Based
on
the
video
game
series
created
by
Jordan
Mechner,
Prince
of
Persia:
The
Sands
of
Time
begins
with
Dastan
(William
Foster)
as
an
orphaned
boy
being
rescued
in
the
marketplace
by
King
Sharaman
(Ronald
Pickup).
The
king
adopts
him
and
he
is
raised
as
a
prince
(Jake
Gyllenhaal)
along
with
the
king's
real
sons,
Tus
(Richard
Coyle)
and
Garsiv
(Toby
Kebbell).
Nizam
(Ben
Kingsley),
the
kings'
brother,
becomes
Dastan's
closest
confidante.
There
must
always
be
a
beautiful
princess,
so
enter
Tamina
(Gemma
Arterton),
ruler
of
the
neighbouring
kingdom
of
Alamut,
which
Tus
has
been
forbidden
by
his
father
to
invade.
Nizam,
however,
has
convinced
Tus
that
these
religious
people
are
hording
a
cache
of
WMDs,
a.k.a.
swords,
knives,
etc.,
and
they
must
be
attacked.
As
it
turns
out,
he's
really
after
a
holy
dagger
that
holds
the
'Sands
of
Time",
capable
of
turning
back
time
and
allowing
whomever
possesses
the
dagger
to
rule
the
world.
The
plot
is
a
whole
lot
of
nonsense
that
only
occasionally
makes
sense.
Where
the
film
delivers
is
in
some
impressive
action
scenes
and
the
confirmation,
with
the
introduction
of
the
Alfred
Molina
character,
that"s
really
just
out
to
have
fun.
Director
Mike
Newell
toes
the
line
of
staging
some
entertaining
adventure
scenes
while
simultaneously
keeping
the
spirit
of
the
video
game
alive.
Effective
comic
relief
comes
as
the
hand
of
Molina,
who
has
some
of
the
better
comedic
dialogue
and
delivery.
The
action
is
aplenty
and
the
visual
effects
are
serviceable,
if
underwhelming.
Jake
Gyllenhaal
doesn"t
make
for
a
very
engaging
hero
and
probably
has
the
worst
accent
since
Nicholas
Cage
in
Con
Air.
On
the
bright
side,
he
has
bulked
up
and
the
stone-faced
image
actually
plays
into
the
film"s
hands.
Gemma
Arterton
of
Quantum
of
Solace
fame,
makes
for
an
attractive
princess
but
as
a
foil
for
Dastan
she"s
not
quite
up
to
snuff.
Sir
Ben
Kingsley
is
excellent
as
usual.
Alfred
Molina
is
the
show-stopper
in
every
scene
he
appears.
With
a
light
tone
and
fast-paced
action,
the
film
succeeds
at
what
it"s
going
for
and
passes
the
muster
as
a
cool
entertainer
in
this
scorching
summer.
Do
give
it
a
try
if
you
have
nothing
else
to
do.
Cast:
Jake
Gyllenhaal,
Gemma
Arterton,
Ben
Kingsley
Director:
Mike
Newell