Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

A big video game requires a big cinematic treatment. And such a big video game is The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time; and its film version, directed by Mike Newell, is unashamedly a big blockbuster.

The titular prince is Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal), adopted into the royal family of King Sharaman (Ronald Pickup). After leading the armies of Persia in a successful campaign against the city of Alamut, Dastan comes back a hero. He also gets the “honor” of getting tricked into causing his adopted father’s demise.

Now a wanted man, Dastan goes on the run with Alamut’s Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton), who hates his guts, and a dagger that holds the titular time-reversing sands. The Sands are sought after by evil Uncle Nizam (Ben Kingsley) for purposes most evil. Naturally, our heroes must thwart him from realizing those schemes.

As I said, it’s a big blockbuster, so the effects and action scenes are the star. They’re quite decent for the most part; the best effects were the sands themselves. Their time-bending powers were simply great, like a neatly realized video game trick. Speaking of which, this movie made me want to play one.

The actors, meanwhile, play their best in their stock character roles. The best notice goes to Alfred Molina as an Anti-Tax, Anti-Government Business Sheik. The spotlight’s always on him when he’s around, and with his charismatic exuberance, that’s never a bad thing.

Is this a decent timewaster? Yes, it is. Will it enter the pop-cultural osmosis for all time like producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s Pirates of the Carribean? Not exactly; however, it’s worth to see at least once. And there’s no harm to be undone if you do.