A rogue prince is on the run from his family after a gift he gave his father, the king, was found to be laced with poison. On the run for the murder of the king, the prince reluctantly joins forces with a mysterious princess to safeguard an ancient dagger capable of releasing the Sands of Time. The enchanted dagger is a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world...

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a bit of a disappointment when all said and done. While the movie looks fantastic, the actual plot and acting is pretty dire. The biggest problem seems to be that the production has no clear focus. It's part classic epic Hollywood movie, with hundreds of extras and lavish sets; part kid's action adventure and part Shakespearian-esque drama.

The acting is average at best. I say "acting" but about 75 percent of the movie involves characters shouting at each other at the top of their lungs. By far and away the most embarrassing scenes are between Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton. The acting between the two is pretty diabolical, but to be fair this is down to the script and the almost unbelievably amateurish dialogue. The only actors that seem to turn in believable performances are Ben Kingsley and Alfred Molina. In fact if it wasn't for Molina, this movie would have been one dry, boring affair.

Another point is that I found some of Harry Gregson-Williams's music a little odd. The music used on the Blu-ray menu screen (which I assume is from the movie) sounded a little too much like David Arnold's score for the Stargate movie.

Extras are also disappointing. On the Blu-ray disc you get The Sands of Time interactive feature (which allows you to access loads of behind the scenes information on the movie as you watch it); and Deleted Scene (1 min, 26 sec). On the DVD there's An Unseen World: Making Prince of Persia (15 min, 13 sec) which is your usual making of... behind the scenes featurette.

Yes the movie looks great, but the plot and overall acting really let the whole thing down.

3

Darren Rea