PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME
(PG-13)
MOVIE: *** (out of 5)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: **** (out of 5)
BY KEVIN CARR
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Jerry Bruckheimer produces this live-action adaptation of the video game “Prince of Persia.” In this film, Jake Gyllenhaal stars as rogue prince who has been framed for the murder of his father. He goes on the run with a kidnapped princess (Gemma Arterton), who is in the possession of a magical dagger which can turn back time. Together, they must protect the dagger and prove his innocence.
WHAT I LIKED
I like a good action adventure film, and this fits that bill. It’s not perfect, and it’s not the roaring good time that we had with “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” but it was a fun film. This kind of movie is great for watching on Blu-ray too, considering it’s a visual feast for the eye. The action is cool, if not a bit cartoony (which would be expected from the nature of the video game).
Jake Gyllenhaal is passable as the action hero, but it’s Gemma Arterton who was really fun for me to look at. If only she wasn’t in so many robes, but what can I expect from Disney’s big summer film. There’s also a good supporting cast, including Ben Kingsley and a very fun performance by Alfred Molina.
“Prince of Persia” is far from perfect, but it’s fun to watch.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
On the whole, I’m not completely sold on Jake Gyllenhaal. He has the physique and as I said earlier, he’s passable. But he’s no Johnny Depp in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films. I suppose he’s easy on the eyes for the ladies, but that doesn’t do it for me.
And as nice as the film looks, it does run a bit long in the middle. Clocking in just south of two hours, it could have lost some of the meandering plot in the middle. A tighter film by fifteen minutes might have been much more exciting.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
Like many of the major Disney Blu-ray releases, there’s a lot of great special features. The Blu-ray comes with three discs, including a DVD of the feature film with a behind-the-scene featurette. There’s also a Digital Copy disc for portable viewing.
On the Blu-ray itself, there’s a really neat embedded behind-the-scenes selection. Dubbed “CineExplore: the Sands of Time,” this feature pops up throughout the film with short featurettes about the making of the film, relative to what’s happening in the movie. It requires the viewer to choose the branching choice when it shows up, which can be cumbersome, but the more passive viewer can access all the spots in the index. There’s also a Play All feature for these in the index, making it an almost feature-length documentary of the making of the film.
There’s also one deleted scene available on the Blu-ray.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Anyone turned on by Jake Gyllenhaal and fans of epic historical action flicks.