Proof a video game cross over CAN work...

Rating: 7/10 (24 May 2010)

We all know the score. Movie based on a video game, it's going to be poor, right? Well actually Bruckheimer, Newell and Disney beg to differ, and I have to agree with them on this one.
It's not perfect, but it is far superior to many other efforts that came before it. Even those that promised much like Hit-man failed to deliver on the hype beforehand, so with a trailer that had me questioning how good this really was (in hindsight it held back a lot of story reveals and the better scenes, which was quite a gamble) I went in not sure what I would get.
And what I got was a film made by people who seemed to understand what was required to entertain. The flow was perfect, and the story seemed to run cohesively. The story itself wasn't groundbreaking and at times could be a little predictable, but it was enjoyable and not over complicated or patchy.
Jake Gyllenhaal is an indie movie mainstay, so to see him in a role like this was interesting. He certainly looked the part and didn't do a bad job on the English accent, but the acting ability of the guy in general made him believable. Gemma Arteton has at time felt a little wooden in films I have seen her in, but this role of the feisty princess worked well for her and her chemistry with Gyllenhaal made the characters more believable.
The supporting cast were solid too, and the comedy turn from Molina's Amar was a very welcome addition.
But then a film like this will also live or die on the action, and this is an area that may divide people. The film wasn't packed out with it, but what action scenes there were came at perfect moments in the story, and some had genuine class to them. The nod to the earlier prince of Persia games too will not be lost on some of the older audience, like the leaping from one roof to another and climbing and running across strategic poles stuck out of walls. It offered a return to the swashbuckling sword fighting that looks very impressive and doesn't require a CGI monster to enhance it in any way.
To summarise this movie I would offer a comparison to another Disney film that was born of a different media, Pirates of the Caribbean, a ride that became a successful film franchise. Prince of Persia soars towards that level of quality, and is only really let down by a lack of a scene stealer of Captain Jack Sparrow's genius.
But it certainly has made a claim for the best video game adaptation of them all.