Is There Anything Good About The Assassin's Creed Trailers? No, Not Really.

Assassin’s Creed. Where do we begin? Let’s start with the first trailer, released back in May. I remember watching this trailer only because a lot of people were laughing at it for the wrong reasons. What could be so funny? Well, I found out. Watching the trailer again, I still cringe as Kanye West’s I Am A God plays awkwardly in the background.

Why is Kanye being featured in so many of these movie trailers? The Girl on the Train, The Magnificent Seven, now this? I can let The Magnificent Seven slide because admittedly, the song did fit with the tone of the movie. But for The Girl on the Train and Assassin’s Creed? No. There’s a behind the scenes exclusive for the movie and the music used in that video is leagues better than the first trailer. There’s something mysterious about the theme that fits into the overall plot of the movie—Michael Fassbender’s character is thrown into this situation and he has questions. Why him? What secrets will he discover as he continues to work for Abstergo? 

Lyrically, I Am A God could work. Tone wise is a completely different story. But let me stop talking about the music. What about everything else? I just didn't find myself excited as I watched this trailer. There's nothing that pulls me in, nothing that leaves a lasting impression that would make me want to go the theater to see this. When the movie was first announced with Justin Kurzel directing, I was excited. This guy directed Macbeth—one of the most underrated films of 2015. Everything about Macbeth was brilliant; the cinematography, the score, the acting—Fassbender and Marion Cotillard gave Oscar-winning performances but when does the Academy ever get anything right?

So to hear that Kurzel, Fassbender and Cotillard would be teaming up again for Assassin’s Creed? I actually had hope. There have been good video game adaptations in the past—the first Resident Evil, the first Silent Hill…while the sequel to Silent Hill was trash, the Resident Evil franchise gets away with what they do now because they’re self-aware in their B-movieness and honestly, I can’t help but to respect the franchise because Milla Jovovich has been leading it since the first movie. In a world of white male dominated action movies, it’s refreshing watching a woman shamelessly kicking ass. 

Nonetheless, I expected more from this trailer. Knowing the talent behind and in front of the camera, I couldn’t help but to feel let down. Are they even trying? The one highlight I took away from it was the cinematography—Adam Arkapaw, the same cinematographer behind Macbeth, also shot Assassin’s Creed so I know regardless of what the film’s reception will be, at least it’ll be pretty to look at.

The second trailer was released four weeks ago and once again, I’m asking the exact same questions that I did in May: Who is charge of choosing this music and why haven’t you been fired yet? To say Assassin’s Creed is a popular game would be an understatement. You don’t need Kanye or another out-of-place artist to get people excited for this movie. Yes, the fanbase alone won’t result in a box office hit, but an attention-grabbing score can get audiences just as intrigued in the trailer. Hans Zimmer does it all the time. At this point, it would’ve been more effective to reuse Lorde’s cover of Everybody Wants To Rule The World because at least it’s lyrically correct and matches the tone. 

 

Now that I got that out of the way: I’m still not impressed. The dialogue hasn’t improved from the first trailer so now I’m worried about the entire script, none of the actors look like they want to be there—especially Marion, she just looks like she’s reading lines so she can leave as soon as possible—and overall, I’m left with further lowered expectations and more questions. Why did Michael and Marion agree to do this? Michael—why aren’t you collaborating with Steve McQueen again? I would rather you be the dead husband to one of lead actresses in Widows instead seeing you of half-ass your way through this.

Take a look at the trailer for Macbeth. One year later and I still get chills watching this—everything is paced perfectly: the score matches the tone, the cinematography is on beat with both the soundtrack and dialogue, the intensity gradually heightens as “Hail Macbeth!” is repeated in the background and then it cuts to black with the title on the screen. The trailer is under two minutes long; shorter than the near three-minute trailers we have to sit through today and I always find myself wanting more.

That’s what a trailer should do; you should be left wanting more, not wishing that they held back. Trailers are in a bad state right now; we end up figuring out the entire movie because too much is shown. It’s okay to tease the audience—that’s what makes people want to pay to see the movie. It’s also okay to not be flashy; the Macbeth trailer is subdued in the sense that it doesn’t have to show off to grab your attention. We’re already enticed by the quick editing, by the frantic score, by the voiceovers…it doesn’t need to be flashy to capture your attention. 

That exact flashiness is what doesn’t get me excited and it’s why I kept forgetting to review these trailers. I question the marketing behind this movie—the only time I hear about it is when a trailer is released and we’ve only gotten two. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story comes out a week before Assassin’s Creed (not to mention they have a million trailers out right now) and I just wonder if they ever had hope in this movie in the first place. 

But who knows. Good movies have bad trailers all the time. Unfortunately, Assassin’s Creed and any future video game adaptation have to deal with the fact that audiences have inherently low expectations because most of them end up being terrible. Will Assassin’s Creed's join that ever-growing list? We’ll have to wait until next month to find out.