The costumes, the cinematography, the music, the nice references to the game (loved the ornate weapons on the backs of assassins in the crowd in the first "Aguilar" scene), the fast-paced action & parkour.... I loved it all.
My only criticism: too much time spent in the present & not enough in the past scenes.
Otherwise....a great movie, especially if you know & love the games.
Well, for the same reason you listed, too much on the present day and about 20 minutes in the past made the movie a really bad one. I expected most of the movie to take place in the past not in the goddamn present. And my God, those fast cut scenes between fight scenes in the past and Cal dancing in the Animus in the present were horrendous, killing any sense of urgency transmitted by the action.
Glad you loved the movie, but for me was a missed opportunity for something truly great.