The Gown Student Newspaper at Queen's University Belfast

REVIEW: Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

The latest Bruckheimer production sees the uneasy transformation of a well loved console game to a hopeful silver screen blockbuster.  It’s hard to see how this film could be the success that so many others of the same thematic conversion have failed to break even on, but believe me when I say it’s from another mindset to those familiars.  Disney have yet again managed to draw up the perfect entertainment package, including unusually good lead actors and a decent attempt to mimic the source of the production.

BY LAURA SHEARER

Director Mike Newell’s previous big budget accomplishments, including Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) and Mona Lisa Smile (2003), make him the ideal addition to the team as he proves he can handle large scale, but also studio pressure.  All that built the empire that is the Pirates of the Caribbean saga can be found here, so brace yourself for a well rounded presentation of that infamous winning formula that Bruckheimer has eloquently mastered.

The opening looks very reminiscent of The Mummy trilogy, with the narrator and the maps, a rough attempt at historical placement, and a dreamlike quality from the soft focus of the camera.  Very quickly we are enveloped in the exoticism of the ancient land and for a moment we forget the origin of the film.  Yet even early on the film kind of tries to permit a small homage to its game source.  The strategic planning of the castle attack is accompanied by a camera that swivels around the prince’s descriptions, giving the sensation of moving around models.  During storming the castle there is that nostalgic game quality, but instead of the player having control, the passive viewer witnesses with little thrill.  As the prince looks around the camera takes his point of view, shakily depicting the game player moving the joysticks to gain a scope of the area.  This is a fairly adequate look at how a game can be turned into a film, but it doesn’t stand for much in this adaptation sadly.

On a more positive note, there’s that entertaining lightweight feel to the script, even if it is quite cheesy.  Some sources of comedy include a ringleader slave who loves his duty free and racing ostriches, but then there’s the love plot between our two protagonists.  What immediately struck me as a bad career move for Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton, because it really doesn’t involve much acting, turns out to be perhaps what their careers needed in mainstream terms.  These are successfully mixed in with a strong heroic narrative, an almost confusing time travel theme and the mystical undertones of the main storyline.  You’ve got yourself a modern blockbuster that is the perfect warm-up to the forthcoming huge budgets of this summer.

Surprisingly there is a lot of skilled choreography in the fight scenes.  Well rehearsed blade-work is always impressive on a large scale and there are some lovely fast paced archery shots.  The editing of the action sequences goes beyond expectations and is clearly enhanced by the settings.  Regardless of how accurate, the locations are well presented and look extremely lush as far as fantasy scenery goes.  From the barren desert landscapes to the highly detailed props, even if it’s not very believable, they do definitely bring an extra hint of luxury to the screen.  I fail to see how money hasn’t oddly enough been well spent on this production.  The time spent in the cinema is pure indulgent escapism, which isn’t at all challenging or thought provoking, so in many respects a great popcorn flick.

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This entry was posted on Friday, May 28th, 2010 at 2:05 pm and is filed under Arts + Ents. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.