Michael Fassbender is without a doubt one of the best actors in the business, and since making his feature film debut in Zack Snyder’s 300 he’s gone on to deliver a string of acclaimed performances in a wide variety of genres, showcasing his incredible versatility.
That includes haunting drama Hunger, twisted romantic thriller Shame, historical true story A Dangerous Method, Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, comic book blockbuster X-Men: First Class, Ridley Scott’s Prometheus and Alien Covenant, his vicious work in 12 Years a Slave, and an Academy Award nominated turn in biopic Steve Jobs to name a small few.
However, even the cream of the crop don’t have a 100% success rate, and one of Fassbender’s most dismal efforts was one that came packing no shortage of potential. The star took top billing an also produced Assassin’s Creed, the big budget adaptation of the massively popular video game franchise that boasted its own inbuilt mythology and has always been regarded as cinematic in nature.
Unfortunately, the end product was a painfully dull slog riddled with dry exposition and action sequences that weren’t all that exciting. Critics deemed it worthy of just 18% on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences rated it slightly higher at a still-mediocre 43%. A box office haul of $240 million wasn’t enough to guarantee a sequel, but Netflix have stepped in to order a live-action series that hopefully does justice to the source material.
Five years down the line and with the streaming service developing an episodic reboot, Assassin’s Creed has been enjoying something of a resurgence on the platform. It’s currently the twelfth most-watched title in the library, and it might yet end up flying even higher up the charts over the coming days.