Traditionally, movies based on video games are less than spectacular, ala Silent Hill and Laura Croft: Tomb Raider. Although Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a definite improvement on this sub-genre, it is far from breaking the mold. The fact that Disney produced this film is probably the reason why I don't believe it reached its full potential, but we will explore my opinion of the film after a bit of back story.
The Premise
In the movie, a tan, muscular Jake Gyllenhaal must fight to clear his name of his father's murder, while also keeping the precious Dagger of Time out of the wrong hands. Born an orphan, but taken from the streets and integrated into the royal family by the gracious king, the Prince, Dastan, is eventually framed for the murder by his seemingly loyal adoptive uncle. He eventually discovers that the uncle (Ben Kingsley) had his eye on the dagger the entire time, wanting to use it to unleash the sands of time and travel back so that he could become king instead of his brother. Eventually, the whole thing works out in the Disney fashion, with the bonds of brotherhood (the prince's two adoptive brothers eventually learn the truth) prevails, and the sands are contained. All this happening, of course, in the context of romantic tension between the Prince and Princess Tamina (of an opposing kingdom), who was the guardian of the dagger until it came into the Prince's possession. Tamina is played by the lovely Gemma Arterton.
The Game
One of the reasons I was fairly disappointed in this film (as I knew I would be from it's first announcement) was because I really loved the game of the same title, released in 2003. In the game, the Prince (a real prince and not some Disney-style adopted orphan) takes the dagger from a treasure room during his first battle, to prove his prowess and daring to the father that he adores. Not knowing of the dagger's immense power, he is tricked by a treacherous grand vizier into inserting the dagger into "the hourglass," thus releasing the sands of time and turning all but himself, the vizier, and the a princess, Farah, into zombie-like sand creatures. The rest of the game, as poignantly narrated by the Prince, is spent solving complex puzzles, acrobatically navigating through visually stunning environments, and slashing through sand-demons on the way to plunging the dead-useful dagger into the dastardly viziers chest. Not to mentions solving the puzzle of the mysteriously misleading princess Farah. Now doesn't that sound exciting, intriguing, worthy of making a movie about? They made the movie alright, but certainly not the way the project should have been approached. First off, the perpetually bewildered-looking Jake Gyllenhaal should not have been cast as a price who is supposed to be somewhat stern, but dashingly confident. More on that later. Secondly, they shouldn't have hijacked the plot, which is why I wish Disney hadn't produced it. True, I was half expecting some stupid monkey character that provides comic relief to be present, and was relieved when no such character appeared, but the screenplay was still a bit too jolly. In short, to save a lot more typing, I would have liked the movie to have followed the game almost to a tee. They could have at least had the prince narrate the thing, which I thought was an incredibly pivotal feature of the game's storyline.
The Acting
Gyllenhaal was even less adept at playing a Persian prince than I had thought he would be prior to seeing the movie, and not even because he is white. No, it is more the fact that his persona, his acting style, and the Prince of Persia simply do not mesh well. Of course he fits the bill of Disney's version perfectly, but not the real prince of gaming renown. Alright, so I'm obsessed with the games, what of it! I'm angry! Anyway, I thought the overall acting was convincing, but I have to give-in some to all the people who cried foul at hiring a mostly white cast to portray a load of Persians. At times, they were painfully un-Persian, and the accents were more English than anything, with the assorted kings and princes looking more like Lord of the Rings characters, quite frankly.
The Action
...Was about average I would say, could have been better. I will say that they did a good job in capturing the acrobatic style of the Prince, even though many of these scenes weigh more heavily on the side of the unrealistic than the nearly possible. This is a fine line, and the special effects, in this regard, crossed it (come to think of it, in all other regards as well). A fair amount of suspension of belief is required throughout, with a couple completely illogical sequences (and in the character reactions as well) that you must turn a blind eye towards to enjoy this film.
The Humor
...By rights really shouldn't have existed. If I had my way it wouldn't, but Disney strikes again! Me and my mates found ourselves laughing at things that were not meant to be funny, and making "pshh" sounds at the things that were, which is never, never a good sign if you are trying to incorporate humor into your movie. My general rule is, if its not a comedy, only incorporate sparse comedic elements that are genuinely funny, not frequent wise-cracks that essentially ruin the credibility of the film. But, AHHHHH ITS A DISNEY MOVIE!!! FAMILY FRIENDLY!!! PLEASE KILL ME!!!
The Verdict
Sorry for that. I think I'm alright now. For a brief second, I will suspend my video game-based expectations of this movie and attempt to break it down for the average film goer:
"Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a fun-filled thrill ride for the whole family!"
Nope, couldn't do it. Totally just took that from the Disney promo. Perhaps Ridley Scott should have directed this movie instead of Robin Hood. I can see it now, the brooding Russell Crowe making intense love to the princess with one arm, fighting back hoards of sand demons with the other, all while harboring thoughts of his revenge on the vizier who burned his family and destroyed his life! Now that would be a film. I give the one that was actually made 2 1/2 of 4 stars though. In all honesty the story was engaging, if not a tad predictable, and the action was mildly thrilling. Bring your friends, bring the kids, enjoy what was, at best, a quality movie.
*As an afterthought to my original post, I would like to point out the ridiculous fact that there is a video game being released soon that is based on the movie. This effectively means that they are making a video game based on a movie that was based on a video game. Preposterous.
*As an afterthought to my original post, I would like to point out the ridiculous fact that there is a video game being released soon that is based on the movie. This effectively means that they are making a video game based on a movie that was based on a video game. Preposterous.
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