Tuesday night, beginning at approximately 21:55 hours, another helpless action flick fell prey to the expectant, critical eyes of myself and the other members of my usual movie-crashing crew.
I’m a fan of the Ubisoft game series, which is what fueled my initial interest in this film. (Okay, I’ve only played the first two games of what’s come to be known as the “The Sands of Time Saga” all the way through. I’m still working on "The Two Thrones”, and actually kind of hated "Warrior Within”.) Granted, I probably would have seen this movie regardless, because it’s an action flick, and it stars Jake Gyllenhaal, and looked like overall good summer entertainment. Playing the games (or even having heard of them) is definitely not a prerequisite. There are multiple instances of homage paid to the games throughout the film, but this film can definitely stand alone as a Disney action/adventure movie. Lots of sword-fighting, flashy CGI and bad dialogue ensues.
The Trailers: Okay… seriously? I think I have viewed the trailer for Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (a.k.a., “that stupid owl movie”) before every single film I’ve gone to see this year. This will probably continue to be the case throughout the summer, because the film is apparently not going to be released until September. Fans of the book series, I’m sure you’re excited, and—yes—I’m sure you’re very deserving of a film based on your favorite, feathery fiction fables (ha!), but I don’t think it’s fair that I have to watch your trailer (and hear all of its bad pop music) over and over and over again at full volume on an enormous screen. I’m just saying…
I also remember seeing trailers for: The Karate Kid (still excited about this one), The A-Team (first time seen on the big-screen), Inception (July 16th can’t come soon enough), and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (Nic Cage, meh). I’m actually a little POed at that last film, because one of my fellow “Prince of Persia” attendees theorized that the release of Disney’s two “Fantasia” films (Fantasia / Fantasia 2000) on Blu-Ray had been delayed to coincide with the DVD/Blu-Ray release of the live-action “Sorcerer’s Apprentice”. (The 1940 Fantasia animated feature debuted the “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” short film starring Mickey Mouse that the new live-action movie is based on.) The timing is about right, with a mid-July release in theaters for the new flick, and the animated “Fantasia” films coming out in December. Thanks a lot, Nic Cage and guy from “She’s Out of My League”.
My Take on Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time: Going into the theater, I’d forgotten that “Prince of Persia” was helmed by Disney. However, my memory was jogged only a few minutes into the film as the very cheesy dialogue began to flow. I don’t know about the rest of my fellow cinephiles, but dialogue can be a deal-breaker for me. When the characters are speaking in a way that in unrealistic and/or cliché, it totally kills the effect. It bothers me, which makes it more difficult to really get absorbed into the film. The petty, overdone bickering between the titular hero, Prince Dastan, and the way-too-independent-and-outspoken-for-that-culture princess, Tamina, showcased some of more poorly-written exchanges. In Pirates of the Caribbean, similar techniques were used, but it was all very tongue-in-cheek, and so it worked. Prince of Persia tries to pull off the same thing while consequently attempting to take itself seriously, and… just… no. It didn’t work for me. The only character who even came close was the comic relief, Alfred Molina’s Sheik Amar.
The SFX and CGI were great, the Parkour was great, and the story worked, for the most part. I would have preferred to see Prince Dastan battling his way through hordes of mindless sand armies throughout the film, but I guess Disney did not want to make a zombie movie. Instead, we are introduced the the “Hassansins”, a group of silent, deadly, and decommissioned warriors that are sicced on our hero later in the film. Their use of various mystical/ancient killing methods makes for some decent fight sequences, and really push Prince Dastan to his limits.
One thing I wanted to see more of was the dagger’s special ability. The writers did not seem to utilize it very much at all. Heck, I used it every couple of minutes during my bouts of Prince of Persia gameplay. Granted, the games offer a quick and easy way to recharge the dagger’s powers whereas they were very limited in the film. (Also, Jake Gyllenhaal plays a much better Prince than I do.)
Overall, a fun action flick with little complexity. If you’ve played (and enjoyed) the games at all, I would recommend at least renting this film. At just under two hours, it’s worth a viewing. If you enjoy Disney’s family friendly action flicks, give it a watch. If you’ve realized and are annoyed by the fact that Gemma Arterton is prone to playing obnoxious characters that waffle back and forth between damsel-in-distress and warrior-chick-wannabe, don’t see this film. (She’s still obnoxious.) If you can’t stand cheesy, family friendly action films, and/or Disney, then go pick up the Sands of Time game for your favorite platform, and play it (or dig it out of your closet and replay it). While I do recommend the film, I highly recommend the game it’s based on. Not as kid-friendly, and Jake Gyllenhaal is not included, but lots of fun, and it may lead to a greater appreciation of the film.
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