Story

Themes

Genetic memory; religion and religious orders; mythical artefacts; free will and the control of free will

Violence

Assassin’s Creed has extended scenes of intense action violence, some of which is brutal. These scenes include executions and also the murder of one parent by the other parent, which is witnessed by their child. The movie shows minimal blood and gore, but it uses sound effects to suggest violent and gruesome acts. Here are some examples of this movie’s violence:

• In one ceremonial scene a man places his fingers in an elaborate wooden cylinder. A second man triggers the device, and we hear the sounds of blades slicing and the man grunting in pain. Following this, gauntlets with hidden blades are placed over the man’s severed fingers. There’s no blood and gore.
• In an execution scene a condemned prisoner, whose hands and feet are chained, is led into a room and strapped to a table. The room has a viewing window, and people are watching. Tubes are inserted into his arms and a machine sends liquids down the tubes. The man looks panicked and starts to hyperventilate, but then he becomes quiet and his eyes close.
• During a medieval battle scene, balls of fire fly through the air and explode on the ground. Soldiers on foot and on horseback wield swords, crash into each other and knock each other down. They fire flaming arrows. A large threatening man grabs a woman and forces her to her knees. A young boy is dragged out of a hole in the ground and locked in a cage on a wagon.
• Several flashbacks show a 12-year-old boy witnessing his father murdering the boy’s mother. In one flashback, the boy walks into the kitchen of his home to find his mother sitting dead at the kitchen table with her eyes open and a pool of blood beneath her chair. Another flashback shows the boy witnessing his father dressed as an Assassin standing next to his mother holding a knife to his mother’s neck. A further flashback shows the same scene, but this time the mother grabs hold of his father’s hand and pushes the blade into her own neck.
• Several scenes show brutal fights between Assassins and Templars, all of whom use various weapons. The fighters slash and stab each other and fire arrows at each other. They use swords, kick each other, and break other fighters’ necks.
• An Assassin holds a knife to a man’s throat while another man holds a knife to a woman’s throat. Each looks at the other for several seconds before the Assassin slashes the man’s neck while the other man immediately slashes the woman’s. The Assassin watches the woman die.
• In one of the movie’s more brutal scenes an Assassin and a Templar fight using medieval weapons and fighting techniques. The Assassin repeatedly stabs the Templar in the stomach, chest and neck until the wounded man collapses to the ground. There’s no blood and gore shown, but we hear the sound of blood splashing out of the man’s body as he hits the ground.
• One scene set in the 15^th century shows two men and a woman being led outside by hooded executioners, who chain the prisoners to stakes in the ground as an angry crowd jeers at them. Wood is piled at the base of the stakes and oil poured over the wood. The wood is set on fire and flames leap up to the height of the chained prisoners. One of the prisoners struggles and breaks free of his chains and then uses the chains to swing at a guard’s head. He then uses a sword to stab and slash at several other guards and throws the sword at a guard, impaling him. He hits an executioner on the back of the head with an axe. The freed man releases the other two prisoners and they escape before a cauldron of oil bursts into flames, engulfing an executioner. The three prisoners escape across the rooftops, stabbing, slashing, kicking and punching their way through dozens of guards. Numerous guards fall to their deaths. One guard is pinned to a railing by an arrow through his hand, and another man has his head repeatedly slammed into a stone wall.

Sexual references

None of concern

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

Assassin’s Creed has minimal substance use. For example:

• In one scene a man pours some alcohol into a glass and drinks it.
• Executioners use an intravenous injection to execute a man.

Nudity and sexual activity

None of concern

Product placement

There is no product placement of concern in Assassin’s Creed itself, but the movie is based on a popular video game and tie-in merchandise is available.

Coarse language

Assassin’s Creed has infrequent coarse language and some name-calling.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Assassin’s Creed is an action adventure fantasy based on the popular video game of the same name. The movie is packed with extremely fast-paced and intense action violence sequences and gymnastics that should please adult and teenage fans of the game. Viewers who aren’t familiar with the game might find the movie a bit disjointed.

Assassin’s Creed is showing during school holidays, and it’s likely to appeal to younger teenagers and even tweens. You should note that the movie contains brutal scenes of violence, including executions, throat-slitting and the murder of a mother, which is witnessed by her child.

These are the main messages from this movie:

• The right to free will is worth risking everything for.
• Our genetic inheritance determines our predispositions.

You might want to talk with your children about the concept of free will and how it’s connected to acts of violence. Is free will part of what makes us human?