Filmmaker Justin Kurzel first came to the attention of global cinema audiences last year with his version of Macbeth, starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard.
The director was already well-known to film buffs in his native Australia for the critically acclaimed 2011 fact-based crime drama Snowtown, his feature-film debut, but a Palme d'Or nomination for his Shakespeare adaptation lunched him onto the international A-list.
With this in mind, it was perhaps strange that for his follow-up project he chose the seemingly lowbrow task of adapting the hugely successful Assassin's Creed video game series for the big screen.
Video-game adaptations do not have the best record with audiences or critics, but Kurzel says that the baggage of a genre more noted for its failures than successes did not weigh too heavily on him while making the movie.
“I haven’t seen any video-game adaptations, so I’ve never really approached that debate,” he says. “I never even went there considering that.
“I just approached this as a film and a fresh story, and the idea of free will versus control – which is the central theme of the film, and which is really fascinating and interesting.
“You can only approach it like any other film and create a narrative and interesting characters and start from there.”
Indeed, Kurzel admits that when he signed up for the project – which reunites him with both Fassbender, who is a producer as well as taking the starring role, and Cotillard – he was not at all familiar with the source material.
The Assassin's Creed games revolve around an eternal struggle between the Assassin's Brotherhood, who believe in free will, and the Templars, who wish to impose strict controls and order on humanity, using technologically advanced artefacts from a prehuman civilisation. To this end, both sides make use of a device known as Animus, which allows present-day test subjects to relive the genetically encoded memories of their ancestors.
"When Michael first talked to me about the idea, he didn't even mention that it was Assassin's Creed," says Kurzel. "He just said to me: 'What about this idea that you have a conscious relationship with the memories of your ancestors?'
“I thought that sounded amazing – this idea that you could suddenly understand why you hate certain foods or feel sad in a certain way could lead all the way back to your ancestors.
"Then he started describing Assassin's Creed, which at that point I must admit I had very little knowledge of. I haven't come from a games background. I want to be really honest about that. I haven't played Splinter Cell or these other games – but I was just really interested in this idea."
Far from this lack of familiarity with the games being a drawback, Kurzel says it helped as his movie has more in common with a historical drama than an all-guns-blazing video-game crossover.
“It was like doing a period film,” he says. “Well, it is a period film really – it’s the Spanish Inquisition period in history, so a lot of our research went into the detail of the architecture and clothing. That’s what people value so much about the game.”
The period setting may belong to the history books, but Kurzel notes that the themes of the film are timeless.
“It [the Spanish Inquisition] was a fascinating period in history in terms of the religious and social discord. There was a spirit about the age, with the fall of Alhambra and the clash of cultures and ideologies.
“That manifests itself also in the film, with the clash between the Templars, with their dedication to order and rules, and the Assassins, who are much more like travellers and open to free will. Those competing ideas are universal, they’re not specific to any period in history, or any game or film.”
Kurzel seems to be walking a fine line. By taking on a video-game adaptation, he risks alienating non-gamers, given the largely undistinguished history of the genre. At the same time, with no personal connection to the games and new characters, he risks the wrath of loyal fans of the franchise
“We weren’t necessarily conscious when we made it of how to make it for the fans, but of course, we have respect for the fans and what they love about the game,” he says. “Our big question, though, was how do we make a decent piece of cinema and get a whole new group of people interested in the story? It’s never been a debate about games but about cinema.”
• Assassin’s Creed is in cinemas from Thursday, December 29
cnewbould@thenational.ae