Bad news for Michael Fassbender. His baby, Assassin’s Creed, is a big ol’ bomb. Assassin’s Creed was Fassbender’s second attempt at producing a feature-length film, and the studio ended up sinking more than $125 million into the production. Part of the problem was absolutely the fact that AC opened one week after Rogue One. Another part of the problem is that Assassin’s Creed is apparently a bad movie. Rotten Tomatoes has the film at 19% among top critics, and the reviews were pretty bad across the board, with words like “joyless,” “uneven” and “terrible” cropping up consistently. ABC News even put the blame on Fassbender, calling the film the “worst movie” of his career and blaming him for even making the film. In any case, it actually made more money than I was expecting: $22.5 million over its opening throughout six days.
Two more pieces of Fassbender news. One, Fassy apparently didn’t have time to appear in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, because as I think we’re starting to learn, he has terrible taste in projects these days. Fassy dropped the piece of gossip to MTV’s Happy Sad Confused podcast last week, saying that he met JJ Abrams about a role, that they “had a conversation. I’m pretty sure I was busy doing something else in the summer [while] he was kick-starting that.” He doesn’t mention which role he might have been up for, but the nerds are theorizing that it was either Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) or General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson). I think it was probably Hux, don’t you? I would imagine that Domhnall and Fassbender are often up for the same roles.
Last thing: the first trailer for Alien: Covenant is here, with Fassy playing another android helper-robot, probably just a different version of the same robot (David) he played in Prometheus. In the future, everyone has a well-hung Irish-German sex robot with shark teeth. While I absolutely hated Prometheus, Covenant looks… good. The shower scene, you guys.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
It’s at 19%, not much better but still… and has 66% amongst people who’ve seen it.
He’s two different androids in Alien Covenant; David and Walter.
It’s a video game movie, it was never going to get rave reviews from most movie critics. A few gave it decent reviews, but others went hard on the hate and nitpicking.
If you seek immortality, don’t turn down an offer to be part of the Star Wars franchise.
Well, he says he was committed to other projects at the time. Perhaps he didn’t want to turn down a role but had no choice.
Ain’t that the truth? Even actors with one minute, one-line roles in a Star Wars movie are making money on the convention circuit. It’s quite amazing.
I actually think he would have been a good Hux.
Where’s Noomi Rapace? I only saw Prometheus for her and probably won’t see this if they just killed Shaw off screen.
Michael needs to fire whoever got him into this film and go back to making smaller projects. He is a dramatic actor and should stick to that instead of signing up for these tent pole projects that end up being duds. He is too good of an actor to be wasted on these types of movies.
Same thing happened with Colin Farrell, couple of great performances in smaller films and studios wanted to make him into a leading man, blockbuster type but it just didn’t work, actors like Farrell and Fassbender are better off long term in “smaller” films.
Agree with both of you.
That wasn’t exactly a leading character, but I thought he was good as Magneto.
She did shoot scenes for it but they’ll probably keep her part secret as much as possible, could just be a cameo.
Yeah, I read that her part is pretty small. Which is disappointing, because Noomi was the best part of Prometheus. Although Prometheus was a deeply flawed movie, it had some good ideas and I was looking forward to a sequel about Elizabeth Shaw’s search for the Engineers. Alien:Covenant just looks like a sub-par rehash of Alien and Aliens.
As for Fassbender, he’s a great actor but I really don’t know what he was thinking with this movie. And whyyy did they have to spend $125 million on it?! They were just setting themselves up for failure with that budget, and opening 1 week after Rogue One.
@JulP It hasn’t opened here yet so I haven’t seen it and can’t say anything about the quality. But given that he’s been onboard developing it since like 2012 he must really believe in the concept. People I know who’ve seen it thought it was a good action/fantasy movie.
His smaller projects have not fared too well recently either. He got the Oscar nomination for Steve Jobs but it did not do all that well at the box office, nor did MacBeth or Light Between the Oceans. The last two really small films of his were Slow West and Frank.
I really enjoyed Slow West, but Frank was brilliant. I fell in love with Michael after watching that, though you don’t see his face for 99% of the film , but the whole cast was wonderful
I really enjoyed both of those films and Slow West had the added joy of The Hound!
I had no interest in watching slow west , my hubby did, but I was so glad I gave in … I admit I did shed a tear when Joe was killed , and Michael as Silas was so good , I was kind of rooting for him even when I knew I shouldn’t be… and as cliche as the ending was (I mean the last scene) I kind of loved it
Aioban–one suspects the strategy here was to have his own starring franchise. 😉 As for him and Farrell, I’m wondering if they would have had a better chance of being leading men if the old studio system of grooming actors for stardom was still in play. The ironic thing is that both are more fascinating on-screen in anything than Tom Cruise has been in years, and he’s the leading-man gold standard most actors shoot for.
