This year has been full of those movies with hunked out dudes trying to save sacred objects and stop creatures of the gods. Percy Jackson, Clash of the Titans, and now Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, a movie that is surprisingly better than these other two AND it is adapted from a video game, which is the kiss of death in the film world.
Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal) is an orphan who is adopted into the royal family and, as time passes, becomes a major warrior in the Persian army. He ends up being accused of murdering the king, who was the father he never had while learning the powers of a magical, time traveling dagger and the beautiful keeper of said dagger (Gemma Arterton). The goal is to redeem his name to his brothers and uncle and figuring out this royal conspiracy.
I know, I know. By hearing the plot the movie sounds like B-Grade trash, but it actually works very well on the screen. Prince of Persia doesn't fall into that typical video game adaptation cliche of looking like the video game. I'm sure there are some homage shots, but they don't glare out at you like other films (Doom) that feel the need to look like something at an arcade. Do they still have arcades other than Chuck E. Cheese?
The acting isn't bad and when you realize that Ben Kingsley is in this you're amazed out how everyone else can at least keep up. The effects are well done, yet they don't over power the film except during the end when it's almost like a hard drive exploding on the screen. It's a techno mess trying to figure out what the hell is going on. This is really the only problem with the film is the ending. It gets a bit messy.
It's a nice action/adventure piece that isn't as bloated as the other two films that I mentioned earlier. It has a simple plot, simply shot, and it works more than those films. It's a nice popcorn flick that doesn't try to be an overblown piece.
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