"Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" (2010)

 

This is another live-action Disney adventure, in the style of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, and you can honestly tell. It even shares the same producer, Jerry Bruckheimer. But more than that, it shares a similar, convoluted plot, which I assume would make more sense if I had played any of the "Prince of Persia" games. Sadly, I never got into them, but I nevertheless enjoyed the film for what it was: fantasy action in the tradition of the Arabian Nights.

The stunt-work was absolutely incredible, and I don't envy the shape Jake Gyllenhaal had to get in to be able to perform some of them. But the action is smooth and frequent, without being boring, which is a risk for me in an action film. I was also tremendously impressed with Gyllenhaal's accent - if I didn't know better, I would have assumed he was born British. You are left wondering why everyone in Persia appears to be British, but I'm not objecting to that as British actors are often the best. And it's always good to see Ben Kingsley in anything. He's such a joy to watch, even though I felt he was underused in this. Still, the moments where he got to basically play Claudius from "Hamlet" were wonderful. And Alfred Molina, who appears to be Disney's new character actor, lent his talents to some much-needed and genuinely very funny comic relief. Gemma Arterton was suitably beautiful and regal, although liable to get on one's nerves. This, however, is more the fault of the character than her.

Overall the film looks great, but it's very choppily edited, and, as I've mentioned, the story is very complicated. Gyllenhaal's Prince Dastan, who isn't a real Prince of noble blood, but rather an orphan from the street adopted by the king, invades a rival kingdom with the aid of his brothers and under the advice of his uncle Nizam (Ben Kingsley). Through coincidence (or is it Destiny?) he finds a magic dagger that has the power to turn back time, which has been entrusted to Princess Tamina to keep safe. When Dastan's father is murdered and Dastan blamed for the crime, he and Tamina must flee and return the dagger to its rightful place before it falls into the wrong hands and destroys the world.

Like I said, it's not a very logical film, but it is a good summer blockbuster and handy if you want to watch for escapist entertainment, rather than anything too intellectual. I would also like to give kudos to Richard Coyle, who plays Dastan's brother, Tus. He is, apparently, an alumnus of my University, the University of York, and so I'm proud that he's amounted to something. It gives hope to the rest of us.