No way I’m ever watching Prometheus anything. Rubbish,
Amen. That movie does not hold up well, and it was shoddy script work to begin with. :p
It’s not opened here yet, but I’m looking forward to seeing it.
I saw AC on Friday morning, it isn’t a terrible movie. The problem with it is the same as most video game movies, it’s hard to get everything into it. You need enough information so the general public will understand instead of just throwing them into the movie, but not too much that the gamer fans will be bored. There were some issues other characters, storyline, and they went heavy handed with some imagery, but it is by far not the worst movie ever. Fans were complaining about certain game characters not being in it and it being too present time focused, but it’s the first movie, they probably want to make it a franchise and add other characters later on.
Yes, I saw it and enjoyed it as well. Would have preferred more time spent on the inquisition and less in the present – but like you said, they were probably aiming to make a series of movies out of it and this was the set up.
I saw this film on the weekend with my boyfriend and sister. It is horrendously bad.
Fass is one hell of a good looking man but even his icy frosty gorgeous face could not save this thing.
Ditto. I’m all for vid games becoming movies, but they need a solid storyline to base the films on. AC’s was made on a shallow dirt foundation and it failed. I was barely entertained watching it.
This. Just bad all around.
I absolutely love Michael Fassbender. I have been a huge fan of his since Inglorious Basterds. Not only for his good looks, his beautiful smile and strong jaw line and his sparking, kind blue eyes that made me fall so in love with him. However, he has changed and his movies failed and I am hurt for him. Michael Fassbender cannot carry a movie by himself on his name alone, he is not suited for blockbuster films because he is not that kind of actor. Did Robert Deniro became a blockbuster actor? Did Al Pacino became a blockbuster actor? Heck, did Daniel Day Lewis became a blockbuster actor? Did answer would be NO. Michael Fassbender, as just mention names above is part of the fine calibre of actors that came before him. So why is doing stupid crap Movies like Assassin’s Creed and the Lights between Oceans.
So here is my suggestion on what Michael Fassbender should do to clean his house:
1. Fire his publicist… Seriously what kind of publicist does he have
2. Stop Producing: Nothing is wrong with having your name on a production company but hire film producers
3. Find a new agency: nuff said
4: There is nothing wrong with going on TV shows or miniseries: I think he will do well. Look what it did for Bryan Cranston
And Lastly 5. Where is STEVE MCQUEEN: Michael and Steve had a great collaboration together. It worked for Martin Scorcese and Robert Deniro why can’t it work with Michael Fassbender and Steve Mcqueen.
I will not start with his sparking blue eyes and why they are so cold and distant. Except I think his “twinkle toes” suck the life out of him.
So Alicia sucks the life out of him??? You realise she isn’t a succubus, she is a successful women in her own right. I really don’t get the hate for her at all.
How come SHE has as many flops as him huh? Or she has a film critics say she is expressionless on Jason Bourne? She could possibly have a movie to carry on her own? Sarcasm
I along with many people, who don’t really like her is because SHE IS A SNOB and a stiff upper lip. STUCK UP
@ Kiki
She is from upper-middle class stock and those can appear snobbish. She was a ballet prodigy and then changed into acting. Her father is some child doctor specialist. She probably had had many things handed to her on that silver plate.
Just sometimes she doesn’t seem smart in chosing movies. Originally one might really think that a movie like The Light Between the Oceans can’t fail: not too heavy on the intellectual side and not too complicated a story and with very good co-leads (Fassbender, R. Weisz) and with a talented director. What could possibly go wrong?
Well, it somehow didn’t catch on. according to boxofficemojo it did cost 20 mio to make and it made 23,2 mio worldwide. So it just about made its costs.
(I don’t exactly know how boxofficemojo makes its numbers but apparently the promotion of a movie can be quite costly, too, in the millions, if done properly. And just providing copies of a movie to cinemas does cost quite some buck (millions, actually), too.)
I thought he and Alicia were no more? He has done Blockbuster without problem, the X-Men series is very successful and he isn’t just a background character. He, McAvoy, and Lawrence are lead roles in that series. But I agree, he has picked a string of bad films, but he isn’t the first or last good actor to do so.
Kiki, I can tell which blogs you frequent (one in particular). I’m embarrassed to be that deep into the online craziness about him.
Justin Kurzel is a terrible and pretentious director. Macbeth was awful, and Assassins looks horrendous.
So is Micheal’s Publicist, who is just terrible and pretentious.
AMEN!!! I knew this was doomed the second I heard Kurzel was involved. I still don’t get why people blew so much smoke up his a** for Macbeth, it was absolutely awful, pretentious cr*p. To work with him again on AC was such a bad pick by Fassbender and I think they actually deserve the scorn they’re getting for it.
