Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time 2010 – movie review by Kate

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time 2010 movie reviews by Kate

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Rating: PG-13  for intense sequences of violence and action

Genre: Action/Adventure

Staring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley

Director: Mike Newell

Plot: Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films present “Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time,” an epic action-adventure set in the mystical lands of Persia. A rogue prince named Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal) reluctantly joins forces with a mysterious princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) and together, they race against dark forces to safeguard an ancient dagger capable of releasing the Sands of Time—a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world. Directed by Mike Newell (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) with a cast that includes Sir Ben Kingsley and Alfred Molina, and a screenplay by Boaz Yakin and Doug Miro & Carlo Bernard from a screen story by Jordan Mechner, “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” hits theaters Memorial Day weekend 2010. –© Walt Disney

Running time: 1:54

Kate says - 3 stars “If you go into this movie expecting a fast paced-swashbuckling-action-adventure-summer-popcorn-blockbuster-epic type movie, you won’t be in the least bit disappointed. If you go into Prince of Persia expecting Oscar worthy performances, a deep message and meaningful dialogue…well you will find the movie lacking. But if that’s what you were expecting, then you haven’t been paying attention to the previews and the hype. It’s a Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates of the Caribbean ring a bell?) film based on a video game, after all, and it delivers exactly what you’d expect it to deliver. It’s a good old fashioned feeling action adventure, so just sit back and enjoy it for what it is. Let the summer begin!”

Ebert says -2 stars “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” is a children’s story beefed up to appeal to young teens. It’s based on a video game, but don’t make me play it…The two leads are not inspired. Jake Gyllenhaal could make the cover of a muscle mag, but he plays Dastan as if harboring Spider-Man’s doubts and insecurities. I recall Gemma Arterton as resembling a gorgeous still photo in a cosmetics ad. If the two actors had found more energy and wit in their roles.” (read full review)

Michael Phillips (Chicago Tribune) says – 2 1/2 stars “Prince of Persia” combines the mythic bombast of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” outings with the peppy brainlessness of the “National Treasure” films. Working with a credible lower-class-British dialect, that great Persian actor Jake Gyllenhaal stars as the grown-up street urchin adopted by the king… It’s sort of fun, certainly more so than the “National Treasure” pictures, as well as less manic (a little less) than the recent “Mummy” films.” (read full review)

Betsy Sharkey (Los Angeles Times) says – 3 1/2 stars (of 5) “With apologies to Ben Franklin, the only things certain in life are death, taxes and that a Jerry Bruckheimer film will do its bombastic best to pummel, pound and, now, parkour you into submission. “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” is all that — deaths by the thousands and the sort of spectacular spectacle possible with a rumored budget of $150 million and change…There’s just a frothiness to Gyllenhaal that he can’t seem to suppress — it even lurks behind Dastan’s sneer — and it never fails to take the edge off. Too bad. That leaves us with a prince in need, when what we really need is prince indeed.” (read full review)

Lisa Schwarzbaum (Entertainment Weekly) says – B “As sword-and-sandal fantasy movies based on videogames and starring a buffed-up Jake Gyllenhaal go, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time goes pretty well. To the credit of director Mike Newell (drawing on his Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire wrangling skills), a conclave of screenwriters who keep the dialogue on the sharp side, and the life’s-a-game instincts of producer Jerry Bruckheimer, all that Arabian Nights-like stuff unfolds at a brisk, well-paced clip.” (read full review)

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