The cultural turnaround on video game movies can most accurately be attributed to the recent rush of great titles over the past three or four years. Some pretend that the entire genre was a write-off before the modern era, but there have always been hidden gems in the medium.
ThePrince of Persiafranchise is an important landmark in modern gaming. Breathed into life by Jordan Mechner, the 1989 original is widely believed to have invented the cinematic platformer. Decades later and with Mechner on staff, Ubisoft broke the mold again withThe Sands of Time, whch has been cited by many as one of the best games of all time. The franchise has its dull moments, but it also contains some of the best experiences in the medium. With a pedigree like that, of course someone felt the need to bring it to the big screen.
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Production onPrince of Persia: The Sands of Timebegan in 2004, almost immediately after the release of the game of the same name.Jerry Bruckheimer Films reachedout to Jordan Mechner for the film rights, and despite his desire to craft an animated film out of his iconic story, he couldn’t resist the chance to work with Disney. The catalyst for thePrince of Persiafilm was unquestionably the production company’s earlier blockbuster,The Pirates of the Caribbeanfranchise. There is an immense amount ofPiratesDNA in the finished product, and lessons learned from that franchise informed the production. The costly CGI and rushed production of the sequels led to the six-year break onPrince of Persia, putting together the special effects before shooting really began. Mechner was brought in to write the story, and though he didn’t write the screenplay, his work preserved authenticity without directly adapting the story. Mike Newell, probablybest known forHarry Potterand the Goblet of Fireat the time, was brought in to direct, and the production was on its way.
The film’s narrative takes notes from the game, but expands on its story in several ways. The Prince, unnamed in the first game, is given the name Dastan and a backstory before he sets off on his journey. Dastan is aclassicAladdin-stylestreet urchin who finds himself adopted by the local king after a show of courage. Years later, Dastan is a respected warrior in the Persian army, under the command of his adoptive brother Tus. After the successful invasion of a disloyal city, the brothers make off with a mystical-looking dagger and the area’s princess, to be strategically wed to Tus to end the battle. At the wedding ceremony, Tus gives his brother a robe to give to his father, then immediately blames Dastan when the robe burns the king to death. Tus takes the throne and puts a bounty on his adoptive brother. Dastan is forced to solve his father’s murder, unseat his wicked brother, and figure out the mystery of the mystical dagger in his possession.
Jake Gyllenhaal portrays Dastanin his first big action role. Gyllenhaal is solid as the film’s main character, with exactly the kind of charisma and dry wit that one would expect from the studio’s second try at Jack Sparrow. Gemma Arterton plays opposite him in the role of Princess Tamina, a strong-willed and capable character who is typically the most informed person in any given scene.Alfred Molina has a fun performanceas Dastan’s mentor Sheik Amar, bringing a lot of fun to a largely unnecessary role. Ben Kingsley takes the villain role with typical elegance and grace. The cast is fun across the board and there aren’t any bad performances, even if some members of the supporting cast are less than enthusiastic.
The biggest problem withThe Prince of Persia: The Sands of Timeis the weight placed on its shoulders. Disney was uncharacteristically blatant in their intentions to create a secondPiratesfranchise, describing the video game adaptation as a tent-pole film. This was 2010, after a long history of mostly terrible video game movies and before the recent trend of good ones. Audiences were hesitant to see an adaptation of their favorite game, assuming it would be terrible before the first trailer. The film was released only 10 days beforeThe Forgotten Sands, a reboot of the franchise that received mixed reviews and failed to recapture the franchise’s glory days. A lot was going against thePrince of Persiafilm, and yet, it is asolid action-adventure film.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Timeis easily in the topten video game moviesout there, but that isn’t a terribly high bar. Perhaps more importantly, it’s a solid all-ages movie with some great action set-pieces. Gyllenhaal and Arterton have excellent chemistry, and both are fun in their respective roles. The film even pulls off some fun twists and turns with the Dagger of Time. The film wasn’t as successful as Disney intended, so there won’t be another one — but that means it’s free from the curse of terrible sequels.The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Timeis a fun, well-made film that should stand as an exception from the old video game movie rules.
