safe in order to appeal to video game fans. However, this backfired, as the film’s story was unoriginal and lacked in quality. The TV series can draw inspiration, but it’s crucial to avoid repeating an older story once again.

3 Uneven Blend Of Genres

The Assassin’s Creed series’ trademark formula is such that one can find many memes poking fun at them. That’s because the games have a specific genre, while the movie made the mistake of trying to mash too many elements in and ended up becoming a goop of uneven genre-blending.

Certain characters acted so creepy that it seemed like a horror movie, only for big action sequences to follow. Later, things would get extremely mysterious, as if a spy movie were playing. The TV show should ideally stick to the action-adventure genre of the games. If any other is to be explored, it has to follow just the one genre.

2 Inconsistent Storytelling Pace Combined With Exposition

It’s the worst thing to see an action sequence suddenly side-stepped into a scene where people talk and do nothing else. The Assassin’s Creed film was very much guilty in this regard, featuring a meandering pace in many places that were devoted entirely to exposition, only for an unrelated action scene to begin.

The result was the film’s inability to tell its story right, as it’s hard to keep track of what’s going on when the setting completely changes. The TV series should feature scenes of exposition as the story goes on, not by devoting entire sequences to conversations and separate fight scenes that have no substance.

1 Too Much Time Devoted To The Present-Day Storyline

Despite his obvious commitment to the role, the film is not among Michael Fassbender’s best movies. The biggest mistake — and the most glaring flaw — was keeping the present-day storyline as the main one. No Assassin’s Creed fan prefers the modern-day setting, as it’s the past that is the main draw.

There’s no point in a period backdrop if it’s not utilized, least of all when the present-day story is so boring. The TV show has to make up for this by putting all of the plot points around the past, with the present-day only used as a framing device. The series will be a guaranteed failure if it chooses to go with the modern-day backdrop.

About The Author

Saim Cheeda
(1347 Articles Published)

Saim Cheeda is an entertainment writer covering all of Film, TV, Gaming and Books. He’s been a writer for Valnet since 2017, contributing 500+ articles for The Gamer, The Things, Game Rant, Comic Book Resources and Screen Rant. Apart from freelance writing, Saim is a lifestyle blogger, co-owning the blog 3 States Apart.

http://3statesapart.com

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