Prince Of Persia: The Sands of Time

Director: Mike Newell

Nowadays, modern viewers have probably gotten used to the fact that, from time to time, Disney Studios, keeping in mind the tremendous success of “The Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy, releases a colorful, variegated fairytale with tones of action and just a pinch of comedy. Perhaps it was a mistake to base this kind of a film on a video game, since these kinds of movies are often being compared to the original by the gamers and are rarely understood by the people who aren’t familiar with the game. Nevertheless, if you manage to abstract from these kinds of stereotypes, you might notice that the movie itself is actually quite intriguing.

One of the curious moves of the producers is the interesting choice of the director: Mike Newell – the person who made movies like “Donnie Brasco,” “Mona Lisa’s Smile,” and “Love in the Time of Cholera,” and hasn’t got that much experience in action movie making. Still, the movie doesn’t lack action elements and mind-blowing special effects, so the ones who want to see a lot of chases, fights, jumps, kicks, hits, etc. won’t leave the theater unsatisfied. Plus, with the help of such an experienced director, the movie managed to gain something comic and something romantic, not making the action part suffer from it.

However, the film does suffer from another commonly seen problem. An unbelievable amount of cliches sometimes makes you forget about all the positive things in the movie. It absolutely kills the movie (not just this one, but any movie), when the storyline is not able to surprise the viewer, and is filled with mysteries a four-year-old could have solved: cliche kisses with a panoramic view and  pathetic speeches on the deathbed.
“Prince of Persia” might remind you of a not very delicious candy, but in a very beautiful wrapper. Still, this makes it an easy picture to watch, light, relaxing, but in a good way. It won’t make you fall asleep, but, on the over hand, it won’t make you rethink your whole life. And, since it is not very bloody, you might even take your child to see it, who will also probably be more than excited about it. 

Now showing in all three countries.