Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

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We all know that this is one of those movies that has gone down in cinematic history as something very "white-washed", and I'd like my audience to know that this is not something I'm about to touch with a ten-foot pole. It's a film that's old enough that by now, it's out there, and it can be used as some kind of educational example. I also don't pretend to know anything about these games, namely the one that share's the film's name, and I don't know how accurate things are (I know, surprise, right?). But I will admit something, cards on the table right now. Honestly? I actually enjoyed this.

For a little history, let's turn to my homework on the 'Sands of Time' game. It's a third-person puzzle platformer that follows an unnamed Prince who's father attacks an ancient city. During this, the Prince finds the "Dagger of Time" and his father finds an hour glass containing the "Sands of Time". The Sands are presented as a gift to the Sultan of Azad, but a traitorous Vizier tricks the Prince into releasing the Sands, which in turn transform the townspeople into monsters the Vizier is able to control. The adventure involves the Prince, along with the Sand-educated Farah to set things right, and the game was released to critical acclaim, especially when you could use your dagger to rewind time and fix your mistakes.

The film introduces us to a white boy named Dastan (William Foster) who lives on the streets in Persia, playing 'Aladdin' in his spare time (no, seriously, watch this opening and tell me it's not ripped out of 'Aladdin'). He stands up to some captors after trying to steel some fruit, and impresses King Sharaman (Ronald Pickup) who adopts him. After fifteen years, the King's princes; Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal), Tus (Richard Coyle) and Garsiv (Toby Kebbell) are given the news that the city of Alamut is forging weapons for Persia's enemies. This attack is what leads Dastan to the dagger mentioned in the game description. Alamut falls, and Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton), realizing Dastan holds the sacred dagger, agrees to marry Tus in order to unite their nations... makes sense.

Anyway, this eventually leads to the death of the King, Garsiv accusing Dastan of murder, and Tus being appointed King, setting a bounty on the heads of both Dastan and Tamina. So it pretty well ends up being an "on the run" adventure movie, and the adventure and action here is actually pretty solid. There's more to the overall plot that involves actors like Ben Kingsley, but I could be here forever unfolding plot point after plot point. The key factor here is that the film, though containing elements from the game, is not the same story. This is always something that I understand when it comes to criticism about video game movies. A movie has to work in a certain way where a game can jam more information into it. For example, I don't know the reason he's unnamed in the game, or if he's ever given a name, but it might have been pointless to have him nameless.

I'm going to go ahead and imagine that as an adaptation of the game, it probably dropped the ball. But if the game never existed, and perhaps the white-wash fact wasn't a thing (I know what I said about touching the subject, but still) this could have just been the next fun Disney adventure flick. It's another case of all the right elements being there, but the execution leaves a little to be desired. Although I do enjoy it for what it is, it might be a good example of it being a good movie if it wasn't called 'Prince of Persia'. This is more a matter of me being disappointed for fans of the established and very well received game. But perhaps it can be used as an example of why we really don't need a 'Last of Us' movie? Anyway, for me, passable. For others, I totally get it if it's not.

3/5

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