Pirates of the Arabian Desert

Rating: 7/10 (28 May 2010)

I'd been hearing about this film for what feels like years, hoping it would be the one of overturn the curse of the video game based movie. With Disney throwing $150 million USD into Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time would seem a contender. For my money Lara Croft: Tomb Raider retains the title with Mortal Kombat being first runner-up.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is based on the popular Prince of Persia video games series with a history that goes back over 2 decades, but more notably it ties in with recent entries. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Dastan the adopted prince of Persia. After evidence is present of dealing arms with enemies, the Persian army attacks the sacred city responsible. Prince Dastan leads the siege and becomes a hero, but not in the eyes of the conquered Princess Tamina, played by Gemma Arterton. It turns out that the actual cause of the siege was to gain possession of a dagger that grants its wielder the power to travel back in time. Tamina is the guardian of this special item, and she alerts us to this fact by reciting it's instruction manual throughout the movie. Reluctantly Dastan and Tamina team up to expose the truth and protect the dagger.
Without exposing too much, I do like the bad guys's evil scheme at its heart. However, that alone can't save the plot. They try to explain in details the dos and don'ts of how this dagger functions, and it's as confusing as the National Health Care Act. The fundamental problem I see is the user may travel back to a point where he or she isn't even holding it, but it still manages to lose the sand that powers it.
I didn't recognize Alfred Molina at all as Sheik Amar, the only character to attempt to be humorous (very odd for a Disney film). And I don't have any problem with the performances of Gyllenhaal or Arterton as our leads; in fact I like them very much as an on screen couple, but their casting raises eyebrows. Where are the Persians? Ben Kingsley is the only actor in the cast who they tried to make look Persian. For me it's a disconnect.
Everything is thrown at the audience. I couldn't keep it straight, often times questioning what I was looking at, and how the bad guys could have been waiting for Dastan inside a secret passageway he just discovered. The dialogue is dagger this dagger that and anyone can be easily located in the middle of the desert. The latter is a necessary convenience to keep the pace in top form.
Everything wraps up in a way that may not satisfy everyone, but it doesn't completely cheat the audience. I have say though that luck had a big role in determining how this movie ends. The sands of time don't exactly have a graphic user interface, so our Prince of Persia really catches a break.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is directed by Mike Newell, a veteran of the industry with a diverse history. Of his recent work, the most recognizable is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. But lets be honest, this is a studio film through and through and it's billed as another collaboration between Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time feels very much like an attempt to pass the torch that was lit with Pirates of the Caribbean. The problem is that the story is unnecessarily convoluted, and without a Jack Sparrow role, we find out exactly what Pirates of the Arabian Desert would have been like assuming Will Turner is the clear lead. There's a lot of noise, the visuals are well polished, and the sense of adventure is admirable.