I was around 10 years old when I first played Prince of Persia first on the black and white CRT monitors. That was the first real game which I played on computer and I had no idea that it is the beginning of a lifetime affair. Today as I write this post, I am still playing Prince of Persia, the difference is now the monitors are LCD, the graphics 3D and the story has reached to Prince of Persia – The Forgotten Sands. For those of you who don’t know, Prince of Persia Sands of Time is the movie based on a game of the same name, and in the gaming series there are three more, Forgotten Sands being the latest. So when I came to know about POP movie being made I know I have to watch it.
In one line if I can give you an honest review then it goes, if you have played the game then you will not find the movie that much entertaining and if you have not played the game then you will be thrilled to watch it. Fortunately or unfortunately, majority of the people who are going to watch the movie are the ones who have already played the game and hence they will be little disappointed.
There are reasons for that. First the amount of acrobats, stunts, breath taking graphics, fight sequences and puzzles are there in the game, you can’t expect them to be the same in the movie. Then the level of involvement which you have already experienced while playing the game can not be experienced while watching the movie. And third the story of the movie is little different from the game. But this should not deter you from watching the acrobatic abilities of Prince Dastan on the big screen.
For those who are totally new to the whole POP saga then let me tell you, this is the story of Price Dastan [Jake Gyllenhaal], who is not prince by birth but an orphan adopted by the king. He with his brave act, acrobatic skills and presence of mind helps his brother in conquering the holy city of Almut. In the city lies an ancient force which can turn back time and is guarded by the Princess Tamina [Gemma Arterton] of the city. The corrupt Nizam [Ben Kingsley], brother of the King is after that force to takeover the throne. The Nizam kills the king, and puts the blame on Dastan, so now POP must prove his innocence, expose the Nizam and also protect the ancient force.
The movie has lots of action, good background score, witty dialogues and the Persian mystic setting. What else could you ask for? Mike Newell has done a nice job and with Pirates of the Caribbean, National Treasure and now POP, Disney has discovered the formula of making blockbuster entertaining movies. As I earlier said being a player of the game for the past 15 years I was not that much thrilled by the movie, but let me assure you that if you will watch it you will not be disappointed either.
Hey bro… the movie is not that bad either… for someone like me – who played the PoP games in a row some 2-3 years back, the scenes were fond memories of hacking and slashing!!!
But i totally agree – to experience the complete grandeur of the series – u gotta play the games sequentially – Prince Of Persia – The Sands of Time; PoP: Warrior Within (my fav for its moves a.k.a platforming, combat system, artwork, music, gameplay and of course – characters too :P); and PoP : The Two Thrones.
Fourth in the series came a game by the same name – Prince of Persia, which was a complete reboot of the story line – u might not njoy it.
The fifth and latest installment – PoP: The Forgotten Sands – is a game set in time between the first two games.
My opinion to all – its a must watch – game played or not – u will njoy it thoroughly – though for non-gamers, the story moves a bit swiftly! so better keep ur eyes and ears where they need to be – on the screen.
PS: I have written so long a comment,thinking of writing a post on me blog meself! 😀
Cheers!
Ofcouse the movie is aint that bad and if you have played the game then it doesn’t matter what the movie is like you surely will gonna watch it 😀 😛