Prince of Persia film review

Today, I had the opportunity to watch Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films) and I probably wouldn’t have if it weren’t for my friend having spare tickets that she couldn’t use. I had low expectations of the film as there have been mixed reviews.

Prince of Persia, is a live action film version of the popular game franchise based on the same name and stars Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead role of Prince Dastan and Ben Kingsley as the villain, Nizam.

Plotwise, it follows Dastan as his sets out to prove his innocence against a crime he did not commit (killing his adopted father) along with searching and protecting special knife that can turn back time. He’s joined by a princess and the knife’s guardian who is played by Gemma Arterton.

I would not judge the film as the worst thing I have ever seen but it isn’t the best either. There are plenty of action sequences (unlike a film like 300, there are no graphic blood spraying or maybe there was and the camera moved so fast I missed it) which made the film quite fun and enjoyable to sit through. I did find the whole ‘slow motion then quick pace’ overused.

However, the plot was a bit predictable at times and I laughed at those cheesy scenes where Gyllenhaal and Arterton’s characters are about to kiss but don’t (very Hollywood-style, will they or won’t they?). From memory, I think those scenes occur nearly five times throughout the film.

All the characters speak with a very distinctively English accent, which is rather strange seeing that the film is set in Persia.

There are twists in the film but the major one is identifying who the villain is but this is spoiled the moment Kingsley’s character shows up on screen. Kingsley wears dark eyeliner and he looks very effective as the stereotypical evil uncle. I wonder if that’s intentional because any red herring was lost on me.

The film used some good, if not excessive, CGI

The score by Harry Gregson-Williams (Kingdom of Heaven, Shrek, The Chronicles of Narnia) was well done and I enjoyed the Middle Eastern flavoured soundtrack.

Overall, the film should be treated as pure entertainment. It’s not fantastic but you should just enjoy it for what it’s worth.

Rating: 6/10