Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010, Period Fantasy Action Adventure) – 7/10 movie review

Cast / crew Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer Director: Mike Newell Writer (Screenplay) Based on the Video Game Series Prince of Persia: Boaz Yakin Writer (Screenplay) Based on the Video Game Series Prince of Persia: Doug Miro Writer (Screenplay) Based on the Video Game Series Prince of Persia: Carlo Bernard Writer (Screen Story) Based on the Video Game Series Prince of Persia: Jordan Mechner Writer (Video Game Series Creator) Prince of Persia: Jordan Mechner Executive Producer: Jordan Mechner Jake Gyllenhaal: Dastan Ben Kingsley: Nizam Gemma Arterton: Tamina Alfred Molina: Sheikh Amar

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, The (2010) Dastan, an orphan boy taken in and adopted by a benevolent, wise Persian King as his own, is instrumental in conquering a city that is selling weapons to enemies of Persia. His trophy is an ornate dagger which holds power he didn’t even know existed. 7/10 Once again a fine enough movie is undermined by editing action scenes into forgettable shapeless mush. An action sequence is a little mini-movie: it should have a story, a beginning, middle and end. It’s geography should be clear and the flow of the battle should be logical. A flurry of activity is not the same. It’s a big shame as the rest of the movie is rather good. The biggest and best thing is clearly Alfred Molina’s character and part in the story but leads Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton are also good in their more traditional adventure movie roles as hero and heroine. A generous seven, maybe, but the ending after the action climax is touching and shows genuine character development. After The Sorcerer’s Apprentice this is another 2010 Jerry Bruckheimer production that I enjoyed more and was rather better than it’s lacklustre marketing and box office haul indicated. This movie contains violence. Classified 12A by BBFC. Persons under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult.

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