I guess you could say that I am not a big fan of video games which is not surprising given my “advanced” age. My teenage sons sure do so I guess it is one of those generational things. I just don’t see the point. I have been even a lesser fan of movies based on video games, not because of the fact that I haven’t played the game the film is based on but because the films tend to be action films with plenty of action but no plot. Would the subject of this review, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, turn out to be different?

Film 

Unfortunately, no. Based on the video game of the same name, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a totally formulaic action film which is very heavy on the action and dreadfully thin of dialogue and plot. The film is said to take place in around 500 B.C. and involves the royal family of Persia, stretching from the western edge of China to the eastern Mediterranean.

The film centers around the royal family, namely King Sharaman (Ronald Pickup), his brother and confidant Nizam (Ben Kingsley), his two sons Tus (Richard Coyle) and (Garcir (Tony Kebbell) and Prince Dastan (Jake Gyllenhael) who the king adopted based on the bravery and cunning he displayed as a young boy. It seems that Nizam receives intelligence that the leaders of the holy city of Alamut, who are traditionally peaceful, are producing weapons (swords and knives not WMD) for the kingdom’s enemies.

Against the wishes of the King but at the urging of Nizam, the Tus and Garcir decide to invade Alamut and put and end to their arms trading. While Garcir leads the assault, it is Dastan leading a small group, who are able to enter the walled fortress of Alamut and open the gates leading to victory. When the King arrives, he is dismayed that his sons invaded the city against his wishes. However, he was impressed with the efforts of Dastan and he decrees that is is Dastan who will wed the Princess Tamina of Alamut (Gemma Arterton).

The king is then killed during the victory celebration by a poisoned prayer robe given to him by Dasten at the request of Tus. Darsten is blamed for the death and escapes Alamut with the princess, setting out to discover who the real murderer was. Along the adventure, he comes into possession of a magical dagger which has the ability to take the holder back into time which plays a pivotal role in leading to the uncovering of the King’s assassin.

It seems that Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was envisioned to be in the spirit of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and undoubtedly lead to two or more sequels. However, the film lacks the fun and cleverness of the original Pirates film and its box office success as well. I somehow doubt that there will be any sequels but with Hollywood, who knows. In any event, the film is basically one action sequence after another strung together by the thinnest of plots and some very nice scenery, Ms. Arterton in particular.

The casting in this film is also quite curious as no effort was apparently made to cast any actors who looked even the least bit Persian. In this regard, it reminds me of the old I Claudius TV series on the BBC where all of the actors playing Romans spoke with an English accent. The only really engaging and funny performance in the film is turned in by Alfred Molina as the Sheik Amar and his aversion to paying Persian taxes.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is an utterly predictable garden variety action adventure (big budget notwithstanding) that I can as a rental only. If you are looking for a light action film, give Prince of Persia a look., but on the basis of a rental only.

Video 

While I was not impressed with the film, I was impressed with the overall video quality on this Blu-ray release. The film was shot in Morocco and as such there are plenty different shades of brown in the color palette. Skin tones are more than acceptable as are black levels which are quite good. I also found overall detail and clarity to be excellent as well, providing a nice sense of depth to the image. The only quibble I would have with an otherwise exceptional looking film is a bit of softness to the image. It is simply not as clear and sharp as the very best looking films I have seen on Blu-ray, but has just enough levels of detail and clarity along with deep blacks to qualify for a solid 4.5 star rating.

Audio  

The was even more impressed with the audio on this release than I was with the video. The surrounds are very active and engaged throughout the entire film, creating an excellent immersive experience. The overall fidelity of the sound was top notch as well, sounding smooth and open with excellent transparency. The dialogue track is also well recorded and placed in the mix, remaining clear and intelligible even during the most action packed sequences. I also thought that dynamics were quite good providng plenty of punch.

The only issue I had with the otherwise excellent audio was the level of bass extension. While there is plenty of bass in the mix, the overall bass extension that very deep bass that rattles the walls in the room is missing just enough to keep me from giving the audio a 5 star score. Don’t get me wrong, the bass here is excellent and will surely please everyone but the most passionate bass junkies out there, of which I happen to be one.

Special Features 

Surprisingly, there are precious few extras here. The release contains three discs, the Blu-ray edition of the film, a DVD copy as well as a digital copy. The extras consist of a deleted scenes was well as CineExplore:The Sands of Time which runs concurrently with the film. When activated, a dagger appears on screen which when clicked on, takes you to some very brief extras about the making of the film. If you must, I would recommend that you not watch the film twice just to see the extras as they aren’t really worth it and they can also be accessed separately. The only other extra is contained on the DVD which also contains the featurette An Unseen World: Making Prince of Persia which is much like the film itself, is pretty standard faire.

Final Thoughts 

While I had hopes that Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time would be more than the usual formulaic film adaptation of a video game, it didn’t take long into the film for the hopes to be dashed.  Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a harmless and mindless action adventure film and worth no more than a rental.