Saturday, June 12, 2010

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

A summer blockbuster produced by Jerry Bruckheimer starring Jake Gyllenhaal? How could it miss? Well with Prince of Persia: Sands of Time they came fairly close. Based on the video game of the same name, Gyllenhaal plays Dastan, the fully-grown version of an orphan taken in by the king of Persia after displaying his bravery. He then finds himself framed in a conspiracy for the throne, of which he has no interest in filling. A ton of twists and turns follow.

Overall, the script is original with interesting characters and events, though occasional instance of lazy dialogue weakens the performances and authenticity of the story. While avoiding any spoilers, the film’s resolution presents an “easy way out” scenario for the writers while speaking out against one of the film’s central themes, living with your own mistakes.

Luckily, the actors were able to carry the film and turn it into a successful effort. Gyllenhaal presented a believable and strong performance in his first role as a jacked up action hero. His usual wittiness shined through despite the questionable accent he used. The emphasis on the character’s gymnastic “parkour” abilities jumping from rooftops was impressive but overused. The chemistry between him and Gemma Arterton, who played Princess Tamina was more realistic than most romantic comedies as the pair evolve from hating each other to “love” throughout the story. Sir Ben Kingsley and Alfred Molina provide great support to the relatively young cast. Molina is even “laugh out loud” funny in some of his moments.

One thing I can hardly find acceptable in a 2010 Disney film is the video game like CGI that can be seen at times. The high-budget standard these days is a complete realism in digital effects. Somehow Sands of Time has a handful of deep and establishing shots that look like a syndicated sci-fi TV. Show. It hardly ruined the film but I found this weakness hard to believe.

It’s tough to judge whether a sequel will be made. It will, like always, depend on revenue but I would be interested in watching this franchise build mainly because of the likable characters. Plus if they made another one where I wasn’t questioning the ridiculous “jewel button” on the dagger for half the movie it would be a bit stronger. They might as well have had the characters tap y on their xbox controller. It would be equally as cheesy. (7.9 out of 10)

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