Since the Back to the Future trilogy took the world by storm, Hollywood has seen a proliferation of various types of time-travel and time-travel films that have brought so much freshness and romance to audiences. But it seems that not many of them have managed to combine modern technology with medieval strife in a way that brings out a strong religious and historical atmosphere, while remaining highly entertaining. Fortunately, the recently released Assassin’s Creed ticks all these boxes at the same time.

Adapted from Ubisoft’s best-selling game series of the same name and perfectly recreated in terms of scenery, action, look and setting, the film will naturally make many gamers quite happy, while those who haven’t beaten the game don’t really have to worry about watching it at all – it’s a standard Hollywood commercial blockbuster. Following Macbeth, German superstar Michael Fassbender (French Shark), French national treasure Marion Cotillard and Australian director Justin Kurzel collaborate for the second time, and are joined by heavyweight stars such as Oscar winner Jeremy Irons (Uncle Iron) and Venice film queen Ariane Labed in the cast.

Death row inmate Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) is lucky enough to be rescued by scientist Sophia (Marion Cotillard). Sofia and her father Alan (Jeremy Irons), who runs a mysterious “freedom from violent impulses” programme, choose Lynch and give him the special task of travelling back to 1492 Granada, Spain, to rescue the young prince of an Arab tribe, using the high-tech device animus.

This travel does not require him to be naked like the Terminator T800, to become a woman like the Crown Princess Zhang Peng, or to be liked by his own mother like Martin (the hero of Back to the Future); in fact, Lynch’s body remains in contemporary times, and through the animus his consciousness is able to enter the body of his ancestor, Aguila.

Aguilera was the leader of the League of Assassins at the end of the fifteenth century, who had been fighting for centuries against the Catholic Templars, but were apparently increasingly disadvantaged. The young prince’s father possesses a mysterious treasure that the Knights are trying to get their hands on, while the Assassins are trying to stop them at any cost.

Lynch, living in the 21st century, is just a violent type of guy who, after a few magical crossings, actually enjoys the way he is, the adventure and the action with the skilled female assassin, Maria (Ariane Labed). At times they move quickly through the streets and buildings, at other times they fight with vicious knights, encountering sudden dangers over and over again and facing life-and-death decisions. And it is in this process that he slowly comes to understand a major secret and realizes the deep motives of the device’s maker ……

So when the big reversal comes at the end, the audience is both delighted and applauded, and even more so for the director’s brilliant staging. It was a triumph of free will, it was a triumph of fearlessness, it was a triumph of Assassin’s Creed!

As a researcher of world history, I am particularly interested in the historical weight of the film, not only because of the rigour of the costumes, the elaborate production of weapons such as the sleeved sword and the assassin’s crossbow, and the location of Malta, England and Spain, but also because of the reflection and interrogation of the past.

The year 1492 was an extremely important year in the history of mankind, perhaps even the beginning of modern world history, and the focus of the world was on Spain. It was the year that Columbus, with the support of the Crown, discovered the American continent, opening up the link between the eastern and western hemispheres. But another major event is often overlooked: it was the year that the Christian Spanish army, taking over Granada, the last bastion of the Arabs, completely removed the Islamic forces from the peninsula. This process was accompanied by countless wars, killings and destruction. Countless mosques were razed to the ground, countless Muslims were forced to renounce their faith, and countless rebels were thrown into the fire by the Templars.

The film does not shy away from such historical catastrophes, and it is unrelenting in its criticism of the crimes committed in the name of Catholicism. The ending scene is so full of irony that it seems to confirm the old Chinese saying: “If you are too clever in your calculations, you will miss your life! The film’s courage and determination to serve the light by ploughing into the darkness is highly appreciated and will naturally resonate with the audience.

As a science fiction film, the camera moves back and forth between 1492 and 2016, the truth changes back and forth between close and far, and the protagonists go back and forth between safety and danger, all of which can’t help but put the audience on edge and make them worried about the fate of the people in the film.

As an action masterpiece, the film’s four fight scenes are extraordinarily exciting, all shot in real time rather than with special effects, creating a viewing thrill that is not unlike that of a Hong Kong martial arts film. As the first male character, Shark’s movements are powerful and violent, and his opponents are brought to an end when his arrows hit them. As the female assassin, Labed has a feminine touch, yet her moves are equally deadly, in the vein of Michelle Yeoh. And I’m sure David Bale would have given his seal of approval to the way the two of them move from building to building in a very game-like, extreme parkour.

The most exciting “Leap of Faith” is a free fall from a height of 38 meters without special effects or protection measures, which has been entered into the Guinness Book of World Records.

As for the new French rose Marion as Sofia, although there is no fight scene, but is the key role to promote the development of the plot, and even manipulate the fate of Lynch, her calm smile underneath, seems to hide some inconvenient secret. Is this woman an angel of compassion or a ruthless character with bad motives? Will Lynch’s suspicion and indifference towards her turn to admiration and attachment? Will they take up arms and fight to the death, or will they pull out the TT and fall in love?