Movies based on video games have a bad reputation in general. Some of it may be warranted...Super Mario Brothers was a huge mess, but others have been decent movies I think. So I was interested in
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time when I saw the trailers.
As a child, Dastan does something that impresses the King, who decides to adopt the orphan even though he already has two sons, Tus and Garsiv. 15 years later, the brothers are leading the army against enemies of Persia. Nizam, the brother of the King is also with the brothers and he seems to be a sort of advisor to Tus. Nizam has information that Alamut, a holy city, has been making weapons for Persia's enemies. Tus decides to attack the city. Dastan doesn't agree with the decision, but he does his part, managing to gain access to the city with less casualties. The King arrives after the battle, only to be murdered with Dastan blamed. Dastan goes on the run with Tamina, the princess of the city. Dastan then discovers that the dagger he got during the battle has the ability to turn back time. He wants to use the dagger to prove his innocence while Tamina is determined to protect the dagger and make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands.
I have never played any of the Prince of Persia video games, so I have no idea how much of the plot is pulled from the game and how much is created just for the movie. I do think the plot is interesting and works for an action movie. There is a little bit of mystery tied to who is really behind the death of the king, but it doesn't take much to figure everything out. Some of what happens is more predictable, which will probably disappoint some viewers. I think the movie is still fun and entertaining overall even with the predictability. There is a good amount of action in the movie provided from the various fights that Dastan gets into. He also does a lot of running and jumping with some acrobatic moves as well. The violence isn't that graphic or extreme. A bit of humor turns up every so often, mostly from Sheik Amar, a sort of criminal guy who runs fixed ostrich races.
The characters are fine, though none of them are developed that much. There are hints of romance between Dastan and Tamina even though not much related to that is shown. Both of them shown a bit of skin in a few scenes, though there is no nudity. Dastan looks really good without his shirt. The cast all does well with their parts. Dastan is different from the other parts I've seen Jake Gyllenhaal play.
The plot could have been a bit stronger and the character development could have been better, but the movie works as a fun adventure type action movie. It works as a mindless action movie.
I did get a review posted on Epinions.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
