MOVIE NEWS: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Editor’s note: we interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for a word from OWL’s assistant editor, Kendra Brown. (Craig will be back next week.) Enjoy!

In case you haven’t noticed, a good chunk of our reviews include movies based on books. From Twilight to Harry Potter, it’s hard to find a movie that wasn’t a book first. But today, OWL readers, I’ve got one. This movie wasn’t adapted from a series of books, but it is based on a… video game.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, which opens in theatres today, is based on the 2003 video game of the same name. If you’re not familiar, the movie and the game are set in the Middle Eastern Persian Empire way back in the sixth century. The main character is Dastan — a prince and a great warrior with mind-blowing sword, juggling, and acrobatic skills.

In the movie, Prince Dastan teams up with Princess Tamina of Alamut to protect an ancient dagger that the gods have entrusted her with. The weapon possesses mystical powers, allowing the owner to go back in time and change the past. In the wrong hands, the dagger’s power could lead to a vicious sandstorm, and with it, the total destruction of humankind. Dastan and Tamina must return the dagger to its sacred hiding spot before it’s too late. However, with many evil forces at work against them, the prince and princess may not succeed in time.

Here are a few observations:

1. It’s action-packed. From sword fights to sandstorms, the action is big, fun, and fast-paced! Many of the scenes reminded me of the Pirates of Caribbean trilogy — but with sword-swinging princes instead of swashbuckling pirates. And, of course, Jake Gyllenhaal instead of Johnny Depp.

2. The setting is awesome. Fact: the movie was shot in Morocco, a country located in North Africa, which includes the Western Sahara desert. And thanks to this impressive backdrop, the filmmakers did an amazing job of transporting the audience to the Middle East — from the beautiful temples and bustling markets, to the sprawling sand dunes and sky-scraping mountains.

3. It’s funny, too. The character Sheikh Amar, played by Alfred Molina, provides the major laughs in this movie. In fact, most of my favourite scenes included him. Well, him and a pack of racing ostriches!

Overall, I thought this movie was lots of fun to watch. But a small warning: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is rated PG (PG-13 in the U.S.) and has some violent parts. If you’re not a fan of fight scenes, this may not be the movie for you!

That’s it for me. Happy Friday!

Kendra, owlblog@owlkids.com