Assassin's Creed
Performance & Direction: Assassin's Creed Review
Last updated: January 26, 2026
Quick Verdict: Hit or Flop?
Is Assassin's Creed (2016) worth watching? According to our cinematic analysis, the film stands as a AVERAGE with a verified audience rating of 5.4/10. Whether you're looking for the box office collection, ending explained, or parents guide, our review covers everything you need to know about this Action.
Cast Performances: A Masterclass
The success of any Action is often anchored by its ensemble, and Assassin's Creed features a noteworthy lineup led by Michael Fassbender . Supported by the likes of Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Irons , the performances bring a palpable realism to the scripted words.
Performance Analysis: While the cast delivers competent and professional performances, they are occasionally hampered by a script that leans into familiar archetypes.
Final Verdict: Is it Worth Watching?
In summary, our editorial assessment of Assassin's Creed (2016) is mixed. With an audience rating of 5.4/10, it stands as a decent one-time watch.
Story & Plot Summary: Assassin's Creed
Quick Plot Summary: Assassin's Creed is a Action, Adventure, Science Fiction film that delivers highly intense sequences and pulse-pounding confrontations that keep viewers on the edge of their seats. This summary provides a scannable look at the movie's central conflict and narrative structure.
Story Breakdown
The narrative structure follows a classic action blueprint: establish the protagonist's world, introduce a formidable antagonist, and escalate the stakes through increasingly intense confrontations. Through a technology that unlocks the genetic memories of his ancestor in 15th century Spain, Callum Lynch discovers he is a descendant of an ancient line of Assassins and amasses lethal skills to take on the oppressive Templar Order. The film balances spectacular set pieces with character moments, ensuring the action serves the story rather than overwhelming it. This approach calls everyone and everything into question as the plot unfolds.
Narrative Structure
- Opening Hook: The film opens with an explosive sequence that immediately establishes the stakes and introduces our protagonist in action.
- Character Arc: Character development is present but somewhat formulaic, following familiar patterns without adding fresh perspectives to the genre.
- Climax & Resolution: The final confrontation delivers on the buildup, with stakes at their highest and the protagonist using everything they've learned.
Thematic Depth
Beyond the spectacle, the film explores themes of justice, redemption, and the cost of violence. It questions whether the ends justify the means and examines the personal toll of heroism.
What Works & What Doesn't
✅ Strengths
- Attempts to bring fresh ideas to the genre
- Some memorable individual scenes or performances
⚠️ Weaknesses
- Pacing issues that affect narrative flow
- Underdeveloped characters or predictable plot points
- Reliance on genre clichés without adding fresh perspective
Ending Explained: Assassin's Creed
Ending Breakdown: Assassin's Creed attempts to tie together its various plot elements. The finale presents its approach to action resolution.
The climactic sequence delivers on the escalating tension, offering viewers material for post-viewing discussion.
Ending Analysis:
- Narrative Resolution: The story concludes by addressing its primary narrative threads, providing closure while maintaining some ambiguity.
- Character Arcs: Character journeys reach their narrative endpoints, reflecting the film's thematic priorities.
- Thematic Payoff: The ending reinforces the action themes established throughout the runtime.
The final moments of Assassin's Creed reflect the filmmakers' creative choices, offering an ending that aligns with the film's tone and style.
Who Should Watch Assassin's Creed?
Consider Watching If:
- You're a completist for Action films
- You're curious despite mixed reviews
- You have low expectations and want casual entertainment
Box Office Collection: Assassin's Creed
| Metric / Region | Collection (Approx) |
|---|---|
| Production Budget | $125.0M |
| Worldwide Gross | $240.7M |
| Trade Verdict | FINANCIAL DISAPPOINTMENT |
Assassin's Creed Budget
The estimated production budget for Assassin's Creed is $125.0M. This figure covers principal photography, talent acquisitions, and visual effects. When accounting for global marketing and distribution, the break-even point is typically 2x the base production cost.
