Writers: Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro, Boaz Yakin
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton
Release Date: May 28, 2010
Length: 1 hour 56 minutes
One of my favourite directors, Mike Newell comes back to the genre of fantasy after directing Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (which was in fact my favourite of the franchise) in 2005. Now he’s teamed along with producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates Of The Caribbean) and the handsome Jake Gyllenhaal to give us a very enjoyable but not great film, Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time. Dastan is a prince who was once living in poverty and when he was 8 years old displayed public courage that impressed the king. At an event celebrating the victory of attacking the scared city of Alamut, Dastan is framed of killing the king, who is a father to him and Dastan is forced on the run. With him, he has an intriguing dagger he took from the attack, which causes princess Tamina to go with Dastan, in order to retrieve the precious weapon. Escaping together, the two fight on and off while princess Tamina is constantly trying to take back the dagger, which Dastan discovers by using it, that it turns back time. Realizing the dagger’s importance, Dastan and Tamina set on a mission to return the dagger to where it can be safe before the duo is found. Although the ads for this did look horrible, I had a small hope inside of me that this film would actually be good with director Mike Newel behind the wheel. He directed my favourite Harry Potter film, The Goblet Of Fire and I assumed the same fantasy skills he had would transfer over to Prince Of Persia. The flaws of this film however did not lie in Newel’s hands, but in those of the screenwriters. The film gave off a bit of a Pirates Of The Caribbean vibe with jokes here and there, but still filled with action. Compared to that movie, Prince Of Persia just had weaker dialogue, a way too complicated storyline and ten times more action sequences. Jake Gyllenhaal is certainly nice to watch (especially with a British accent in this movie) and there is no doubt that he can be an incredible actor in films such as Brokeback Mountain, Proof or Zodiac. Unfortunately Gylenhaal did not fit the role of the stubborn, confident, Dastan. I saw the character being written as an impulsive cocky guy and usually Gyllenhaal is the shy cute guy that everyone loves. Gyllenhaal gave a fine performance, but the film could have used a different actor to play that role. What might have saved the movie for me was the charming, feisty Gemma Arterton as Tamina. I have been a fan of the actress for a while with films such as Quantum Of Solace and Rock N Rolla, where she has always stole the scene away from every actor with her presence and not just her beauty. Her strong chemistry with Gyllenhaal may have also partly clouded the fact that he was miscast in my mind. Sir Ben Kingsley and Alfred Molina also perform well with smaller roles in the film. It is hard to give one overall statement about this film because I certainly enjoyed it in parts. If you are looking for lots of fun for the family, you’ll have no problem watching this film. But if you are looking to see an actually decent film (with a decent script), Prince Of Persia is not for you.
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