Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
NOTE: Although I will do my very best to not give any spoilers during this review it is going to be quite detailed. Therefore if you want to enter the film with literally NO IDEA of what may happen then this review is not for you. However if you want an outside opinion on the plot (not the plot in detail as that would make this one big Wikipedia style spoiler-fest), characters and other areas of the film then please read on!!
Plot: I’ve heard many many different opinions on the plot of this Prince of Persia film. I cannot approach it from the point of view of a gamer (because this is essentially a live action video game to movie adaptation) so I shall therefore talk about the plot of the film from the point of view of the average cinema goer who’s only foray into Prince of Persia games came in the form of one afternoon of pressing arrow keys on a keyboard whilst playing some archaic form of the Prince of Persia when it was still on floppy disk. The story centres on poor orphan turned Prince, Dastan, who was taken from the streets when a boy by the King and welcomed into the royal family. I’ll admit the reasons behind this act of generosity are shaky at best. I can’t quite see a King being impressed by a ragamuffin and then taking him in as his son as a result. But I suppose it is so because the writers wrote it and it helped the plot and therefore I chose to accept it and move on (though I admit it was with little grace). Fast forward fifteen years and Dastan along with his two Princely brothers (next in line to the throne Tus and military orientated second son Garsiv) and Uncle Nizam are planning to attack the sacred city of Alamut. The reason is that spies think that Alamut are providing weapons for enemies of Persia. However there is something much more precious than weapons in Alamut. Princess Tamina, who appears to be the monarch which rings strange with me as I assumed that if a person is monarch they are a King or a Queen…not a Princess, cannot defend the city and her armies soon fall to the Persians. A marriage alliance is to be created with Tus and Tamina to solidify the bond between the two kingdoms (it is mentioned that Tut already has many wives and on several occasions it is hinted that he has “more than enough”). However when the King arrive things take a sinister turn and Dastan is forced to go on the run from his own family. With no one to turn to except the beautiful and very treacherous Princess the question is; will Dastan ever be reconciled with his family and will he survive the film? I thought that although there were a couple of silly moments throughout the general plot of the film was very well written. There were several amazing action sequences which really kept the film going but with those excluded the plot still held my attention and made me want to keep watching until the climatic and, in my view, completely right and worthwhile, end. Not for the deep thinkers or lovers of beautifully crafted scenes of well acted emotion and internal struggle but great for the sword fight, epic battle, desperate quest loving cinema goers out there.
Plot: 8/10
Characters
Prince Dastan: Jake Gyllenhaal – I have never been a Jake Gyllenhaal fan. Indeed I don’t really like him all that much. However in this film I did enjoy his performance. This might have something to do with the fact that his role needed very little acting. It was all jumping from roof top to roof top, sword fights and visually spectacular CGI scenes. I went to see the film with a friend and she pronounced him “delicious” although I don’t see it myself. The fact that he isn’t exactly well cast in terms of looks (let’s face it Princes of Persia were not tanned white guys) I didn’t really notice that and it certainly didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the film. As for the character himself I didn’t find anything (except for his strange adoption into the Royal family) to annoy me with the character or his portrayal. Nice work from Gyllenhaal all told.
Princess Tamina: Gemma Arterton – Yes she has been in nigh on every action film this year. But her role in Prince of Persia is so much better than in Clash of the Titans. She gets a chance to actually act and she shows something I haven’t seen her do before: witty. She is very very good at it as well. She and Gyllenhaal, whilst not sharing much romantic chemistry, do mocking and verbal sparring very well. I like her anyway but I like her more after seeing this. As for the character Tamina is a very religious Princess set with a sacred duty to defend a mysterious dagger which if used correctly has power over time itself. Great performance…shame about the lack of romantic chemistry though.
Nizam: Ben Kingsley – I haven’t seen many Ben Kingsley films but I really enjoyed him in this. He plays the morally dubious Uncle very well. You’re never quite sure where you stand with Nizam and Kingsley gets that across beautifully. Nizam is the advisor to not only the King (who is his brother) but also his nephews and we see him advising Tus and the King often during the film. Can’t complain about Kingsley…never can if truth be told.
Tus: Richard Coyle – I didn’t even know anything about this character or the actor who plays him until I watched the film. He may have been in the trailer. He may not have. Either way I love him. The performance is subtle in many ways. Tus is the Crown Prince, next in line for the throne, and as such there is a lot of pressure on him to behave like a King in the making. However he has a lot of counsel from his brothers and Uncle and at several points he doesn’t seem to know what he should do for the best. This comes across very well and I will certainly be looking out for Coyle again in the future.
Garsiv: Toby Kebbell – Another played down character which I really enjoyed. Garsiv is nothing like either of his brothers. He is very much a military man and given the choice between attack and talk he will always attack. Like with Kingsley I was never sure until towards the middle of the film which side Garsiv was on and this “it could go either way” portrayal was done very well.
Other mentionable characters include: Sheik Amar played by Alfred Molina who is an ex slave turned ostrich racing entrepreneur who provides excellent comic relief throughout the film, Seso played by Steve Toussaint who has one of the best action scenes in the film and is another ex slave who is a master of throwing knives and the various Hassansins who include; Gísli Örn Garðarsson, Claudio Pacifico, Thomas DuPont and Dave Pope who all conducted brilliant action roles and were very frightening.
Characters: 8/10
Visual Effects: Spectacular is a word I rarely use when describing films but the use of CGI was spectacular in this film. Every action sequence could almost be passed for real (and indeed unless you’re looking for the signs of CGI they could be without doubt thought to be real) and some of the created back drops, fight sequences and of course the use of the dagger when turning back time were brilliant to look at.
Visual Effects: 9.5/10
Soundtrack: Usually I will only mention the soundtrack if it is truly something to talk about but at several times in the movie I found myself marvelling at the music created to accompany the film. Scenes were enhanced a hundred fold by dramatic music or, in the inverse, quiet, calm music could be used to show the mood of the characters slipping into something more intimate. The theme song, sung by Alanis Morissette, called I Remain was a nice surprise as well and I stayed through the credits to listen to it. Another great score from Harry Gregson-Williams (think Narnia and Kingdom of Heaven soundtracks).
Soundtrack: 10/10
Conclusion: This is a film for action fans. It could also be a film for those who like fantasy and also for those who like something historically based. As I like all three it is perfect for me. I feel one of the main reasons that critics aren’t loving this film as much as I did is because they’re taking it far to seriously. This isn’t a drama. This is an action/adventure movie with a big helping of fantasy which is great to loose yourself in for a couple of hours. A billion times better than the devil incarnate showing in the next screen (Sex and the City 2…*shudders in horror*) and definitely worth a view.
Overall: 9/10
