The epitome of a guilty pleasure

Rating: 5/10 (17 July 2010)

I walked into Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time with virtually no expectations, yet at the end, I felt simultaneously relieved that I had seen the movie for free and not particularly guilty that I had seen it at all. With good reason by all accounts, films adapted from computer games have gained an almost malicious reputation over the years, and many film lovers lament the increasing number of such movies. Prince of Persia is most likely among the best computer game adaptations ever made, mindless and sometimes outright incoherent yet a perfectly enjoyable way to spend two hours, alternating between cringe-worthy and snappy dialogue and boasting a solid cast led by Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton.
Strangely enough, for a big-spectacle summer blockbuster, the most gaping flaw of Prince of Persia is the action. The stunts are incredible at times, but thanks to sloppy cinematography and CGI that is often all too obvious, the numerous action scenes are far from the compelling setpieces expected from epics of this nature. Probably in an homage to the video game from which the movie is based, director Mike Newell frequently takes advantage of slow-mo and Bourne-like fast cuts, yet these stylized techniques do nothing to enhance the action, instead reducing it to an almost headache-inducing mess.
Naturally, the story, a convoluted plot involving royal factions, a murder and a sacred dagger that allows the user to go back a minute in time, is far-fetched to the point of hilarity. Despite the high costs, the audience never invests much in the story's outcome and real emotion is pretty much nonexistent. In the hands of, say, Ridley Scott, the movie could have been a complete failure. However, it is clear that the film-makers do not take the material seriously, and they are fully aware that however entertaining Prince of Persia is, the mere concept that forms its foundation cannot allow for a serious outing. Instead, because they ostensibly had fun making the movie, the audience has fun watching it.
The cast also helps transcend the material. Jake Gyllenhaal, incredibly buff yet still boyish and sincere, steps outside his comfort zone, his career thus far consisting mostly of quiet dramas like 1999's October Sky and 2005's Brokeback Mountain. Notwithstanding a bizarre, not altogether successful British accent, he glides through the film with vigor and enthusiasm, making for a likable hero. Gemma Arterton, on the other hand, while not terrible, is shrill, aggravating and insufferable. Even toward the movie's conclusion, her character stays trapped in the obnoxious stereotype so often depicted in romantic comedies and action movies, one that is increasingly on the rise with the recent trend of rom-com-action films along the lines of Killers and Knight and Day. In fact, when stripped to its bare bones, Prince of Persia could easily be considered a romantic comedy (albeit with little of the romance): the hero and heroine meet; they initially treat each other with contempt and disgust; they slowly fall in love despite their wildly differing personalities and various external obstacles; they manage to overcome the force separating them and eventually, through a mix of hard work and, perhaps to a greater extent, coincidence, they wind up in each others arms for a classic happily ever after. Their relationship works for the most part, not because Gyllenhaal and Arterton have particularly great - or even good - chemistry but because their banter, both fun and unbelievably cheesy, is among the movie's most enjoyable parts. Of the supporting cast, Alfred Molina is by far the standout, arguably stealing the movie from its two leads. As the greedy, bumbling owner of an ostrich racing ring and an ardent hater of capitalism, he bites into his part with relish, saving his character from becoming a completely infuriating waste of words and screen time.
In the end, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time manages to surmount the rules of logic and good film-making to become a diverting, campy, wild ride.