VR through your past lives with the Animus in Assassin’s Creed

by contributing writer Michelle Chee


For almost a decade, gamers have been having a world of adventure with the Assassin’s Creed video games, comprising of 9 core releases and many other side games. It’s therefore no surprise that the games have garnered a huge following and so it's just a matter of time before the franchise hits the big screen.

The Assassin’s Creed movie does not follow any of the story lines in the games, and is an independent story line by itself. However, many of the concepts in the movie are found in the game, such as the garments worn by the Assassins, the martial arts they practice and the element of time travel.

Before we jump into the review however, let’s just run through the movie’s plot, which will help some of you who are not familiar with the games...

Brooding and Ominous,  Assassins watch over us

In Assassin’s Creed, there is a war going on for centuries between the Templars and the Assassins. The Templars started out as knights in the medieval era, bent on bringing peace to the world through control and strict regulation of the masses. This brings them in direct conflict with their nemesis, the Assassins, fighting for mankind's given free will. So, basically, it’s the Fascist versus the Liberals, which is a mirror of real life human administrative dynamics too. 

The story begins in the present day when the Abstergo Foundation, the modern day manifestation of the Templars, captures Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) and subject him to experiments on a machine called the Animus . Callum Lynch is descended from a member of the Assassins named Aguilar de Nerha (also Michael Fassbender), who  is the last person in possession of a device called the Apple of Eden.  Abstergo and the Knights Templar hope to use the Apple to remove free will from humanity  and bring peace to the world.  Leading Abstergo are Dr. Alan Rikkin (Jeremy Irons)  and his daughter Sophia (Marion Cotillard) who use the Animus on test subjects to relieve their genetic memories. Callum Lynch is joined by other descendants of the Assassin’s Creed brought in for testing.

As Callum synchs up with his ancestor’s memories, he has to figure out where his loyalties lie and how to deal with a troubled past in today's modern world.

Fassbender (left) and co-star Ariane Labed as medieval Assassins

Movie fans will remember Fassbender as Magneto is the latest installment of the X-Men franchise, and his serious demeanor makes him an excellent choice to play Callum Lynch, who is struggling with his self identity. French actress Marion Cotillard as Sophia Rikkin similarly plays conflicted roles between scientist or Templar. Whilst Cotillard’s acting was commendable, but her accent did come across as awkward in some scenes, especially when conversing with Jeremy Irons.

Marion Cotillard (left) and Jeremy Irons who play the father and daughter Templars, Alan and Sophia Rikkin

Here is a trailer of the movie to give a feel of what’s to come:

As a non-gamer, I went into the movie screening with little expectations, but left feeling really satisfied. Not many action movies deliver this depth of thought and I was particularly fascinated with the para-scientific logic and reasoning behind how the Animus works. The action sequences were awesome to watch, and were not too prolonged overall.  The movie, IMHO, stays very true to the spirit of the game. 

Fassbender, Cotillard, Irons and the rest of the cast did well in their roles, except that I wished I could also see the lives of the of the other Assassin’s Creed ancestors. I thought the portrayal of medieval Spain was very apt, and that many of the sentiments the Templars expressed mirrors strongly how governments of the past and present function, by using various means to control their citizens. However, hope is always present when there are small groups fighting for freedom, personified by the Assassins. 

Without revealing too much, one of the scenes that really strikes me was how the Assassins used their  parkour abilities to outrun their opponents, making cartwheels and skyline jumps look effortless, almost like a dance rather than an act of desperate escape. The chemistry between the main characters is really on point, especially between Callum and his ancestor Aguilar, as well as with his father.

The cinematography is visually stunning as the camera swoops down on medieval Spain before every flashback starts, and the colour choices really transports you back in time, and drags you back to the cold and stark present. 

Last Sunday an Assassin's Creed Fan Gathering was held at Comic Fiesta. It's the first fan panel in the style of overseas Comic Cons organised at a local convention with support of 20th Century Fox, distributor of the Assassin's Creed movie.

Convention attendees enter the panel room under watchful eyes of the Templars.

Full house of Assassin's Creed fans.