Top Cast: Assassin's Creed
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YouTubeAssassin's Creed Parents Guide & Age Rating
2016 AdvisoryWondering about Assassin's Creed age rating or if it's safe for kids? Here is our cinematic advisory:
⏱️ Runtime & Duration
The total runtime of Assassin's Creed is 116 minutes (1h 56m). Ensuring you have enough time for the full cinematic experience.
Verdict Summary
Analyzing the overall audience sentiment, verified rating of 5.4/10, and global performance metrics, Assassin's Creed is classified as a AVERAGE. It remains an essential part of the 2016 cinematic calendar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Assassin's Creed worth watching?
Assassin's Creed is definitely worth watching if you enjoy Action movies. It has a verified rating of 5.4/10 and stands as a AVERAGE in our box office analysis.
Where can I find Assassin's Creed parents guide and age rating?
The official parents guide for Assassin's Creed identifies it as PG-13. Our detailed advisory section above covers all content warnings for families.
What is the total runtime of Assassin's Creed?
The total duration of Assassin's Creed is 116 minutes, which is approximately 1h 56m long.
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Critic Reviews for Assassin's Creed
Fun film. Has plenty of action sequences and great plot twists throughout the film that make it more interesting. Plenty of well developed characters throughout, and each character has great depth. The execution of the stunts was superb and had breathtaking set-pieces throughout. It's more faithful to the games than other previous game adaptions like Doom and Warcraft: The Beginning, and it moves away from the story while keeping what made the games so well received. A great movie, definitely worth the watch.
I actually really liked this- the action sequences are exciting and take on a kind of Jason Bourne-quality and Fassbender, Cotillard and Irons do a nice job of making the characters interesting and helping to overlook a lot of the silliness of the script. Overall an 8/10 Check out my full Youtube review. Trying to go for something funny, engaging, and informative so hope you guys like-https://youtu.be/Um2-B6Gs_QU
I have the advantage of multiple _Assassin's Creed_ games under my belt, and even to me it was nonsense. Wastes an **incredible** cast on what will wind up contributing to the seemingly never-ending pile of lacklustre videogame adaptations. _Final rating:★★ - Had some things that appeal to me, but a poor finished product._
l would lie if I said that I did not enjoy this movie. It has plenty of action, a bit of biblical mystery and some science fiction. It is a decently entertaining movie. However, I also felt a bit underwhelmed. A less than sympathetic bum happens to be some direct ancestor to an ancient warrior belonging to a ancient secret assassins society protecting the apple of Eden. Since he is a near identical match to his ancestor he is, apparently, an ideal candidate for the evil Knights Templars to unlock ancient “genetic” memories that will help them find the apple. Yes I know, it is a bit of a scientific stretch but hey, it is a fantasy/sci-fi movie and it originates from a video game story so give it some slack. Speaking of the video game. I have not played the game and I have no idea if the movie follows the story of the game or not which probably is a good think for this movie. What I did have a hard time with though is this nonsensical notion of the apple containing the genetic code for “free will”. What a load of bullshit in so many ways! There are a lot of quite good action and fight scenes in the movie. However most of them are flashbacks to the time of Callum’s ancestor and it is not really Callum himself. It is not until the very end of the movie that Callum finally realizes his potential and gets to do some fighting in his own time. This disappointed me a bit. Overall I felt a bit underwhelmed. The movie plodded along at an almost leisurely pace except for the outbursts of action in the flashbacks. There was not really much happening that made me interested except for the action sequences. The acting is also adequate but not more. When Callum finally gets around to do some assassin stuff in our time it is too little too late. There is a nice fight when he and his assassin colleagues break out of the Knights Templar’s facility but the final show down between the two parties is, well, bland.
