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 PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME (BLU-RAY/DVD COMBO + DIGITAL COPY) |
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| Featuring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina, Richard Coyle |
| Director: Mike Newell |
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Distributor: Walt Disney Video |
| DVD release: 14 September 2010 |
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Runtime: 116 min.
(3 discs) |
| Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen, Blu-ray |
| DVD features: 1080p HD, Aspect ratio 2.40:1, Audio tracks (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 - English; Dolby Digital 5.1 -
French, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1), An Unseen World: Making Prince of Persia, Deleted scene, CineExplore: The Sands of Time, Sneak peeks, BD-Live
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 Why does Hollywood feel the need to make movies of successful video game franchises? How often does this work for them? When is Tetris coming out? Prince of Persia was a video game first released in 1989 for the Apple II. You remember those big old beasts with their dual 5-1/4" floppy drives? It's been available on many gaming and computer platforms since then, so maybe it's only natural that Jerry Bruckheimer should try to whore it out for a few bucks.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is set sometime between 224 and 651 AD and centers on Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal), a poor but brave orphan. He is adopted by the king (Ronald Pickup), who sees the bravery in this child when he defends his brother against the heavy-handed discipline of one of the king's soldiers (although you'd think that a king who appreciates kindness and selflessness would also employ a soldier with a similar vision). Anyway, King Sharaman adopts Dastan and raises him as his own son - a "prince of Persia," if you will, separate but equal to his blue-blooded brothers.
Flash forward 15 years. Dastan and his brothers, Garsiv (Toby Kebbell) and Tus (Richard Coyle), and their uncle Nizam (Ben Kingsley - uh-oh...) are considering whether or not to attack the sacred city of Alamut. Garsiv decides to go for it. Dastan, who plays a key role in the capture of the city, is later accused of killing the king and must run and attempt to prove his innocence. Naturally he gets coupled up with the lovely Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) of Alamut.
There are chase scenes, ostriches, explosions (it's Bruckheimer, after all) and as many scenes as possible of Gyllenhaal flexing his impressive physique (he's bulked up for the film, much different than in Donnie Darko ). He's managed to 'organize' (as my grandfather called his spoils of war) a dagger that can send you back in time several seconds for a do-over. That can be done as often as needed - until the sand in the handle (the Sands of TimeT) run out. Dastan is limited on refills so must use them wisely.
Prince of Persia has a somewhat intricate plot that may be too confusing for some children yet too full of holes for some adults. Despite plot holes big enough to drive a caravan of camels through, it's entertaining. If you can turn off your analytical processes when you see it, you might have a good time. It's not good enough to put into constant rotation, but it's worth seeing once.
The Blu-ray combo pack comes with a DVD and a digital copy and blazes with a rich, beautiful picture and a thundering soundtrack. Bonuses include featurettes that can be viewed within the film - just click on the dagger to access.
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