The kicked off with introduction of the panelists comprising Cappy Lenoire as moderator with Chel C. representing cosplayers, Kok Jia Wern offering a gamer's perspective and Iain McNally looking through lens of the movie. Short featurettes of the Assassin's Creed movie were screened followed by panelists sharing their thoughts on the subject featured, such as backstory of Templars versus Assassins and the incarnation of the Aminus in the movie.

Screening featurettes of the Assassin's Creed movie.

Panelists share their thoughts; (left to right) Iain McNally, Chel C., Kok Jia Wern, and Cappy Lannoire.

Following the panel discussions, attendees had a chance to win movie premiums by participating in a True-False game. Video was screened with trivia from the movie whereby contestants had to determine whether the statements are true or false. Through elimination of contestants by wrong answers, two winners were determined. 

Winners (middle) of the Assassin's Creed True-False trivia game.

The panel session closed off with group photos of Assassin's Creed cosplayers and then everyone present in the room. A final surprise was revealed with invites for movie preview randomly placed under the seats. But no one left disappointed anyway as Assassin's Creed movie leather bracelets were given out to everyone in attendance.

Cosplayers group photo.

All together now and show off those movie preview invites!

There were even a group of Templars sword-fighting a lone Assassin at Comic Fiesta!

Check out more photos of the panel from Ezli Qamari on Facebook as well as photos from the Assassin's Creed movie preview screening on 22 December 2016 at GSC Mid Valley Megamall.

Cosplayers at the Assassin's Creed movie preview screening at GSC Mid Valley.

For fans of the movie, the Outpost Movie Recon Team (M.R.T.) has tracked down some Assassin's Creed memorabilia to bring home your experience:

Golden Screen Cinemas is conducting a contest from now until 3rd January 2017 where you can win an Assassin’s Creed diorama. All you have to do is pose with an Assassin’s creed poster or display, put it up publicly on your Instagram and tag it with the hashtag provided. 

GSC is also giving away limited edition Assasin’s Creed tankards so you drink your ale like a stealthy Assassin that works in the dark to preserve the light. You can redeem one tankard for every 2 Assassin’s Creed movie tickets purchased for Gold Class or every 4 tickets for Premiere Class (where available while stocks last).

Over at MM Cineplex (formerly Cathay Cineplexes in Malaysia) is giving away assorted Assassin's Creed movie premiums via their Facebook Page.  Just Like the photo and post your answer in the comments section for chance to be randomly selected for prizes.

MSI Malaysia is going all out with its Assassin’s Creed promotion this time, and they’re having several different lucky draws in almost 50 locations nationwide from now until early January 2017 with prizes that include Assassin’s Creed keychains, movie passes, MSI gaming CPUs, gaming laptops, overseas trips and other gamer hardware.

If you’re interested to read more stories from the Assassin’s Creed universe, Popular bookstore is offering a boxset of 7 books by Oliver Bowden based on the characters and concepts from the game.

Malaysian Movie Blog Screenbites is running an online contest with mysterious Assassin’s Creed goodies to give away, so start sending in your entries here.

Those of you who want to subtly insert some badass Assassin’s Creed element into your daily lives can check out this Desmond Miles inspired hoodie on Lazada. Lazada actually has a ton of really awesome Assassin’s Creed stuff you can check out, from sweaters to hidden blade armbands for cosplay, as well as backpacks and the video games themselves. See them all here.

Assassin’s Creed, though marketed as an action/adventure series, is really about reconnecting with your past. As you watch the movies and experience the games, take some time out to think what life must have been like for your own ancestors you’ve never met, and how their life choices has led to you being you.

Assassin's Creed in cinemas now nationwide.

Disclaimer: Assassin's Creed and other trademarks are copyright to Ubisoft and/or 20th Century Fox, referenced here for fan service announcements without intent to infringe.

Warcraft The Movie Casts Its Magic on Viewers with Spectacular Special Effects

Gamers who have been fans of the World of Warcraft MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) for more than a decade will definitely be waiting with bated breath for the sweeping epic of a movie that is based on this well established game. Generations of Warcraft fans will be feted tomorrow when the movie is released on June 9th in Malaysia.  The movie looks extremely impressive from the outset as it combines high definition 3D CGI effects with live action acting.