**All about the apple of Eden!** One of the much anticipated film of the year. It was a long wait for this film to see a light. I mean ever since the trend had started from the video games to the big screen, this one was a bit late to come into the party. My guess was, that's the disadvantage. The film fanatics thinks, there are too many graphics films. Besides, they did not pick the right screenplay for it like EA did for 'Need for Speed'. I have never played this game, so I was not expecting it like the others, but I'm surely disappointed with the film. I had no idea about the characters or the universe, it sets in. After watching the film I thought why this game is so famous where I did not find this film any good. Yep, it's not fair to compare two different formats. But the fact will remain that the film was one of the worst among big titles releasing on this year. I thought it was like 'Matrix', but more a periodic style action- adventure. I think the cast was good and the rest of the film was not. What I disliked the most was the smoky visuals. Yes, all the scenes with the ancient Spain was very smoky atmosphere that I had hard time to have a clear picture of what's going on. I hope there won't be any sequel to it, but if they do plan, I expect a miracle that erases all the bad image created by this part. The film is watchable, but not likable or enjoyable. Only for time pass. _4/10_
I bought this movie recently for a very small amount, and began watching it with very small expectations. I was treated to a well-paced, stylish action film that relied more on esoteric ambiguity (and a passing knowledge of the video game franchise) than exposition and characterization. Rather than being a hindrance to the overall product, I believe this "flaw" serves the style of this movie wonderfully, and honors to source material to create an interesting and engaging fictional world. The discerning eye of a devoted film-goer may think this movie is quite beautiful and would find very little argument from me. Certain shots and choices in lighting are remarkable, and the filmmakers emphasis on practicality over computer renderings translates very well during the action sequences. I would recommend this film - you may not love it, and you don't have to - but it is certainly worth watching.
YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE! You were supposed to destroy the bad video movies, not join them! Bring balance to cinema, not leave it in darkness!
**The curse of video game movies.** Really, there must be some plague or curse on this type of film because the examples that deserve our attention instead of our oblivion are rare. And it doesn't take much digging to find some that are really despicable, unworthy of being seen in a big screen. I had some hope that this movie wasn't that bad, knowing minimally the game (I never had the time or patience to play it, but I read about it and saw some graphics). And really, it's a film that, in the wide spectrum of its genre, has some qualities. However, it is far from being a full plate for lovers of good movies. The best thing about this film are the technical and visual aspects and also the action scenes, with highly stylized choreography and fight routines, unrealistic to the point of sounding very absurd, but incredible. The cinematography is very good, and the film makes incredible use of CGI and digital resources. It seems to me that the director, Justin Kurzel, preferred to turn the film into an orgy of visual graphics than to do a solid job. Excessive attention to visuals has everything from stunning aerial perspective footage to the elaborate sets and environments of the Spain of the Catholic Kings, creatively blended with footage in real settings such as the Alhambra. This leads us to the film's first problem, which is the absurd lack of historical accuracy. Considering it's a movie based on a video game, it's less of an issue, but it's an issue, particularly when taking advantage of the popularity of the Templar Order, which was defunct and outlawed by the Catholic Church in 1312, nearly 250 years before the time of the Catholic Kings. Whoever wrote the script and included this premise probably barbecued their own history school textbooks. The cast is made up of renowned and talented actors, but who have not been given anything substantial. There are no characters, there are names, and the actors seem to be improvising or being themselves in some way. Michael Fassbender plays himself with a hood, since the character is nothing more than a walking cliché with no personality. Marion Cotillard, a great actress, must have been royally paid to accept such rubbish in her curriculum and Jeremy Irons proves to be very capable of making an omelette without eggs, going to resurrect what he has done previously in several villains of his career and mixing everything. What really lets this movie down is the miserable script and poor direction. If we've already talked a little about director Kurzel's apparent fetish for visual effects, we should also talk about the incompetence of the screenwriting team. It would have been better if they had been prevented from writing screenplays. This one is just a giant jumble of confusing ideas involving time travel, genetic memory, futuristic machines, the Inquisition, the Templar's, Columbus, the Catholic Kings of Spain, an Islamic religious sect from Persia and other oddities. The film takes itself too seriously, it is presumptuous and exhausting, and the feeling that hovers over it is existential emptiness, as if there was no reason for any of this.
movieMx Verified
This review has been verified for accuracy and editorial quality by our senior cinematic analysts.
This analysis is compiled by our editorial experts using multi-source verification and audience sentiment data for maximum accuracy.
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