As with most video game films, there’s been a lot of talk about whether or not the latest will actually break the trend of bad video game movies. WARCRAFT didn’t seem to win over many outside of the gaming spectrum, but now it’s Ubisoft’s turn with ASSASSIN’S CREED. Speaking with MCV, Ubisoft’s European boss, Alain Corre, seems to feel that the movie for them is more about raising awareness of their brand, and not making money.
Ubisoft’s Alain Corre on the ASSASSIN’S CREED movie:
We are not going to earn a lot of money from it. It is a lot more a marketing thing. It’s also good for the image of the brand. Although we will make some money, it’s not the purpose of this movie. The purpose is to bring Assassin’s Creed to more people. We have our core fans, but what we would like is to put this franchise in front of a lot more people who, maybe, will then pick up future Assassin’s Creed games.
It’s easy to look at this comment and assume that Corre doesn’t have much faith in the film, and is more worried about selling video games. However, the words chosen need to be looked at carefully. He states that it won’t make THEM a lot of money, not that it won’t make money at all. And he certainly isn’t wrong regarding the fact that a movie is good marketing for whatever AC games come our way. It’s worth noting that Ubisoft did issue a statement following this that reads:
Ubisoft’s core vision is to create top quality entertainment and experiences. For the Assassin’s Creed film, we have worked closely with our partners at New Regency and 20th Century Fox as well as the talented cast and production team from the very beginning to ensure we deliver a quality experience to ours fans. We strongly believe the Assassin’s Creed brand has this cross-over appeal that will please both video games fans and movie goers.
So what say you? Do you think Justin Kurzel has crafted something special in ASSASSIN’S CREED or are we looking at another disappointing film in a long line of disappointing films? The trailer hits all the right beats as far as I’m concerned, so I’m going to stay cautiously optimistic about this one. At least it doesn’t look like a computer generated mess.
ASSASSIN’S CREED will open in theaters on December 21, 2016.