The two main protagonists, Sir Anduin Lothar and Durotan.

Sensual Garona Halforcen, the half orc, half human facing a great dilemma.

Warcraft: The Beginning is directed by Duncan Jones, who interestingly, is the son of the late British singer David Bowie. This is his first high budget CGI film as his previous credits include smaller scale movies like Moon and Source Code. The movie is a partnership between Legendary Pictures and Blizzard Entertainment, the game producers. In order to get a sense of how the plotline plays out, here’s the cinematic trailer:

This first Warcraft movie takes place in Azeroth and chronicles the first contact between Orcs and Humans. Not many of the other races in the Warcraft Universe are given much emphasis, as the focus here is on the battle between the two main races. The story begins with Gul’dan, a powerful Orc who is attempting to unite all the orcish clans together as their home world, Draenor is dying. He uses a special magic called ‘Fel’ to create a portal to send hordes of orcs to other lands to conquer it. However, in order to keep the portal open, lives must be sacrificed, and thus begins the Orcs’ destructive campaign.

Lothar swoops down on his Gryphon during an epic battle scene.

However, in the midst of this chaos, Durotan, chief of the orcish clan of Frostwolf has different ideas from the rest of his kind and wants to pursue cooperation with humans. He therefore forms an alliance with Sir Anduin Lothar, military commander of Azeroth and King Llane. In the midst of this the party teams up with Garona, a half orc, half human being who is struggling to decide where her loyalties lie, as well as Medivh, the fabled Guardian who will help them with understanding the Fel’s power and limitations. Together, their choices will determine the future of their race, and the future of the world as they know it.

If the trailers are anything to go by, we can expect well done action and fight scenes with extremely good visual effects. The cast here include Travis Fimmel as Sir Anduin Lothar. You may remember him if you’re a history fan and watch Vikings on the History channel as he plays the main protagonist. Paula Patton, Ben Foster and Dominic Cooper form the rest of the live action cast while Toby Cooper provides the voice of Durotan and Daniel Wu as Gul’dan the antagonist Orc leader. 

Sinister Gul’dan, leader of the Orcs, is voiced and motion-captured by Daniel Wu.

Director Duncan Jones did mention in an interview with Reuters that he drew inspiration from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. You can read more of the interview here to learn more about the behind the scenes work. Learn how ILM crafted the CGI of the movie in painstaking detail in this video:

Some of the dwarfs in the movie. Don’t they look familiar, perhaps from a movie about a very powerful Ring?

It’s really amazing the amount of work and intense concentration that goes into crafting a single scene in this movie. Check out the movie Premiere in Hollywood earlier this week:

The black carpet was buzzing with excitement last night at the #WarcraftMovie premiere. Check it out!

Posted by Warcraft on Tuesday, 7 June 2016

The Malaysian movie Premiere was held on Wednesday 8 June 2016 at various locations. At the GSC 1 Utama Premiere, cosplayers were sighted of Garona and apprentice wizard Khadgar. Plus a number of guests had fun wielding Doomhammer.

Cosplay for Garona (left) and Khadgar.

How many people does it take to lift Doomhammer?
Photo credit: Golden Screen Cinemas Facebook Page.

Our Outpost Expeditions missions to San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) and New York Comic Con (NYCC) last year offered us up-close intel on the awesome costumes and props developed for the movie by the master artists at Weta Workshop.

First reveal of Orgrim Doomhammer at SDCC 2015.

Spectacular armour of King Llane by the Weta masters.

Humans of Azeroth are well dressed for battle.

Like our Outpost Productions Page and check out more photos from the comic cons on our Facebook album. Meanwhile, this featurette of the War Room offers an excellent perspective of the superb work by Weta Workshop:

Find more movie featurettes and character backgrounds at the official Legendary Pictures YouTube Channel and follow the latest updates on Warcraft movie on Facebook.

