'Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time'

June 04, 2010

by Marcus at the Movies
Thursday, June 3, 2010

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Marcus saw "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" over the Memorial Day weekend and says it's a royal blast. Based on a video game, the PG-13-rated movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Ben Kingsley.

"This is no ordinary dagger."

That's not a dagger, this is a dagger around which the story revolves. Actually, it's the sand that makes this dagger tick -- backward in time. Thus it's a dagger time machine that everyone wants, but it must be returned to whence it came. It's the star weapon in a show that already has a full weapons cast.

"Swords of the best workmanship, steel-tipped arrows."

Yeah, those rubber-tipped arrows just aren't working out. Ben Kingsley here is far from the "Gandhi" he once portrayed, as the evil uncle who wants the dagger worse than anybody. I'll let the movie tell you why.

Gyllenhaal plays Dastan, who was an orphan and street fighter who was taken in, adopted and made prince by the king. Gemma Arterton is Tamina, a princess whose country has been attacked. The two stars have great light-hearted and playfully romantic chemistry.

"I promised my brother I'd kill you, if he couldn't have you."

"Well, the solution would be to kiss me and then kill me. But I have a better solution: I kill you."

Relax: no killing here, only kissing. Wanting to make amends, the king offers Tamina's hand to Dastan's stepbrother, but she refuses. Game on -- let's call it "Gimme That Dagger."

The film includes one of my favorite character actors, Alfred Molina, who has been in well over 100 TV shows and movies -- and was awesome in "Boogie Nights." Here he lends his special brand of comedy to running an ostrich-racing business.

"Every Tuesday and Thursday. Whatever they lack in beauty, they make up in fighting spirit."

"Prince of Persia" far exceeded my expectations. The action was good, effects not bad. It was easy to follow, had comedic elements with storybook dialogue, but enough edge to where it wasn't so corny -- all in all, a good movie.

And Channel 2 invites you to Regal Cinemas' new Tikahtnu Stadium 16 and IMAX Theaters, where all day Monday, June 7, all movies, popcorn, and sodas are just $2. All proceeds benefit the Fallen Firefighters Memorial Fund. See you there.

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