At first glance, I thought that PoP would be a terrible sword-and-sandal adventure flick; pretty-boy lead actor, inspiration from a game (my God, we've had lots of bad ones, haven't we), and an ancient setting. Surprisingly, I was glad to have had my expectations shattered.
Jake Gyllenhaal was not in his usual fare of films, and I never really thought he was much of an actor (he was not stellar in PoP as well) but this one was one of his better performances, and one of the better performances in this genre. He looked the part of the Prince of Persia, which is never a bad thing as the game does have quite a loyal fan-base, myself included, and it added a tad bit of 'realism' that it was the game.
Scenery, 3D effects, costume, and props were top-notch, and I appreciate the film for giving justice, at least to that, to the original game. The Prince's moves and weapons were also classics, and it was good to see they tried their best to remain faithful to the original concept. Props for that.
The only dodgy thing in my opinion was the choice of the particular PoP game. Sands of Time was never one of my favorites, and I actually think the movie could have been a lot more if they used another game (the first one wouldn't be a bad choice). Still, it is a good watch on a quiet afternoon. Popcorn is a welcome companion.
7/10
Jay~
If you think Jake Gyllenhaal is "not much of an actor," I suggest you reconsider ... Though, I kinda agree with you with what happened to him in this movie. It never met any of my expectations. Still, I insist you reconsider.
ReplyDeleteI started idolizing Jake Gyllenhaal when I saw his movie October Sky, Rendition & Zodiac. This is one of his most "stellar" movies, I'd say, but if you are still not convinced, you should watch Jarheads. To put it simply, the best.
Prince of Persia, I say, is not his forte to do with in the first place. Other movies he belongs to are much better options ... Except Brokeback Mountain. Just found that one bit recently, it was the most idiotic movie Jake Gyllenhaal has ever thought of casting himself in. I mean, come on, that was the gay cowboy movie thing.
Thanks for the comment!
ReplyDeleteHmm.. I have to admit, maybe I spoke too soon, since I have not seen any of those movies with the exception of Rendition.. and I wasn't impressed much by that either. I guess he does have a lot of expectations on him, especially in the "good boy next door" character genre. Playing swords-and-sandals doesn't cut it for me with him though.