Assassin’s Creed: Lineage Review

Having known the general premise of the Assassin’s Creed games through scant actual gameplay, combined with director Yves Simoneau’s simple storyline, the film Assassin’s Creed: Lineage kept me subtly standing by as if I could unexpectedly be blinked out of a game cinematic and instantly dropped onto the streets of Italy. Not as the game’s main character Ezio Auditore de Firenze, but instead as his father Giovanni, played by Romano Orzari who just so happens to be Ezio’s voice actor in the game! Set in 15th century Italy, Lineage prequels the Assassin’s Creed video games and shows how Giovanni switched from hunter to hunted. It was clear Simoneau took the time to incorporate several touches which paid homage to game sequences such as Giovanni scaling structure facades, distracting guards, looting corpses and also with settings like clandestine cobalt-blue lit nights, just to name a few.

What Lineage lacked in movie time at only 35 minutes it certainly made up for in surprisingly believable acting, brilliant costume design, accurately depicted characters and fluid cinematography. I was impressed at how there seemed to be a constant mist of distrust lingering in every scene which caused me to glance over my shoulder when I paused for a trip to the refrigerator. So many times game-based-movies have left diehard fans grumbling about lacking authentication which leaves true game portrayal in the dust, but that certainly was not the case here. The plot progression was enticing and Simoneau’s incorporation of game-inspired elements was well timed never falling short in accuracy.

Without pointing fingers, there have been some period based movies that got by solely through cheap titillation and overkill use of gore, so it was a great change of pace being entertained by visually striking fight sequences in slow motion and tasteful character interaction. Even the obvious green-screen sets and CGI created cities weren’t absurd enough to offend the authentic structures they were modeled after. With plenty of added bonus features, this DVD will undoubtedly leave any viewer wanting to continue the story, whether it be through console game play or just sitting back watching the actors do all the work for them.