What is the major benefit of watching a video-game based movie over playing the original game? My answer is: the protagonists would never be defeated in movies, no matter how bad a game player you are.
This week I'm looking at Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, a Walt Disney production that derives from a video game dating back to 1989.
Our hero Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a street orphan in ancient Persia. When he evades soldiers by bounding through a Middle East bazaar (people today call it "Parkour"), King Sharaman is quite impressed by his bravery and dexterity and hereby adopts him, making Dastan the new Persian prince.
Years later we see Dastan grows to be a mighty warrior and gets involved in an attack on the holy city of Alamut, where he encounters the beautiful Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton).
Then King Sharaman is murdered, and Dastan is fingered for the crime. The embattled prince goes on the run with Tamina, trying to prove his innocence and at the same time protect a special dagger containing the sands of time, which can control time.
I think you wouldn't be surprised to see that the villain is finally revealed and hence the prince and princess lead a happy life. As a Hollywood blockbuster featuring special effects, the movie has a script you can sketch in the first 20 minutes. In spite of that, viewers would also be enchanted by a fancy world of old Iran, even if the movie is set mostly in Morocco. That seems an idea borrowed from Pirates of the Caribbean, whose exotic setting has stuck in the minds of many people.
To say the least, audiences could get a smattering of Persian history from the movie. For example, Alamut is a real Persian city about 100 km from present-day Tehran. But you cannot expect its throng of characters to abide by the manners and attitudes 1000 years ago as well. It is the Disney spirit and humour that is instilled into the cast to make it a prospective hit. A good demonstration of this can be seen as the desert ostrich racing kicks off, which would provoke a riot of laughter among movie goers.
The movie's leading actor Jake Gyllenhaal is another highlight. Pinned down as a gay man of sensibility after starring in Brokeback Mountain in 2004, the young actor at long last revives a devil-may-care and valiant Persian prince, partially thanks to his mixed blood . At the same time, he abandons the Wyoming accent and picks up an English one. But here is something I never understand: why does a Persian story presented by Hollywood have to use an English accent? Would an American accent after all undermine their performance ?
On my 1 to 10 movie scale, I give this movie an enjoyable SEVEN.
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