Computer game series and blockbusters. They don’t tend to mix very well. There have been many attempts to transfer the energy and excitement of a popular game series into a great action movie and these attempts usually fall flat on their face. Street Fighter, Super Mario Bros. Mortal Kombat and more recently Resident Evil and Dead or Alive were not very popular by any means. Even Tomb Raider came under extreme fire, though not by me because of its star actress. So needless to say, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time had a difficult path to follow. The game series creator Jordan Mechner was involved in the making of this film and I’d like to say that helped but it didn’t appear to. I did notice some interesting rapid paced point of view shots at the beginning very reminiscent of a computer game but these didn’t stick around for very long, leaving behind what I would have felt an interesting style to take.

Directed by Mike Newell, this tale is one of Kings, Princes and Noblemen. We meet Dastan played by Jake Gyllenhaal in medieval Persia where he is on the run after being framed for a crime against his family. He discovers that he is in possession of a dagger that can turn back time. Of course, the owner of the dagger- Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) is desperate to have it back to safety and so the two are thrown together on an adventure that is torn by two paths. Dastan wants to prove his innocence which the dagger can help him do and Princess Tamina hopes to destroy the dagger before it falls into the wrong hands. The chemistry between the two leads left a lot to be desired, the writing tried to made the pair humorous but it failed to deliver in my opinion leaving moments to be cringed at rather than laughed at. The only humour in the film comes from Alfred Molina, the rest of the acting had me laughing at it, not with it. Prince of Persia also featured my most hated action movie moment- ‘I’ve been trying to kill you for this entire film, now allow me to leave the room and have my minion take care of this because I just know I’ll never see you again.’ A movie that centers around a time traveling dagger has a lot of potential but there is not nearly enough use of time travel in this plot. Time travel is used in a lazy way, to clear up lose ends and plot holes rather than to drive the story along.

Watch it if you dare, but you’ll probably be looking for a time travelling dagger afterwards to go back and chose a different film instead. Prince of Persia should stick to being a computer game.

The two points are for special effects as a lot of effort went in there and I found the films’ extremely loose critique on destroying a city for weapons of mass destruction that didn’t exist mildly interesting.

Recommended for: People who like action sequences, special effects fans, those who like to laugh at terrible acting, admirers of Jake Gyllenhaal who want to see him run around being all muscly.

Not recommended for: Everyone else.

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