Prince of Persia is a great popcorn film if not taken too seriously. Based on the video game, the film does a pretty job of bringing the world of the game to life.
Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal), the adopted son of the King of Persia and thus a rogue prince battles it out with pretty much everyone in Persia to save the Time Dagger and his lost honor. Giving the prince an attractive companion is Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) who knows a lot more about the mystical time powers of the dagger and how it has to be guarded for the safety of the universe.
It all begins when Dastan is falsely accused of murdering his father by the king’s real sons. Dastan believes only the king’s brother (Ben Kingsley) trusts him. He thus absconds in order to prove himself innocent to the uncle, suspecting his own brothers to be culprits. Will Dastan and Tamina be able to safeguard the dagger and can the dagger turn around Dastan’s fate is what forms the story.
The film has a great Arabian Nights flavor to it, thanks to its colorful exotic outfits; it will often remind you of Aladdin. It really does come close to a live-action version of the Disney classic. The action scenes are comprised of various sword fighting, snake fighting, and horse riding and even some ostrich riding thrown in for good measure. Sir Ben Kinglsey has nothing much to do, many of his scenes have the same “phoned-in” feel of his acting in Thunderbirds, and Bloodrayne. Jake Gyllenhaal makes for a decent epic film action hero, and Gemma Arterton is a pretty set piece with no real dialog. It was very reminiscent of Megan Fox’s character usage in the Transformers films.
What blatantly stands out is pretty much every actor in the film looks Persian but speaks in a British accent. No Middle Eastern actor has been given a pivotal role in the film which would have been an ideal thing to do. Two hours of high octane action with magic and mythology is not too bad of a journey. Grab the popcorn and family for a trip to Persia for some sandy fun.