I love Michael Fassbender. He is extremely talented, but lately his choice of movies have failed him. I remember him from Band of Brothers, and kept thinking how I wish his character had more lines. I know it’s in him to do fantastic things, however, I believe he began to doubt himself after he was overlooked for Hunger, Shame, 12 years a slave, Fishtank, etc. Get this man a gritty role with some drama…he’s got the chops…and his beauty that appears internal as much as external with bring in the crowd. BTW, I like A. Vikander, even though I envy her immensely. I loved her in the Danish Girl.
Sorry. I know he is a great actor and has a lot of fans in this site, but it seems he always fails when he tries to be a lead actor. The public in general, doesn’t care about him. They fail to see the charisma and charm that most of his fans love.
When was the last time he was successful in a lead role? I hate be that person.. but If he was a woman or POC, how many chances Hollywood would give to him after his first flop?
Fassbender is a “niche” actor. Most of his films are independent,small budget films. Macbeth was barely promoted by Weinstein,his film with Vikander was dumped on a Labour Day weekend and he’s not the reason why Jobs flopped. Jobs didn’t even have a great budget,but Universal totally messed up the release strategy. AC is his first leading role in a blockbuster and his performance is one of the few things praised by the reviewers. But AC is being sold on the games’ name,not his. If the general public is not even familiar with his face,I don’t see how the public can care about him..
I am not sure I would call the Magneto-actor in the x-men movies a “niche actor”. The “old” Magneto was Ian McKellen who is hardly a “niche” actor but bloody brilliant. Fassbender is rugged as Russel Crowe but more nuanced in his acting nearly as Keanu Reeves but does lack the latter one’s fine features.
Fassbender is a REALLY good actor. If you watch his performance in Prometheus it will just blow you away. He was brilliant in 12 years a Slave, too.
It is a pity that Hollywood doesn’t offer better parts to him though he is firmly grounded in the X-men movies.
I get it that he doesn’t like to do the Hollywood Celebrity promotion thing. Very few interviews in glossy gossip magazines. The last one I saw in Germany was his interview in GQ.
I liked the movie. The critics’ response was ridiculously over the top in negativity.
I know I am in the huge minority but I LOVE Prometheus ~I have watched it more times then I can count and on purpose ~ I am really excited about this film even more~ It’s a grittier, Scottish Ilse style tapestry visual story I forgot punctuation and such because my two year old smeared banana in that section of my keyboard sorry
@RUX I LOVED Prometheus too! Nomi Rapace acted her arse off! I was really hoping the sequel would be (like someone commented above) her and Fassy finding the Engineers. Not sure about the trailer for that Alien movie…
I love Prometheus, too. Nice and subtle. Unfortunately the trailers for the Alien Convenant (aka Prometheus 2) makes it look as if it were some kind of sci-fi horror splatter movie. Perhaps a better trailer or better excerpts from that movie would help?
Kiki, i agreed with you. You are so right, first thing he has to do asap is dump that terrible pr. And yes, he is looking dead eyes.
Fassy’s worst reviewed movie? Not bad then. His othe reviews are usually stellar.
Btw. I haven’t seen the movie yet. I just thought that the first trailer/teaser that came out was no good. By now they have better ones out and I am considering watching it. (No fan of video games and never played the Assassins video games).
A’s C trailers looked so uninspiring. I agree he was probably up for Hux as well. Ridley Scott totally turn what was meant to be a sequel to Prometheus into an Alien film. The only linking factor seems to be David. I wanted to see Noomi Rapace’s character confront those super-creepy alien engineers on their home planet, which was what she was trying to do at the end of Prometheus.
After seeing AC, I think the critics were indeed a bit harsh about it. IMO they went into with with a firm bias against video game movies (which is kind of a given when you look at their history), and wrote up what I thought were to be slightly pretentious pieces about how awful it was. Sure, some of them hit the mark with the script problems it had, character development issues, etc., but I ended up enjoying it while acknowledging that it has its flaws, so the criticism was over the top for me.
Since there’s been talk lately about his career, I have to say the hand-wringing from people is a little bizarre. After AC, I think it’s a little more clear that he’s not a box-office draw, but when you look at his career in the last several years, he never really was. Yes, it affects whether or not he’ll become a leading-man actor, but let’s not pretend this guy hasn’t established himself as a highly respected name within the industry, at the very least. He’s certainly been faring better than a lot of his colleagues in the UK, and it’s notoriously difficult for those actors to even break into Hollywood. Alien could end up being a hit and The Snowman looks promising. He just may need to head off in a slightly different direction, and I don’t mean TV when I say that. It would be ideal, yes, but I don’t see someone like him doing TV. Bottom line here is that while his projects this year especially may not have quite delivered in terms of BO receipts at least, his career is not the toilet by any means.
I watched the entire Aliens trailer just to see “the shower scene”–expecting Fassbender. Instead I got the creeps, and possibly a lack of motivation to wash for the next 6 months. Damn you, Kaiser. 😉