This review first appeared in The Colorado Springs Gazette. To read this review at its original source, click here.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is the first popcorn hit of the summer, a mindless, high-fructose, high-octane adventure that demands very little of your intellect but is sure to get your heart racing. Like the first Pirates of the Caribbean (the two films share the same mega-producer in Jerry Bruckheimer), the property has an inauspicious genesis (in this case, a popular and more than 20-year-old video game) translated into a sandstorm of colorful costumes, death-defying stunts and swashbuckling swordfights. None of it amounts to much, but you’ll be too entertained to really care.

Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal) is the adopted son of the king of Persia, a loyal and courageous prince who, when he is falsely accused of his father’s murder, must reluctantly join forces with Tamina (Gemma Arterton, recently of Clash of the Titans), the princess of the city he and his forces have just sacked. Together, the two must safeguard a sacred dagger capable of turning back time. It is this ancient and all-powerful object that someone very close to Dastan seeks. But who? If Dastan and Tamina don’t keep the dagger out of the hands of ruthless assassins and a villainous tyrant bent on changing the course of history, a global apocalypse is sure to follow.

Prince of Persia is directed by Mike Newell, best known for helming the recent Harry Potter films. While his efforts there have been admirable, at times inspired even, Newell stumbles a bit here, his usual competency undone by gargantuan special effects, gloomy cinematography and an overall chaotic visual style, as if the film was just a tad bit too epic for his talents. Prince of Persia is a smorgasbord of films that travel in the exotic, from Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider to Disney’s own Aladdin. This isn’t an Arabia that has ever existed outside the mythologies conjured in “The Arabian Nights.”

For his part, Gyllenhaal looks like he’s having fun (he even manages a consistent accent), not something that can be said of every substantial actor who “slums” it in the occasional action-adventure movie. While some actors practically have “My agent insisted this would be good for my career but I am loathing every minute” plastered on their faces, Gyllenhaal, his body chiseled and honed, appears to be having as good a time as his audience. Like his digital alter-ego, Gyllenhaal’s athleticism is on full display as he sprints, bounces, careens and acrobatically ping-pongs through the film, making a convincing case that parkour—the art of freerunning and negotiating any obstacle within one’s path by adapting one’s movements to the physical environment—was not invented in 20th century France, but rather 6th century Persia.

Much has been written about the casting choices. Gyllenhaal is hardly the first white bread American star to don a turban. Douglas Fairbanks did it in The Thief of Bagdad. Most of the other stars sport British accents, long the fallback of historical epics. What may have once been an overtly racist casting decision on Hollywood’s part is now more a case of simple economics. Hollywood would happily use a Middle Eastern actor in the part if he had the same marquee cachet as Oscar anointed Gyllenhaal. Though, for that to happen, Hollywood would have to create roles that would allow such actors to flourish. And in that regard, Hollywood is as uninspired as ever.

Fans of the game beware—the film picks and chooses which parts of the mythology to highlight, and in the view of more than one gamer I spoke to, dumbs down a rather robust mythology, substituting it with a storyline that left them feeling decidedly betrayed. Non-gamers shouldn’t concern themselves. While Prince of Persia’s plot is hardly stout or full-bodied, it is well suited to a film of this popcorn genre.

© Copyright 2010 Brandon Fibbs. All rights reserved.

Directed by Mike Newell
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina
PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action.
Running Time: 115 minutes