A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Date Viewed: 6/1/10

Details:

Jake Gyllenhaal

Gemma Arterton

Ben Kingsley

Alfred Molina

Director: Mike Newell

Score: 1/4

The Review: Another video-game turned movie, where the complications are chronic -- errr, they come from time.

You get the impression this was based on the experiences of any and all western kings who attempted to conquer the lands of the middle East -- not least Alexander -- all of whom paid no attention to the injunction"never get involved in a land war in Asia",even if this be Asia Minor. There's an aging king with three sons -- one an adopted street urchin (Gyllenhaal); some more ambitious or unethical than others -- continued expansion of the empire into troubled territory, a sacred city Alamut that is invaded against explicit orders, magical items hidden therein, a beautiful princess (Arterton), an evil advisor (Kingsley), an endearing con man and thief (Molina), and secret armies of mystic & corrupt Hassansins (yes, that's how it's spelled in the script & credits; I would guess that someone has already trademarked "assassin"), to mention but a few. Yes, Prince of Persia is chock-a-block full of all sorts of plot devices, classic tropes and characters -- not uninteresting, but more than a bit predictable and less well edited than it might have been. But it is rapidly paced, with attractive characters (Arterton), decent SFX and occasional tidbits of almost-witty dialog (but Nick & Nora, it ain't), so you don't notice the passage of time -- even though the under-theme is all about time, choice and consequences.

The title (after the requisitetitular colonicity)comes from the device used to bend time -- a crystal knife filled with sand, a miniature (and portable) version of a vast underground container that plays a role near the end of the film. It's a cute trick, and gives you the opportunity in "game time" to either slow down time, or (in the macro sense) actually undo something -- a "do-over", if you will.

(7-Aug-10)

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