PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME — ★★1/2 — Jake Gyllenhaal, Ben Kingsley, Gemma Arterton; rated PG-13 (violence, brief gore, vulgarity, slurs, brief drugs, torture, nude artwork); in general release
"Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" gets at least one thing right: The much-ballyhooed action-adventure/fantasy movie makes you feel like you're experiencing a big-screen video game more than any recent film of its ilk.
In fact, some of the imagery and action sequences appear to have been taken directly from the source material, the successful video game series.
But in terms of its cinematic qualities, "Prince of Persia" feels like a knock-off of earlier, better fantasy films — not just the many incarnations of "Aladdin" and "Ali Baba" tales, but also the "Mummy" movies, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and even the long-forgotten "Krull" (1983).
Mind you, it still has its share of exciting moments. What's more, it's considerably better and more watchable than either the dull "Robin Hood" origin story or the listless, uninspired "Shrek" finale.
Jake Gyllenhaal stars as the title character, a former street urchin named Dastan. The orphan was adopted by a Persian king, Sharaman (Ronald Pickup), years earlier, when the impudent young boy showed some real spunk.
Though his standing has changed considerably since then, Dastan still takes a back seat to his adopted brothers. Yet he proves to be indispensable when his family decides to invade a nearby kingdom.
During the assault, Dastan comes into possession of a dagger possessing magical properties. Apparently, by pressing a button on its hilt, the user can turn back time for a few precious seconds.
A princess, Tamina (Gemma Arterton), warns him about misusing the dagger's powers. But he might not have any choice in the matter — Sharaman has been killed, and now prime suspect Dastan finds himself on the run.
Director Mike Newell and a team of screenwriters do their best to please fans of the game, as well as tell a coherent story. The results are mixed at best.
After a fairly dry first half, this film gets a much-needed injection of life from character actor Alfred Molina, who plays a seedy sheikh.
You wish the rest of the cast were having nearly as much fun as he is.
As for Gyllenhaal, he does have believable physicality, and his affected British accent isn't as distracting as you might think.
The sore-thumb performance comes from Arterton. Hers is a shrill, one-note presence, and, worse, she and Gyllenhaal have virtually no chemistry. (As she also did with Sam Worthington in the recent "Clash of the Titans" remake.)
"Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" is rated PG-13 and features strong violent content and imagery (arrow fire, swordplay and knife play, including slashings and stabbings, creature attacks, fiery and explosive mayhem, and violence against women and children), brief gory and bloody imagery, suggestive language and references (mostly innuendo), derogatory language and slurs (some of them sexist in nature, others based on ethnicity and social standing), brief drug content (poisons and toxins), a brief scene depicting violent interrogation, and glimpses of nude artwork (statues). Running time: 116 minutes.
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