Prince of Persia : The Sands of Time

Welcome to another episode of The "D" List.

Today's review is Prince of Persia : The Sands of Time. Directed by Mike Newell. Written by Boaz Yakin, Doug Miro & Carlo Bernard. Screen Story by Jordan Mechner. Based on the Price of Persia video game series created by Jordan Mechner.

MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action.


Cast

Jake Gyllenhaal - Dastan
   
Gemma Arterton - Tamina

Sir Ben Kingsley - Nizam

Alfred Molina - Sheik Amar

Steve Toussaint - Seso

Toby Kebbell - Garsiv

Richard Coyle - Tus

Ronald Pickup - King Sharaman


And here we go with another movie adaption of a popular video game. Video game movies by some people (myself included) feel that they should be just as good if not better than some of the comic book movies that come out every year. However, video game movies have been vilified in Hollywood and in the real world alike and with good reason. They are treated with so much disrespect that it's hard to justify the jump from controller to cinema.

When a studio buys the film rights to a game, they own it and can do whatever they want to the property. That's why you see a lot of the times "Based on the ???? video game" in the credits. It's the suits version of a get out of jail free card. They don't have to be faithful to the game's story, character design's or game mythology. They employ hack writers to change the main elements that make the game so popular among gamers so that it can be cinematic to a wider audience. What these studios CONTINUE to miss is that their audience ARE THE GAMERS THEMSELVES!!!!!! And in failing to satisfy the hardcore fans the video game film will continue to be a colossal failure. This is a major problem and in my opinion the solution is simple.

For the most part, video games are accompanied by AMAZING stories that keep you involved when you're not button mashing on your controller. All the powers that be in tinsel town have to do is follow that blueprint. It can't be any easier. Just employ the creator and or head writers of the game and have them write the screen story or an outline or even god forbid the actual screenplay. Prince of Persia does the right thing by bringing it's creator Jordan Mechner into the mix. So does his influence do the trick?????? Almost.

After being adopted by the king of Persia, Prince Dastan (the game's and film's hero) grows up with his 2 older step brothers into a fine warrior and servant to his father. After helping execute an attack of an neighboring city, Dastan comes into the possession of a dagger. The guardian of the dagger, Princess Tamina sees Dastan with it and tries her best to get it back. An event takes place that forces Dastan to flee his family with the princess. It's that event where Dastan discovers that the dagger has the power to send it's owner back in time. The rest of the film follows Dastan and the Princess as they try to unravel the mystery that brought them together and why the dagger is so important.

At it's core, Prince of Persia's story is solid but there are 2 things that take it off the beaten path a bit. About midway through the film the plot begins to recycle itself. Dastan has the dagger, he loses it then gets it back. Wash, Rinse, Repeat. This happens several times and each time get less and less dramatic. You're supposed to care when Dastan loses the dagger and it just plays like a skipping record constantly repeating the same tune. The other issue is Princess Tamina's character. Her value to the story is vital but her dialogue is written in blatant expositional fashion that she feels more like a plot device to move the story along than an important "character" to the story. She also displays a very abrasive, annoying attitude early on that it's difficult to root for her later on.

These are the 2 things that bring the film down a peg or two.

It's unfortunate because the action was not your normal thoroughfare. It was pretty impressive with some nice camera work. The editing was a little choppy but that's to be expected since Hollywood still has not learned how to cut a fight/action scene. Oh how I would love to take a crack at a fight scene. The CGI was impressive and Jake Gyllenhaal is actually believable as Prince Dastan minus the gigantic peepers he was born with.

Bottom line......Prince of Persia : The Sands of Time was a solid effort in the videogame to film adaptation. There was just that little something missing that prevented it from being the leader of the pack.

On the 5 star scale. Prince of Persia : The Sands of Time gets 2.5 stars with a split "Go See It/Netflix It" recommendation. If you are in the mood for a nice adventure/action film then you should be pleased. Otherwise wait for the DVD and just see Raiders of The Lost Ark again.

That's all for today. Up next in no particular order is......

Get him to the Greek

A-Team

The Karate Kid

Until Next Episode....."I'll Save You A Seat!"

"D"