"The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" Movie Trailer Review

Movie Trailer Review

"The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time"

By our guest blogger, Jeremy Wilkinson

In case you haven’t heard, Ubisoft’s "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" is being turned into a movie under the same name. Jerry Bruckheimer Films, the same company who made the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films, will be producing the video game adaptation.

For those of you who have seen previous video game adaptations, warning flags should be flying. Bruckheimer had massive success with the "Pirates" movies, but that adaptation was based off of a theme park ride. No diehard fans to please there.

A new trailer has been released that includes interviews with the cast and crew. Does this trailer do anything to alleviate the fear that history will repeat itself?

Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Dastan, the titular prince. Dastan is a street urchin who is plucked from poverty to become the Sultan’s heir. The Dagger of Time needs to be protected from the evil Nizam. Dastan meets a priestess name Tamina who is charged with the protection of the dagger, and the two must work together.

The trailer is a mixed bag. For every interesting part, there is another that comes off as subpar. Jerry Bruckheimer claims he wishes to bring something “unique” and “fresh.” Despite this statement, the film uses a couple well-worn tropes that will most likely add nothing to the movie. The Prince in the movie is not a prince, but becomes one by shattering class barriers. Why this change? To make it more like Aladdin? Director Mike Newell says the film is both a love story and a comedy. Hollywood seems to love adding romantic subplots to adaptations. Parts of this film feel tired already.

Ben Kingsley plays Nizam. The man is a great actor, but his inclusion as the villain reminded this reviewer too much of the complete failure that was the "Bloodrayne" movie.

While a lot of the CGI doesn’t look bad, there are small segments where the graphics are not up to par. A snake, coiled in a man’s hand, lashes out at the camera. What could have been a cool shot is ruined by obviously fake computer manipulation.

Is there anything good in the trailer? Yes, there is. The action looks like it could end up being engaging and satisfying. Assassins fire out black darts and swing around a chain weapon reminiscent of a weapon from "Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones." A few shots of the Prince’s ability to free run are shown. Glimmers of hope can be seen when Dastan is shown leaping from roof to roof or sliding into a window.

Free running, or parkour, is the backbone of the "Sands of Time" game, and is what sets the Prince apart from other heroes. Nailing down this aspect may mitigate some of the issues the film may end up having. After all, this movie definitely looks like it’s going the action route. If the action is great, audiences are could very well forgive poor acting or character development. "Conan the Barbarian" is not popular because of Schwarzenegger’s deep and evocative acting.

Perhaps I’m being a little harsh on the trailer--but I have history on my side. Video game adaptations are notoriously mediocre. It is still possible this could be the breakout hit that could show audiences game movies can be done right. It’s doubtful, but possible. More likely, it will either be a decent film with good action or just another in a line of failures.

Uwe Boll is not involved, so there’s some hope left.

View the trailer for "The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" below. What are your thoughts?