On the Malaysian homefront, the Outpost Movie Recon Team (M.R.T.) has scouted through the "fog-of-war" to identify various promos and offers available on our shores:

Golden Screen Cinemas is offering a Warcraft E-Combo set at RM150 comprising limited edition Warcraft T-shirts representing the Horde and The Alliance, a Warcraft Edition vanity poster set, game codes, Dolby Atmos vouchers, a large popcorn and 2 regular soft drinks. Be sure to grab your sets quickly as there are only a limited number available at selected cinema locations.

In addition, beginning 9 June together with the movie release, each ticket purchase at GSC will receive a free World of Warcraft game code used to play the MMORPG online. In case you've been hiding under a rock, here's an introductory video of what is World of Warcraft (WoW):

Watch the movie then use your Game Code to play the game. FTW!

Yet there's even more for Warcraft fans at GSC with the opportunity to wield the Doomhammer of the Horde on roadshow! Taking place at selected cinemas, pose with replicas of Doomhammer and/or Lothar's sword for the chance to win movie passes courtesy of Lenovo Malaysia and GSC.

Are you mighty enough to wield the life-sized Doomhammer? Come to GSC 1U this weekend to find out.

2-handed Hammer +5 with Sword -1 (because missing some edges).

Over at TGV Cinemas, join their MovieClub and get a limited edition Warcraft member card, available for a limited time only. If you sign up now online, you can collect your card immediately at the nearest TGV branch near you.

Similarly, MBO Cinemas is also a special Warcraft design Allstar member card. Just sign up as member today and get it any MBO outlet.

Finally mm Cineplexes (formerly Cathay) is giving away Warcraft movie premiums on their Facebook contest. There are tshirts, sling back, cap and more.

Similarly, Premium-X Cinemas are offering movie premiums to their customers showing proof of purchase. Although the actual premiums are not stated, one probably stands a better chance to scoring the giveaways since competition by other customers are limited to just their 1 outlet in OneCity, USJ.

Interestingly Lazada is having a simple Facebook contest to celebrate the film by giving out Warcraft merchandise. Enter by sharing your love of Warcraft by 10 June and hope to be one of 3 winners selected with the most creative answers. Again, actual prizes are not indicated other than items shown in the visual. But if you're up to send some hard earned $$$, Lazada does offer a number of Warcraft movie products like thematic power banks and phone docks.

Lenovo Malaysia as official sponsor for Warcraft is throwing in a Steam voucher, mouse and exclusive Warcraft tshirt with purchase of PC notebooks. Find out more details at the official website.

Jakks Pacific is the official toy manufacturer for the Warcraft movie and actually available here in Malaysia! Sighted at the local Toys R Us and may also be available at major departmental stores. The staple 6in scale action figures are priced at RM199.90 (gulp!) comprising Durotan, Blackhand, Lothar and Medivh, whilst an 18-in giant Durotan is priced at RM399.90. There's also role-play foam weapons of Doomhammer and others although these are undersized as cosplay props. Various World of Warcraft Mega-Bloks construction toys are still available but not associated with the movie.

For a wider assortment of Warcraft movie products. check out the official Blizzard online store for merchandise related to the movie, including cute plushies, lounge pants, posters and even a Mahjong set! The Funko Pop! figurines of the main movie characters are sure to be a hit and likely available soon at our local retailers.

A Warcraft Mahjong Set so you can get the elders involved in your hobby!

For those who literally like to take home a piece of the movie, Weta Workshop offers true sized replicas of 3 Alliance swords and a number of other collectibles including scaled models of Human armour and Orc weapons.

Lothar's 1:1 scaled sword! Do check with local Kastams before ordering replica weapons.

1:6 scale Axe of Duratan for USD49.

If you've decided to experience Warcraft but not in a rush to be first in line, try scoring some free movie tickets using the webe850 app to scan QR codes at selected TGV Cinemas. Their Warcraft Day screening will be taking place on 18 June. Find out more details at the webe website.

Warcraft: The Beginning unleashes tomorrow on 9 June at Malaysian cinemas nationwide. See heroes rise and villains crumble in an epic fantasy cinematic experience see this season. 

Disclaimer: Warcraft and other trademarks are copyright to Blizzard Entertainment and/or Legendary Pictures, and their respective owners, referenced here for fan service announcements only without intent to infringe.