I had fond memories of the Prince of Persia game as a kid − well, mostly of watching my dad playing the game. Even so, I wasn’t as enthusiastic about this film but am glad to say it was better than I expected.
I wasn’t familiar with the plot, which centre on a magical dagger that has time-travel abilities. Prince Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal) reluctantly teams up with Princess Tamina (leader of a country the Persians invade at the start of the film, played by Gemma Arterton), in order to stop the powerful dagger from getting into the wrong hands. As a result, Prince of Persia is a mix of fantasy, science fiction elements and of course, some sword-fighting action.
I enjoyed the film more than I thought I would and once I learned that Jerry Bruckheimer (who worked on the Pirates of the Caribbean films) was one of the producers, I wasn’t that surprised. Similarly to the Pirates of the Caribbean films, there were themes of betrayal, loyalty, magical and otherworldly devices, and good old fashioned sword-fighting. Prince of Persia also had some humorous moments, which I wasn’t expecting. Actually, in Pirates of the Caribbean, Captain Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth also reluctantly work together at first − so I guess these Disney films have even more in common than I first thought.
Anyway, I also really liked the set design and the beautiful Persian locations depicted in the film. I wasn’t really a big fan of Jake Gyllenhaal as I hadn’t seen many of his films but I think he really suited the character of Prince Dastan (and not to mention, looked quite appealing in the role of a rugged, heroic prince!). So while fans of the Prince of Persia video games would probably want to see the film for nostalgic reasons or just pure curiosity, I would recommend the film for anyone who likes films involving sorcery and swords or ancient cultures, and definitely fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
4/5
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