The King of Persia has just been assassinated and all fingers points to Dastan; the adopted young prince and now what is left of him is his dagger and a fugitive princess to help him redeem his image.
"Prince of Persia" certainly has some entertainment value, but it suffers in the story department because it continually tries to fill the film with too much action.
This movie stars exactly one paleface American and several paler-faced Brits in almost all the supporting roles. The bronzer budget must have been a major line item.
Someday someone is going to make a great film from a video game. Until then we have to be satisfied with being decently entertained without being hopelessly insulted. Prince of Persia manages to avoid doing either, so the wait continues.
As usual, the talent in Prince of Persia is generally top notch -- from the cinematographer John Seale to the parkour expert David Belle -- but the ingredients have been masticated so heavily the results are mush.
TheShiznit.co.uk
September 28, 2012
Gyllenhaal might have seemed like an odd choice to top-line an action flick, given his indie leanings and wet noodle persona, but he's surprisingly tolerable as Dastan; a parkour-obsessed oik who grows into an abs-solutely un-flabulous warrior.
The sheer whoosh of the story line keeps you watching anyway, and, as the prince, Jake Gyllenhaal has a hearty good-naturedness that comes as a relief amid all the turbocharged antics. He wears his heroism lightly.
