Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time

The first thing you have to take into consideration before seeing Prince Of Persia is the history of movie adaptations of video games… quite frankly they suck! Do I even have to mention Street Fighter, Super Mario Bros, or the best of the worst Double Dragon?

Now with that we can get to the movie. The Sands Of Time follows a child street rat, Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal), that is adopted by the King for showing an act of bravery and in turn becomes a prince. I’m thinking Aladdin? However his brothers hold a little resentment towards him for not being part of the bloodline. When Persia attacks a peaceful city after word of an arms dealing to Persia’s enemy, Dastan comes across a mystical dagger unbeknownst to its true powers. He then teams up with the city’s Princess to help uncover the true nature of Persia’s attack.

Packed with action there were few slow moments, which worked in its favor because those were definitely the low points of the film. It was said that Gyllenhaal did the majority of his stunts, and while watching, it was quite impressive to know with the amount of Parkour scenes.

Gina: It was entertaining. I don’t understand why it is getting such a bad rap. There was enough action without being too graphic for kids. Coming from Disney it was better than Alice In Wonderland.

Kevin: Well that’s not saying much!

There was definitely enough energy to keep you attracted to visual intensity of the film. The Parkour as mentioned, an ostrich stampede, large battle scenes… However with all of that, there was nothing that really stood out from the rest. That can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the viewer, and the dialogue didn’t necessarily enhance the movie.

Kevin: It reminded me somewhat of The Mummy with the comedic banter thrown in, but Brendan Frasier is just SO good with those quick one liners that, since I was drawn to comparing the two, Gyllenhaal came up short. Though some of that could fall on the writers. It was a little predictable, but…

Gina: It’s Disney; their movies are always predictable.

All of the characters were likeable, even the bad guys, and they really carried you through the various scenes of the overall adventure. From Alfred Molina as the Ron Jeremy look-alike leader of a rebel group of outcasts, to Ben Kingsley as the mysterious Uncle ready and willing to give his advice. Gemma Arterton was also a shining light as the Princess Tamina, especially since she isn’t really a household name. And then of course there is Gina’s number one man, Jake Gyllenhaal.

Gina: He can do no wrong in my eyes!

He is taking a lot of flak over his accent, though he held it consistently throughout the entire movie. Was it a great Persian accent? You’ll have to tell me what a real Persian accent is supposed to sound like considering Persia hasn’t been around for thousands of years.

Overall, it was very entertaining and full of energy. Effects were good, stunts were good, and together it was a good (not great) summer flick. You get what you would expect from it.

Gina: I didn’t know it was a video game so I can’t comment on that. 7 of 10 stars.

Kevin: I’m going to one up Gina and say 7.1 of 10 stars.

And because he was badmouthing Jake Gyllenhaal, Gina decided to ditch Chad so our overall rating is 7.05 of 10 stars.