SYNOPSIS:
In the spirit of the Pirates of the
Caribbean trilogy, Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer
Films transport you to the mystical lands of Persia for this
wildly entertaining, epic action-adventure. It's a race against
time when a rogue prince (Jake Gyllenhaal) reluctantly teams
up with a rival princess (Gemma Arterton) to safeguard a magical
dagger that gives its possessor the power to reverse time
and rule the world. Filled with death-defying escapes and
unexpected twists at every turn - Prince of Persia: The Sands
of Time is a fun-filled adventure that will keep your pulse
pounding long after the credits end.
MOVIE REVIEW:
What
if you are a Hollywood executive armed with US$150 million
on hand?
Option
one, buy over the movie rights to a popular videogame. Two,
engaged a few likeable cast. Three, build exotic looking sets
and shoot on location in Morocco. Or like what famed producer
Jerry Bruckheimer did, he chose all of the above.
Essentially,
"Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" is typical
of any Bruckheimer production. It has epic action, adventure,
romance and it definitely fits the bill of a summer blockbuster.
Remember his hugely successful "Pirates of the Caribbean"
franchise which paid the bills of the Walt Disney Company
for years. Thus to find fault with this Mike Newell’s
movie is to deny yourself of a swashbuckling good time.
Loosely
adapted from the 2003 videogame, "Prince of Persia: The
Sands of Time" tells the story of a young street urchin,
Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal portraying the adult version) who
was adopted to be one of the King’s sons. As time grows,
sibling rivalry ensues and power jostling follows. Of course
among the woes lies a mysterious ancient dagger that not only
turns back time but allows it’s possessor to rule the
world.
Technically, Prince of Persia is an achievement
of sort. The set decoration and costume designer is flawless.
The lush cinematography of the Morocco desert is breath-taking
to say the least. Massive sets regardless of the fact that
it’s on location or recreated on soundstages at Pinewood
studio is inconsequential. Director Mike Newell is no stranger
in helming production of this scale, his resume for the record
includes a certain Harry Potter And the Goblet of Fire and
right here with the help of Parkour expert, David Belle, he
successfully turns Jake Gyllenhaal into an action hero.
Toplining a summer blockbuster for the first
time, Gyllenhaal displays a seldom-seen playful self opposite
the gorgeous Gemma Arterton (Clash of the Titans) who played
the Guardian of the dagger, Princess Tamina. Adopting flowing
locks and a body that California Fitness will be proud of,
Gyllenhaal jumps, leap, run for the majority of the 116 minutes
duration surpassing the presence of prestigious actors such
as Alfred Molina and Sir Ben Kingsley. Everything seems to
come off perfectly except well, a good old story.
If you can recall the existence of the ancient
dagger that reverses time, the script written by three credited
writers fails to impress with an unbelievable plot exposition
and underwhelming ending. I guess you can’t really do
much nor need to make an effort to do much when everything
that went wrong can be reset by simply pressing the magic
dagger.
At the end of the day, we tend to give more
leeway to summer blockbusters. It’s true the story-telling
isn’t at all engaging and creative. But when you watched
it for all the spectacular moves, sword fights and eye-boggling
special effects, we like to call it technically speaking,
this popcorn flick indeed is one of the better choices for
wholesome home entertainment.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
An Unseen World: Making Prince Of Persia is a short
behind-the-scenes featurette that covers almost everything
under the sun including the set/costumes design, cast and
crew interview, action choreography and the tough on-location
shoot in Morocco.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 delivers an astounding home
surround experience during the sword fights and other exhilarating
action sequences. Overall, colours are rich and natural saved
for some highly digitalized scenes.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Linus Tee
Posted on 30 August 2010
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