"Ridiculous" doesn't even begin to describe this

Rating: 2/10 (1 September 2017)

Video game-based films have mostly suffered at the box office, with only a few bright spots - namely the 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider' series (and a lot of that was due to the "Jolie Effect"). 2010 brought us Disney's attempt in 'Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,' which was directed by Mike Newell and produced by none other than Jerry Bruckheimer.
The $200M big-budget action blockbuster was a blistering blunder at the box office, which explains why there was never a follow-up effort. At one point, Disney was hopeful that 'Persia' could follow in the footsteps of successful franchises like 'Pirates of the Caribbean' or 'National Treasure.' So what went wrong? For one, while Jake Gyllenhaal is generally a good actor, he didn't fit the part of Prince Dastan, the protagonist who stumbles upon a magic dagger that can turn back time, as well as a feisty princess (Gemma Arterton) who becomes quite a handful for him, given the rest of the situation he's in. Gyllenhaal is as wooden as a park bench and has an accent that is pretty much indistinguishable.
In a nutshell, 'Persia' is a total mess. It's not entertaining, feels unintentionally comical at points and is just ridiculously campy. Whether it's the fighting scenes that look like a 12-year-old designed them, complete with slow-mo and over-the-top sound effects, or characters who add little-to-no value, there's plenty of that to go around here. Even talented actors like Sir Ben Kingsley and Alfred Molina have their talents wasted in this film. The only good thing about 'Persia' is it's not too long, at just under two hours.
No doubt, 'Prince of Persia: The Sands of Times' was a big gamble taken by the Mouse House, and like most video game adaptations, it crumbled under its own weight.