Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

Released My 27, 2010

Directed by Mike Newell

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina

First Viewing May 27^, 2010

Roger – 3/5, and Jolly - 3.5/5 (this review is written by Roger, but the majority of opinions are reflections of both our thoughts)

Well, ‘tis the season. There are two seasons in Movie Land. Awards Season (end of October – February), and Summer Blockbuster Season (summer, obviously). And how I loooove the Summer Blockbuster Season. My favourite kind of movie is the cheesy action adventure. I love the special effects, I love the fast-paced storyline sprinkled liberally with action. I love the comedic element and the obligatory romance. My favourite movie growing up was Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. I just think action-adventure movies have it all. We see movies, after all, to be entertained!

Prince of Persia is both good and bad, and while I was hoping for something better, I did enjoy myself. Jake Gyllenhaal is Prince Dastan in all his ab-tastic glory, and finds himself on the run, framed for the king’s (his adoptive father) murder, and the unwilling protector of Princess Tamina and her people’s dagger. The dagger has the ability to turn back time, which is explained via a very well done sequence with Gyllenhaal and Arterton. It also means that the stakes are considerably lower, because whatever happens (including death), well, the dagger can just undo it all anyways, eh?

Anyhow, Dastan and Tamina are forced to help each other out and get the dagger to safety. Tamina says, “we must get the dagger to the only safe place,” while she leads the way the a secret sanctuary. Yes, I thought, but then why on earth wasn’t the dagger in the “only safe place” to begin with? So there are a few things that the writers could have done better with. Including the often too-cheesy script, complete with unexplained plot holes.

But what the heck. The Prince of Persia is FUN. Some of the action sequences are pretty cool, due to Gyllenhaal’s stunt work in the art of Parkour. Alfred Molina is a scene-stealer as a tax-protesting ostrich-racing middleman, and our friend that saw it with us said he was the highlight of the movie. Gyllenhaal brings quite a bit of dimension to Dastan, and the movie rips along at quite a fast pace. You’re never bored.

The ending is a bit of a cop-out, and as I mentioned before, the knowledge that the dagger can turn back time makes all the danger seem…less exciting. And Gemma Arterton is…doing exactly the same thing she did in Clash of the Titans. She could have injected some personality into the role, instead of relying on pouting to express the majority of her emotions. The acting world does not need another Kiera Knightley.

But there are the fights and the swashbuckling. There are cheesy-but-good action sequences, and there are some beautiful shots of the scenery. There’s the fight-until-they-kiss romance, there’s Alfred Molina, and there’s Jake Gyllenhaal. Prince of Persia is a good time at the movies, and it shows promise. If they change the writing for the second one, we think it could be a hit.