The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
A mysterious dagger leads an unlikley prince on an adventure across Persia and across time as the Prince of Persia is adapted from its video game roots to big screen blockbuster. With Bruckheimer helming an all star crew, will audiences finally see a good video game movie?
What I Liked:
For years gamers have seen nothing but a travesty made of their favorite game franchises. With films like Doom and Postal ranking as some of the worst movies ever gamers and movie goers may be forgiven for thinking that Prince of Persia is just another game movie. The cast and crew of this film came together with one intent, to bring the story of the Sands of Time to life, to make a game adaptation that is actually good. By all accounts they have succeeded and myself and those who saw the film with me agree, Prince of Persia was much better than they thought it would be. The team who worked on this film are all talented people but I think a lot of the success was due to the fact that the original writer of the Sands of Time game was also the original scribe for the film. Make no mistake though, Mechner didn't just lift the story straight out of the game, instead he picked the elements that made the game standout and crafted a new story with them. Writing duties were later shared by other writers but Jordan Mechners story remained intact and he was very involved with the film even after production was underway. Mechners vision for Prince of Persia was brought to life by director Mike Newell who has a varied and all star filmography and the veteran director did a great job of bringing the world of Prince of Persia to the big screen. Jake Gyllenhaal leads a great cast of characters brought to life by their respective actors. The acting is on parr with the typical hollywood blockbuster, not exceptional but still a giant leap beyond the special kind of bad found in game adaptions before now.
What I Didn't Like:
While the film is great when compared to other game movies, it lacks something that makes it truly great. It may come from the writing which at times feels to loose and a bit campy, or the plot which is predicable and in the end amounts to little fulfillment. In the beginning the film falters and never fully recovers, it is a beginning that is unneeded and easily forgotten, not a good sign indeed. In fact everything told to us at the beginning is reiterated throughout the rest of the film adding nothing to the experience except time. Quickly we are introduced to Dastan and Tamina the stories leads, but the chemistry between the two of them is not very good and seeing as how these two are on the screen together nearly the whole movie this is a problem. It felt like I was watching a squabbling brother and sister most of the film and the romantic elements felt awkward and unbelievable. Awkward is a good term for the action as well, yes there is a lot of cool stunts and good action sequences but every now and again the team does something to the film in post that just makes it look weird. Perhaps they briefly replace the actors with CG, or slowing the film down to much, or something; all I know is that when it happens it is thankfully brief but incredibly awkward looking. In the end the film lacks emotional impact, events transpire and people move on like its any other day, then when all is lost, the deus ex machina comes out and sets things right again, like magic. This bothered me, a lot actually. I never played the games but I do know that they take a decidedly dark turn towards the end, why not show some of that darkness now, shake things up a bit? It would go a long way into making at least Dastan a well rounded character and the story some much needed depth.
In Conclusion:
Is Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time a good movie? I think it is. It's nothing spectacular but it is entertaining and at times very funny and action packed. Much like Spider-Man was to “comic movies,” Prince of Persia is the new golden measure that other “game movies” will strive to imitate and surpass. With franchises like Uncharted and Bioshock still in the movie rumor mill the future of “game movies” is bright. However I think that the crew set out to make a great game adaptation and this was their biggest weakness. It is not the source material the matters, it is the film itself. One needs not try to make a great “game movie” they need to set out to just make a great movie. People who watch films for deep characters and clever story lines might need to look elsewhere but for those of us looking for entertainment with a dash of spectacle might find that the Prince of Persia was just the excuse they needed for some popcorn.
