As you know, Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Dastan, the titular prince in this Disney film based on the long-running series of video games. Like in the games, the prince flips, jumps, twirls, and runs across walls to bamboozle his enemies and get to the girl, here played by Gemma Arterton (who recently played an identical character in Clash of the Titans). There’s a lot of Disney’s Aladdin here, except where that film had heart and genuine magic, this one has dull, obvious exposition and special effects that leave you cold – and a little nostalgic for magic carpet rides.

The young prince starts off life as an acrobatic slum urchin whose bravery impresses the king of Persia so much that he adopts him as the third son of the royal family. Fifteen years (apparently spent at the gym) later, Dastan and his brothers are about to invade a ‘holy’ city, which has been very naughty by making weapons for Persia’s enemies. A bag full of swords provided by the king’s brother Nizam is enough to convince the brothers of the city’s treachery. This is despite Nizam being Ben Kingsley with a thin black goatee and weaselly eyes.

Ten minutes of plot pass, and Dastan ends up with a funny-looking dagger, a sassy Princess, and a dead father, whose death is blamed on Dastan – so of course the Prince and Princess must combine their swashbuckling sass on a quest to clear Dastan’s name and protect the world from sandy magical destruction.
The film is very sanitized and bloodless, and family friendly in true Disney fashion. It proceeds predictably, although a shrewd desert entrepreneur and his knife-throwing buddy provide some smiles and moments of genuinely suspenseful action. It’s really not an awful film; it’s just very ‘safe’ and generally forgettable. A good popcorn muncher to take the kids to, but if you want a magical fairy tale with awesome jumps and a believable romance – play the game instead.

Be first to comment this article

Only registered users can write comments.

Please login or register.