The movie is winding down and lights come back on. My friend, Irene, is still gushing about Jake Gyllenhaal's chest. I, on the other hand, am still drooling about Gemma Aterton. But more importantly, as I leave the theater, the last thought in my head about the Prince of Persia film was, “I remember that thing from the game!” followed by, “and it didn't suck!”
The movie really succeeds in two aspects for me: it was a simple, feel good action movies that doesn't present itself as anything more than it is, and it paid homage to the source material.
Ok, so it's not going to win any awards. I'd hate to bring up metacritic because it's such a touchy subject when it comes to video game reviews, but it does give one a sense of how everyone feels about the movie (plus Rotten Tomatoes).
But beyond meaningful movie reviews, I wanted to see this movie because 1) this was a video game movie, 2) it was based on a video game I loved to death, and 3) the advertising pushed it as being something competent. Jerry Bruckheimer is behind for Christ's sake! Have you seen the ratings CSI pulls in?
The movie's quality as far as I'm concerned is in line with a long line of movies I like but know are flawed. I like Rush Hour, I like The Transporter, and this movie is like them as far as I'm concerned. A healthy amount of fight scenes, witty banter, and the special feeling that I've played this game. Really, I'm not going to call this movie out on film specifics since I don't typically talk about movies.
As a video game movie though? I think the movie struck a balance between having elements straight from the game without being awkward about transplanting those ideas. I remember watching the Street Fighter movie by chance a week ago on television and watching Ken uppercut Sagat and think, “Was that supposed to be a shoryuken?” The same goes for watching the Mario Bros. Movie and seeing the brothers Mario strap on special boots that gave them their trademark jumps.
No, the video game parts that came into this so-called video game movie felt more natural, even if liberties were taken with it (Dastan? Is that seriously a Persian name?). To name a few (spoilers! Though they are from the game, so if you've played Sands of Time, not really) how Prince acquires the dagger of time during battle, the portrayal of Prince's acrobatic foot work, the villain who's closer than you think, the Prince's relationship to his co-star (Farah in the game, Tamina in the movie), his mouthiness with said co-star, and finally the big deus ex machina solution with the dagger of time.
Yes, as a B-grade movie it is bad at times. Expect your typical action movie cliches and that annoying camera technique where it feels like the cameraman jerking around as if he's watching the fight scene excitedly too. One or two story arcs could've been removed no problem but included they cause the movie to drag on a little longer than I'd like. But the movie works in the end for a college student like me looking to hang out with his friends. A web of intrigue, a journey of two souls, a mysterious artifact, some impressive acrobatics, and finally two leads for both genders, a rather chesty Jake Gyllenhaal, and the sulty Gemma Aterton. It was $8 and a night with friends well spent.
As a final note, the movie did make my friend curious in trying the game, or at least seeing how the game plays out.
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