Above average video game extravaganza

Rating: 6/10 (30 August 2010)

The swashbuckling medieval parkour running Prince of Persia, Dastan, hits the big screen in the form of Jake Gyllenhaal, fully equipped with manly stubble, bulging biceps and an intriguing women-killing smirk. Female audiences will be pleased - no matter how bad the movie. Men won't be all that disappointed with Gemma Arteton as Princess Tamina, Dastan's love-hate affair. Add to that some outworldly action sequences, a big-ass Nubian dagger-thrower (Steve Toussaint), Ben Kingsley and horde of snake-charming dart-shooting hassassins. Oh... and there is a time dagger, sands of time and a decent script to boot.
Basically your typical summer blockbuster. But done right. With a great mix of nice acting, a pinch of humour, impressive fights and some superb acrobatics by Gyllenhaal's character this movie did not go wrong. It may be ultimately purely popcorn, but if you need a mind relaxing break this is a superb choice. Yes, it may be generic, essentially uninventive, maybe even redundant and very typical storywise, but at least the story more or less makes sense and the action is unrelenting, but never tiresome.
The only main issue I have is the overly forced character of Sheik Amar (Alfred Molina) brought in purely as comic relief. Given however the adequate chemistry between Dastan and Tamina filled with comedic moments the character of Amar seemed unnecessary. He also grew tiresome very fast (something in the vein of Jar Jar Binks irritating) and felt more like something taken out of a "Hercules" episode (yes, the Kevin Sorbo one).