Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)
When it comes to video games and movies, they are generally perceived as being not that good. A factor for this can be mostly blamed on the studios who produce them; they do not not have a clear understanding of how the source material should be viewed to the general public. Which is something they have to take into consideration: appeasing both the fans of the source material, and the general audience. Companies like Fox and Universal, at least try and give fans of the game something to look forward to. But Disney? That's just not going to work out. Sure, the company might have tried putting their hands into video game adaptations with 1993's “Super Mario Bros.”, and have dabbled with original concepts revolving around video games, like with “Tron”, but for the most part, Disney has stayed away from video game adaptations. That is until Disney released their 2010 feature, “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”, loosely based on the video game series, “Prince of Persia”. The result? It's somewhere in the middle, but a mess, nonetheless. While the film does have its moments to shine, like with the action, the rest of the film suffers. By playing it safe, Disney managed to turn a very popular video game into a very mediocre experience.
The story follows a prince of the Persian Empire named Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal). One day, Dastan and his two brothers attack a city, which is thought to have weapons being made for their enemies. Yet, the only weapon of importance that he finds is a dagger. When the king arrives, he is poisoned by a robe (just go with it), and Dastan is framed for murder. Escaping with a princess (Gemma Arterton), Dastan realizes that the dagger has the ability to travel back through time, but only for a minute. Using this knowledge, Dastan must find a way to prove his innocence, before his suspicious uncle (Ben Kingsley) finds the dagger.
“Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” does have some good things accounting for it, as well as some bad things going for it. But for now, let's focus on the good aspects, first.
For starters, since this is based off of an action video game, the visuals presented here are quite amazing. Whenever there is sword fighting, or a chase scene being involved, the action is marvelous and extremely well done. The CGI also used in the film is impressive; from the design of snakes, to death defying stunts, the computer is used very efficiently here. Plus, whenever the dagger is used to reverse time, the process of slow motion being used is done in a productive fashion, that one does not see that often.
The editing is also a plus. Because of the wonderful action being provided, there is never a dull moment that is happening on screen. Everything is invested, and the audience wishes to see what is going to happen next.
The music by Harry Gregson-Williams is also good. By using a blend of action themes, and Middle Eastern influences, the music is a great highlight for those who are interested.
However, that's all the positive praise that I can give this movie. The rest of the film is a mess, and it boils down to two major factors.
The first issue is with the acting. While performers like Gyllenhaal and Arterton are fine, some of the other cast members are not so believable. These include Kingsley as the obvious villain, Toby Kebbell and Richard Coyle as the brothers, among others. But the biggest accuser of this movie, is Alfred Molina, who plays an ostrich race dealer that doesn't pay taxes. Every time he is on screen, Molina feels over the top, and is given no sense of direction. This could be the result of director Mike Newell, who seems to let his actors do whatever they so desire. And with the case of Molina, just overact as much as possible.
There's also the contestation of using white actors in foreign roles that are not from their native country of origin. While I don't mind it being used here, it can be somewhat bothersome to others to see the real-life implications being involved.
And finally, the biggest problem regarding “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”: the writing.
Written by three people, and having the story done by the game's original creator, the result is a mess. And while the action is written well, the dialogue isn't. The lines, as well as the delivery, are pretty bad, and can come off as comical. Especially, again, with Molina's character. Plus, the sequence of events unfolding before the audience, is very predictable, and we know what exactly is going to happen. More specifically, with the ending as being somewhat of a letdown.
It just seems like Disney was seeing the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise declining, and wanted to do something similar, and this is what they delivered us. But not with the same kind of franchise turning result. Thank goodness for Marvel coming soon after this movie under-performed.
In conclusion, “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” seems like it was trying to overshadow its video game source, and had Disney not intervened, we would have had some other studio come and mess this one up. But as it is, with weak, and borderline bad writing, despite some impressive visuals, this is one particular adventure, that one should be weary on.
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