Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (PPST) is the based on the video game of the same name. It follows the adventures of Dastan, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, a young peasant boy found in the streets of Persia by King Sharaman and raised as one of the princes of Persia. He grows up and becomes a great warrior with the Persian army, which launches an assault on the city of Alamur, a Holy city that Sharaman instructs his sons not to attack but which do so anyway at the behest of the king's brother, Nizam.

When they do, find the Princess of Alamur, Tamina, who is then promised to Dastan as a reward for his exploits. The King joins the group to celebrate the victory, but when he puts on a cloak that Dastan presents to him as a gift, he is burned alive. This prompts everyone to think Dastan killed the king, making him a fugitive. Dastan unknowingly stumbles upon a powerful weapon: a special dagger that, when filled with the appropriate sand and pressed in the right spot, can rewind time for about 1 minute, aware to only the dagger's user. Because Tamina has sworn to protect the dagger, they both go on the run.

The film then spends the rest of its time following each of them while they go on their journeys, try to figure out who is behind the king's death, who is trying to steal the Sands of Time dagger, and watching as they grow closer together. There's nothing about this plot that is surprising or dramatic, but I like that the film doesn't take itself too seriously: it has fun at each point along the way to its inevitable conclusion, and the way that the story wraps up is pretty clever considering the source material. For a video game movie, I was pleased - I got what I came for.

Along the film's journey Tamina and Dastan get in numerous scrapes with the Persian army and meet some interesting characters, including Sheik Amar, played with gusto by the always reliable Alfred Molina. While Gyllenhaal is the star of the movie, Molina is the acting standout. He shines in every scene he's in and is warm, charming, and funny. He continues to cement himself as one of the best supporting actors in Hollywood.

While the film does a great job of making action sequences that improve upon the fight sequences seen in the game, which is to be expected, one of the great charms and reasons for the success of the video game, the thought-provoking puzzles, is lost for the movie. That too is also to be expected; unlike an active gamer, who can control the advancement of the story and feel a sense of accomplishment by completing the puzzles, a passive audience member would probably get extremely frustrated by watching Dastan jump through puzzle hoops to get to the film's conclusion. Impatience with the "extra" would cripple the movie.

I have to give the film credit: it pays homage to the video game in certain spots without disrupting the flow of the movie. In the beginning they use a camera movement that mimics the beginning of one of the game's chapters; later on, Dastan shows some of the Persian soldiers how to walk up a wall, which mirrors how he does it in the game. These little nods are appreciated by me since it enriches the experience for anyone that has played the game.

I think when you compare PPST to other movies based on video games (Super Mario Brothers, Mortal Kombat, or Street Fighter, for example), it really is a standout. It's a quick two hours and doesn't insult the intelligence of its audience. It knows exactly what it is and sticks to its roots. Personally, I wouldn't use the Sands of Time dagger to rewind my experience. And you really can't ask for anything more.