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Director: Mike Newell
Screenwriters: Jordan Mechner, Boaz Yakin, Doug Miro, Carlo Bernard
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina
Synopsis
After the discovery of a dagger that lets the carrier travel back through time, the adventurous Prince Dastan (Gyllenhaal) teams up with a rival princess (Arterton) to stop a sinister ruler (Kingsley) from unleashing a sandstorm that could destroy the world.
Review
If there’s one thing that everyone will agree on, is that any films based on videogames brings out the very worst of cinema, because the filmmakers behind those works are more interested at putting the gameplay up on the big screen without the support of a good narrative. From the fashionable cheesiness of Street Fighter (maybe the worst thing I have ever seen) to the current hogwash of the Resident Evil franchise, Ubisoft Montreal’s classic videogame series is getting the cinematic treatment by the producer of Pirates of the Caribbean.
With the involvement of the series’ creator Jordan Mechner (who has a screen story credit), what he and three other screenwriters have done is a loose adaptation of the 2003 videogame of the same name that has its own narrative whilst incorporating elements from other instalments in the series. For those who are fans of the series, you won’t see any monsters roaming around temples, but you will expect the free running acrobatics of the Prince who now has a name.
In the way it was previewed, many had assumed that this is the new Pirates of the Caribbean and when you do watch this, that is the case. At its heart, Prince of Persia is a simple swashbuckling adventure with a bit of humour and a lot of swordplay. The big criticism is the same with Pirates, which is the lack of characterisation and the drama mostly shows characters explaining the plot and what to do next in their journey.
If there is something positive to be said about the film, it is the direction of Mike Newell. As someone who had tackled epic fantasy with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Newell knows how to create worlds with epic proportions as the production design is massive and beautiful, as well as action sequences that are broad and quite spectacular. However, it is a pity that someone who had done Harry Potter that Newell is doing something that might as well be based on a theme park ride without much substance. Still, he’s a better director than Gore Verbinski.
When I first heard that Donnie Darko was playing the title character, I did expect him to have a tan, not the case. If there was a problem with the Prince from the games, it was the fact that he was a very cocky interpretation of Luke Skywalker. Gyllenhaal (who has completely bulked up and can run up walls) does not have this problem but is essentially the Skywalker-esque protagonist with a better English accent than Russell Crowe in the recent Robin Hood.
His acting towards this shines with his nice chemistry with Gemma Arterton, who has a funny relationship reminiscent to the chemistry between Harrison Ford and Karen Allen from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Arterton as the sharply-witted Princess Tamina is an improvement than her hollow role of Io from Clash of the Titans. As for the supporting players, Ben Kinglsey doing the typical pantomime villain similar to his take on the Hood from Thunderbirds while Alfred Molina showing the best acting for the film and provides all the best laughs.
Verdict
It maybe based on a videogame (which is usually a bad sign), Newell’s film has enough enjoyment to be a good swashbuckler with a nice chemistry from a muscle-bound Gyllenhaal and a delightful Arterton.
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Printable Version
Prince Of Persia: The Sands of Time - 
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