Let me start by saying that I’m not a video game aficionado so I knew nothing about Prince of Persia as far as a video game is concerned; I just knew that it was a movie set in the past, starring Jake Gyllenhaal with longer hair than suits him.  But sometimes it’s good to go into a movie without expectations, because you leave really enjoying it, like I did with this one. Prince of Persia takes place in 6^th Century Persia. Jake is Dastan, the son of the King, who is the more rebellious son (next to his oldest, future-King brother and the middle, hot-headed one) with a noble but saucy personality. The task set forth before our hero is to deal with a dagger that reverses time when the sand is released, prove that he is innocent and noble, oh and save the world. “The moral of this movie for Dastan is to follow his own heart and to influence other people around him, like his brothers,” said Gyllenhaal (via video teleconference). His companion throughout this adventure is Princess Tamina, played by the beautiful and talented Gemma Arterton (who had a small part in the Bond film Quantum of Solace and a large part in the flop remake Clash of the Titans). Sir Ben Kingsley is the King’s brother; and Alfred Molina plays a comical Sheikh Amar, who enjoys racing ostriches.

Here are the reasons that men, women and teens will enjoy this movie, which opens today, May 28^th, in time to kick off the summer movie season.

The Action: Between Dastan running on everything, Parkour style, Ostrich’s racing, relentless assassins with murderous snakes and a blade thrower, the action is fast-paced in this movie. (I had to remind myself to de-tensify.) Jake actually took lessons in Parkour (as well as choreography for sword fighting and horseback riding), and watching Dastan run around buildings and marketplaces is like watching a Bond film, where you say “yeah right,” but still get wrapped up. Even Arterton gets in on the action: “I always sort of saw myself as a little bit of a stunt girl, but never had the opportunity to do it,” she said.

The Players: Between Kingsley and Molina, you have depth of talent and Arterton and Gyllenhaal you have the fresh, young stars

The Story: As Gyllenhaal says, it’s all about following your heart in this tale. But there’s even more to take away than that: a brief historical look at expansionist Persia in the 6^th C.; a fantasy element regarding the dagger’s power; a brewing attraction between Dastan and Tamina that overlaps with their sexual tension.

The Music: Harry Gregson-Williams created an amazing soundtrack that sounds very similar to a Buddha Bar mix—the type of music that makes you feel like you’re in a humid Moroccan den. It flowed beautifully with the amazing scenery.

Tags: Movies

This entry was posted on Friday, May 28th, 2010 at 8:30 am and is filed under art&music. 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.