Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

Director:

Mike Newell

Writers (WGA):

Boaz Yakin (screenplay) and
Doug Miro (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

28 May 2010 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

Defy the Future

Plot:

A young fugitive prince and princess must stop a villain who unknowingly threatens to destroy the world with a special dagger that enables the magic sand inside to reverse time.

Plot Keywords:

Princess | Persia | Prince | Alamut | Race

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Jake Gyllenhaal	...	Dastan
Gemma Arterton	...	Tamina
Ben Kingsley	...	Nizam
Alfred Molina	...	Sheik Amar
Steve Toussaint	...	Seso
Toby Kebbell	...	Garsiv
Richard Coyle	...	Tus
Ronald Pickup	...	King Sharaman
Reece Ritchie	...	Bis
Gísli Örn Garðarsson	...	Hassansin Leader
Claudio Pacifico	...	Hassansin Porcupine
Thomas DuPont	...	Hassansin Whip Man
Dave Pope	...	Hassansin Giant Scimitar
Domonkos Pardanyi	...	Hassansin Double-Bladed Halberd
Massimilano Ubaldi	...	Hassansin Long Razor

Also Known As:

"Dagger" - Philippines (English title) (review title)
"Prince of Persia" - USA (short title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action.

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.44 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #45718) | Denmark:11 | UK:12A | Ireland:12A | South Korea:12 | Finland:K-13 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Portugal:M/12 | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Norway:11 | Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | Philippines:PG-13 | Hong Kong:IIA | Argentina:13 | Peru:PT | Netherlands:12 | Japan:G | Brazil:12 | Malaysia:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

Rey-Phillip Santos was replaced by actor Toby Kebbell due to a motorcycle accident on location.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the end of the first battle of the Holy City of Alamut, Tus has a small cut on his right cheek with blood running down his face, but in the next scene, the blood and the cut are gone, and there is no scar.

Quotes:

King Sharaman:[to Dastan] The princess of Alamut will be your first wife!
[Dastan looks amazed and Tamina looks uncomfortable]
King Sharaman:What say you, Dastan?
Prince Dastan:Uh...
King Sharaman:He plunges into a hundred foes without falter, but before marriage he stands frozen with fear!
Prince Dastan:I need a drink.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)

Soundtrack:

Whirling

Entertaining summer romp

Movies are like food. There are some which are bitter and hard to swallow yet nutritious in every aspect, and those which are tasty albeit fattening. "Prince Of Persia" falls in the latter category, it's fun to watch and enjoyable, and where intelligence doesn't really matter.

With Jerry Bruckheimer producing, lots of action, adventure and excitement are promised. With "Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time" he continues that promise. The film, from start to finish, is filled with well-choreographed sword-fighting action, fantastic special effects, sweepingly exotic scenery, lavish production design, and a good, sweeping music score by Harry Gregson-Williams. During the action scenes the camera does not shake that much compared to recent movies... although I admit there are one too many slow-motion sequences, that (although gorgeous to look at) distracts the audience too much. However Bruckheimer has a thing for slo-mo, so he's excused. The screenplay is about what you'd expect for a Hollywood-filmed Arabian adventure.

The actors did a good job with the material they're given. Jake Gyllenhaal emits sex appeal and charisma throughout, walking through the film with ease. And he's quite good with the action sequences and fighting! Jake, welcome to the action hero club. A big surprise though is Gemma Arterton's performance as Princess Tamina; it is a HUGE improvement from her bland performances in "Quantum Of Solace" and "Clash Of The Titans"; here Arterton manages to inject wit, charm AND emotion into her character, not to mention looking gorgeous at the same time. However I was slightly disappointed by Ben Kingsley's performance - a two dimensional villain. Granted, Kingsley acted great in the role but I felt like it just didn't match to his standards. Alfred Molina has a funny supporting role and the rest of the cast did quite a good job, although I wish a little characterization would come from this.

Still, Mike Newell's tight direction manage to put all these amazing factors together, thus he and Bruckheimer not only made an entertaining summer blockbuster, they also made arguably one of, if not the, best movies based on a video game ever. Period.

In short, if you want to take a little escape from reality, go back in time to "Prince of Persia" and enjoy. It's fun and light on the brain.

Entertainment value: 9/10

Overall: 7/10