Hey FOOLS! If you’ve seen any advertising for Prince of Persia you’ll have noticed Pirates of the Caribbean features heavily in the marketing. So I’m going to hit that on the head first off and then get to the review. Remember the time you saw Pirates of the Caribbean for the first time? There was that sense of adventure and humour about the film that you loved. But that was overshadowed. I call it the Depp factor, the dude was amazing and it overshadowed what a fun film it was without him. Prince of Persia is like Pirates without the Depp factor. It is a sweeping adventure film, with great action sequences, a sprinkling of humour and a charming guy in the lead role. But I’m concerned the usage of the Pirates tag may cause viewers to have the wrong expectations going into a film that I really enjoyed.
The other potential stumbling block for Prince of Persia is that the film is a video game adaptation. Yes, Prince of Persia is based on a video game, but where so many video game adaptations go wrong I believe Prince of Persia finally gives us a good video game film. When you think about it the source material is a pretty solid platform to build on. The premise of Prince of Persia is that the Persian army attack and take control of a sacred city. During the attack Prince Dastan, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, comes into possession of a dagger. A series of spoiler laden events transpire and Dastan is forced to flee from the Persian army accompanied by the sacred city's Princess Tamin, played by Gemma Arterton. As they are hunted Dastan discovers that the dagger has the ability to turn back time and the adventure ensues. I'm going to leave it there because I hate spoilers but there is definitely more plot than I am giving to you.
Director Mike Newell has put together a really big film and whilst a few things didn't quite click (there might need to be a directors cut) it was a really fun film to watch. There were moments of exciting action, humour and some great special effects. Newell does a great job in bringing a lot of large elements together and not ending up with a schimozzle of a film. There are some really big picturesque shots and then some really tight close action scenes. It’s a beautiful film to look at. Prince of Persia has put together a great cast, Jake Gyllenhaal is surprisingly good as Dastan. I knew he was a good actor but he handled the action well, was charming and his accent never once slipped. His stocks have risen in my books. Sadly Gemma Arterton still hasn’t hit the level yet, she felt too cold. I know that was part of her role but even when she began to warm to Dastan the chemistry didn’t quite get there and I don’t think it was Gyllenhaal’s behalf.
The supporting cast does its job well but you just can’t go past how well Ben Kingsley plays a bad guy. He just has an air about his performance that makes you wonder when he will explode, not so much a Sexy Beast Kingsley but an I’m in control but could still go nuts way. I’m really glad Kingsley is avoiding some of the terrible films he’d been in recently, along with Shutter Island he’s been in two really good films this year. But the performance of the film goes to Alfred Molina as the sneaky entrepreneur Sheik Amar. He is surprisingly funny and brings comic relief to the film without it seeming forced or ridiculous, like a pair of racist twin robot cars, and I’m sure if there is a Prince of Persia 2 he will have a recurring role. There will be no complaints here if he does.
I have to mention one scene that I loved and you get a glimpse of it in the trailer, there is a fight sequence between Dastan and one of the Hassassin’s. The one with the freaky whips. The special effects and especially the audio in that sequence was phenomenal. It wasn’t a 3D film yet I wanted to duck because the audio was so real. Actually the Hassassin’s were pretty cool, a group of Assassins who dabble in black magic, killing things with snakes, spikes and whips. You can’t go wrong there. Hopefully they return for any potential sequels.
My gut feeling on how the film will perform is that it may not be as big at cinemas as a Pirates film but it will still do well. Home Cinema will be where a lot of money will be made and I think a sequel will be on its way. Overall it was just a really fun adventure film that the more I think about it the more I want to see it again. It opens this week so I suggest you FOOLS get out there and see it.