Assassin’s Creed

The “Quo Vadis of Xbox” has a plot that borrows from both Star Trek: The Next Generation’s “holodeck” where simulations re-enact the past, and the current CW show Arrow with its constant flashbacks to flesh out the backstory. Cal, a murderer, gets claimed after his execution and whisked over to Madrid where he’s hooked up to a machine called “The Animus” which connects its subject via an avatar to his ancestral past, in this case during the Inquisition when the Knights’ Templar are seeking to possess “The Apple of Eden,” a device that contains the essence of free will, which will give The Church the ability to control human behavior. Ubisoft’s gaming franchise probably wasn’t intended to feature any character with Marion Cotilland’s lofty goals but as Sofia, a scientist hoping to cure violence, her role seems almost an inside joke in reference to excessive violence in gaming from critics! With its monotonous build-up dissecting and explaining the millennial old skirmish between the two enemies, the movie is nothing more than a dust-to-digital travelogue full of bloodless hackings and kung fu poses staged in the pivotal year 1492!

[PG-13]