Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

 

Considering the vast lore some videogames have, it is all the more surprising that so few videogames have translated well to film. Maybe because it's either superfluous or the filmmakers decided they needed to veer too far from the source? Whatever the case may be, this adaptation of the classic franchise isn't too shabby. It's nothing special, but if you're in the mood for a lighthearted adventure, you could do worse.

You could also do better, but that's neither here nor there.

In ancient Persia, a street urchin is brought into the home of the king to grow up as a prince alongside the two actual sons of the king. Several years later and the trio is on their way to halt enemies of the state when they come across the holy city of Alamut. Reports state that the city is supporting Persian enemies, even though this city is actually off limits for attack. Nevertheless, the city is taken and Dastan discovers a mysterious dagger that has the ability to turn back time. But when he is framed for the murder of the king, Dastan and princess Tamina have to escape and find a way to stop whomever is responsible from acquiring the dagger. 

Dastan believes it to be his eldest brother, but soon discovers there is a lot more happening than he at first believed. 

Also also: of course Dastan and Tamina grow closer after at first hating each other's guts. You know this was coming.

Is this a good film? Not necessarily. It can be quite entertaining if you don't set the bar too high. It is a fairly generic adventure film that just got more exposure thanks to the name slapped on, but if you cut away the dagger, it could have been pretty much anything. In fact, even the dagger doesn't play that big a part in the story as a whole and except for some parkouring, it doesn't really have all that much to do with the games. Also: none of the actors are actually remotely close to looking Persian. 

I will say the production design is nice, and Jake Gyllenhaal does look fairly close to the character from the games, so there's that. 

Nothing special, but a decent timewaster if you're not too picky.