Given its New Year's Day release date, the time of judgement for Michael Fassbender-starring console game adaptation Assassin's Creed is at hand. Can it escape the fate of so many of its genre brethren and earn respect as a good transition from player-focused gaming action to cinematic narrative? As the release date speeds towards us, what is being called the "final" trailer has appeared online.
The focus here is on backstory, as we have Jeremy Irons' shady type explaining the artifact his group is trying to trace: something called the Apple of Eden, which can quell independence or rebellion and so, the thinking goes, prevent future violence.
The key to finding it lies in Callum Lynch (Fassbender), a convicted criminal sentenced to death, who is plucked from his fate and plugged into the Animus, which connects him to the memories of his ancestor, Aguilar, who has been dead for 500 years. Will that mean action, adventure and a lot of leaping in the past? Well, the movie's not called Pig Farmer's Creed, is it?
Justin Kurzel brings his stylish directorial skills to this one, and the cast also includes Marion Cotillard, Brendan Gleeson and Ariane Labed. It'll arrive, as mentioned, on 1 January. If there are 17 more TV spots and character trailers after this point, Empire will use its special time portal to reach into the past and give someone a swift clip round the ear.
Exclusive new look at Michael Fassbender in Assassin's Creed