Assassin’s Creed appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This became a strong presentation.
Overall definition looked positive. A few effects shots came across as slightly soft, a factor I thought may have reflected an attempt to make these elements look more “organic”, but those remained minor and the vast majority of the flick seemed concise.
No issues with jaggies or shimmering occurred. I saw no edge haloes or print flaws.
When I examined the film’s palette, I saw a lot of the standard teal and orange. These tones looked fine, as the image brought them out in an appropriate manner.
Blacks were dark and deep, and low-light shots displayed nice delineation. The movie offered the expected high-quality visual experience.
Assassin’s Creed came with a solid DTS-HD MA 7.1 soundtrack, as the mix opened up the movie’s many action scenes in a lively manner. Various battle elements swarmed around the room and created a compelling, involving sense of the action.
Quieter sequences worked fine as well. These used the different channels to place in various situations with smoothness and aplomb. Music also provided nice stereo imaging.
Audio quality seemed good. Effects appeared full and dynamic, with positive low-end response. Music was bold and rich, while speech seemed natural and concise. The soundtrack added zest to the film.
This set includes both 2D and 3D versions of Assassin’s Creed. The picture comments above reflected the 2D edition – how did the 3D compare?
Picture quality seemed very similar. I noticed no obvious decline in sharpness, colors or blacks from the 3D presentation.
Creed appeared not to use native 3D photography. Instead, it seemed to come from a post-conversion to make it stereo.
Though those techniques often work very well, this came became somewhat iffy. While I didn’t dislike the 3D edition, I thought it rarely seemed especially natural.
On the positive side, airborne elements like birds or arrows zipped out of the screen in an appealing manner. Most of the movie opted for general depth, though, and that domain seemed less than stellar.
The sense of place just felt a bit “popup book” and didn’t come across as especially realistic. This was a post-conversion that felt like one due to the general absence of immersiveness.
All that said, I don’t reject the 3D version as inferior to the 2D, if just because this one added some visual zing to a movie perilously short on excitement. Nonetheless, the 3D conversion felt inconsistent and unconvincing enough to mean it didn’t become an option I particularly enjoyed.
All the set’s extras appear on the 2D disc, and we open with a collection of featurettes under Take the Pledge. This compilation fills a total of 41 minutes, five seconds.
“Pledge” provides comments from producers Patrick Crowley, Jean-Julien Baronnet and Frank Marshall, Ubisoft Head of Content Aymar Azaizia, director Justin Kurzel, stunt coordinator Ben Cooke, stunt performers Damien Walters and Ben Wright, costume designer Sammy Sheldon Differ, armorer Tim Wildgoose, location manager Nick Oliver, brand manager Carsten Myhill, creative director Jean Guesdon, slackline performers Jaan Roose, Jan Kaeding and Tauri Vasehaar, and actors Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Ariane Labed, Michelle H. Lin, Michael K. Williams, and Callum Turner.
“Pledge” examines the property’s path to the screen, story/characters, cast and performances, stunts and action, sets, costumes, weapons and visual design, and locations. Parts of “Pledge” feel fluffy/promotional, but the pieces offer a reasonable amount of information. They give us enough substance to merit a look.
Conversations with Justin Kurzel runs 20 minutes, 22 seconds and involves the director as he chats with other production personnel. These include composer Jed Kurzel, editor Christopher Tellefsen, visual effects supervisor Ged Wright and writer Michael Lesslie.
The “Conversations” discuss music, editing, visual effects and script/story/characters. Each of these digs into its subject matter fairly well, so they add useful information.
In a similar vein, we get the 22-minute, 23-second Deleted Scenes Conversation. It provides notes from Justin Kurzel and Christopher Tellefsen.
They show us cut footage and relate details about the material. Most of this follows an expunged character named Lara, and we get some interesting thoughts about the unused footage.
10 Deleted Scenes take up a total of 15 minutes, 44 seconds. This area largely shows the same clips found in “Conversation”, except we see the sequences without interruption, so we don’t get the redundancy I feared.
Even though “Conversation” shows up before them in the menu, it probably makes sense to view the scenes on their own first.
As for the quality of the scenes, the footage with Lara adds minor intrigue, but her presence in the film wouldn’t have improved it. The remaining footage contributes a bit more exposition and detail but also wouldn’t bring out any improvements in the final product.
Even the “Alternate Ending” feels uncompelling. Still, it’s good to see these clips, and the combination of “Conversation” and the package of deleted scenes works well.
A Gallery splits into three domains. We examine images connected to “Concept Art” (14 stills), “Costumes and Weapons” (36) and “Unit Photography” (47). All provide some nice elements, but the package of costumes/weapons fare best because they let us see details of the artistry involved.
The 2D disc opens with an ad for Logan. Sneak Peek adds promos for Vikings Season 4 Volume 2, Legion Season 1, and Morgan. We also get two trailers for Creed.
Any hopes that Assassin’s Creed would launch a cinematic franchise seem stillborn, as the movie flopped commercially. I can’t mourn its instantaneous death, as the film offers a dull, meandering affair that wastes the ample talent involved. The Blu-ray brings us very positive picture and audio as well as a mostly engaging set of supplements. Creed offers yet another weak big-screen adaptation of a video game, and the inconsistent 3D conversion can’t do much to save it.
To rate this film, visit the prior review of ASSASSIN'S CREED
