Is this a dagger before me

Rating: 5/10 (6 April 2015)

Video games being adapted to films have a short and ignoble history. The Lara Croft films managed to have some degree of box office success and mild critical acclaim.
Prince of Persia underperformed at the US box office and got mixed reviews. In a sense the film is rather mixed. Mike Newell who directed one of the Harry Potter films and has previously specialised in some small scale films is a steady hand but even a skilled director such as him can do little with a dodgy script.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays a street urchin Dastan adopted by the King Of Persia. He is treated like one of the family and another brother to two of the King's sons. Ben Kingsley plays Nizam the King's brother and family adviser.
However before you can say the Lion King the sons of Persia invades a holy city in the pretext that they supply arms to their enemies but before long the King is murdered, Dastan gets the blame and it seems the war was just an excuse to get hold of a magical dagger that could turn back time.
The film has plenty of acrobatics and action which ties in nicely with the video game character, some good CGI but Gyllenhaal is not dynamic enough nor has the lightness of touch to make his Prince of Persia appealing. I also felt that there was little chemistry between him and Gemma Arterton or maybe that is the fault of the script as they are always in conflict.
Its a mildly entertaining romp and yet quickly forgettable.