PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME (Mike Newell). 116 minutes. Opens Friday (May 28). For venues, trailers and times, see Movies. Rating: NN
I’m not terribly familiar with the Prince Of Persia video games, but as far as I can tell, none of them offers an implicit critique of America’s invasion of Iraq after 9/11. That subtext belongs entirely to the big-screen adaptation, Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time.[rssbreak]
Never mind all the stuff about warrior prince Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal) and his travelling companion/hostage, Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) criss-crossing medieval Persia after Dastan is framed for his father’s murder. Never mind the running and jumping and swordplay and explosions. Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time is really a soapbox for someone (I’m thinking either co-writer Boaz Yakin or director Mike Newell) to indict Dick Cheney for taking America to war under false pretenses.
The movie opens with the Persian army conquering the holy city of Alamut on the suspicion that the ruling priests are hiding illegal weapons forges. This turns out not to be the case, much to the surprise of Dastan’s brother, gung-ho Prince Tus (Richard Coyle). Did trusted uncle Nizam (Ben Kingsley) fall for bad intel? Or is something more sinister at work?
The action sequences, with Gyllenhaal or his stunt double dodging various enemies, are bland and repetitive. Newell’s direction has the same anonymous, vaguely overwhelmed quality he brought to Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire. The casting is interesting – the wide-eyed Gyllenhaal is certainly an unconventional choice for an action hero – but the movie doesn’t let the actors put much of a stamp on their characters. Only Alfred Molina really pops in a plum role as a wily sheikh with a love of ostrich racing and a libertarian streak designed to distract Tea Partiers from the Iraq critique.
This is not how you build the next Pirates Of The Caribbean.
