Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina
Director: Mike Newell
Certificate: 12A
Rating: 2/5
Films adapted from video games have never quite got it right. Whether it’s Angelina Jolie raiding tombs, a zombie invasion or any of the truly terrible films from the German director Uwe Boll, no really great movie has ever made it from the joypad to screen.
Many people have said this is down to money, as the average game-film gets a budget of 25p and a packet of crisps. This can’t be said for the latest of these efforts to hit cinemas.
Based off the award winning video game series of the same name, Prince of Persia is the latest blockbuster to come straight from the wallet of mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
Prince of Persia tells the story of Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal), a street orphan who was adopted into the Persian royal family as a child. After a raid on the innocent city of Aramut, he discovers a dagger with the power to turn back time.
While celebrating that evening though, he is framed for the murder of the king of Persia. Using the fancy knife along with the grudging help of Aramut’s beautiful princess, he must discover why he was framed and clear his name. And save the world, of course.
What could have been a fun adventure though suddenly goes horribly wrong though. Right from the start the dialogue never grabs you or charms in any of the ways it tries, most of the acting is wooden or completely over the top and there is positively no character development at all.
The action scenes might be pretty good when the Prince is leaping from ledge to ledge, but you just don’t care if the people live or die, especially Gemma Arterton’s frankly rubbish Princess Tamina.
So, apart from the occasional flurries of acrobatic action, what is good about this film? Alfred Molina steals every scene he’s in as a lovably dodgy Sheik, and Jake Gyllenhaal has enough raw charm to drag the film behind him, despite his awful English accent. He doesn’t look too bad in a set of leather armour either.
Despite Jake’s appeal, this film can be nothing but a flop. A really weak script, ridiculous plot, shaky dialogue and a few really shoddy performances lead to a real wasted opportunity.
As well as a wasted trip to the pictures. Unless the stupid idea of a snake eating a dagger sounds good to you. What could have been a day at the beach ends up leaving sand in all the unwanted places.
FemaleFirst Cameron Smith