Five reasons why Prince of Persia is awesome

This is a guest post by Sally Partridge. I'm a little confused because the last Prince of Persia I played consisted of a little pixelated Persian running zig-zag up and down stairs, hanging from floors and breaking through ceilings. Those were the days. Now apparently there's a film out: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

1. Jake Gyllenhaal

Jake has left gay cowboy territory far behind and stepped into the realm of hot skirt wearing men ala Brad Pitt and Eric Bana in Troy, the fellas from 300 and even, although to a far lesser extent, Russell Crowe in Gladiator.

I felt a small twinge of guilt admiring Taylor Lautner's naked, bronzed chest in New Moon but that adolescent fantasy got swept through the door when Jake entered the scene. His burnished Persian bod is most definitely PG-rated, and at my age, totally achievable.



Gemma Arterton. Seems like they rounded up every thespian with a hook nose for this film.

2. Jerry Bruckheimer

One website dubbed legendary producer Jerry Bruckheimer as a saner version of Michael Bay. While good old Micky Bay can be relied upon to deliver bangs and explosions aplenty, Jerry B delivers good old fashion action and adventure topped with lots of CG. Think Armageddon, Pirates of the Caribbean, King Arthur, National Treasure. If it’s got crumbling temples, epic fight scenes and video game style chases, then Jerry probably produced it.

3. The game

The game was awesome, full stop. The music, the setting, the action - all of it! Prince of Persia The Two Thrones was the first game I managed to clock by myself (okay with some help), without losing interest half-way through. First they made a graphic novel of the game and now a movie and while it can be said that Hollywood makes films out of everything, this time it was the right thing to do.

4. The stunts

The first time Prince Dastan (Jake) runs up a wall, jumps across a roof and manages to capture a walled city all by himself I spilled my Coke in my neighbour's lap. The film features some of the most incredible stunt work (CGI?) I've ever seen, and yes I have seen Ninja Assassin (twice).

5. The Hashshashin

Think Nazgul crossed with the Sith crossed with dark wizards. These guys are mean, gross looking; speak to snakes and the toughest son's of bitches ever to cross your screen. They travel in their dust devils for god’s sake. Remember those mystical guys in 300 that threw the flaming grenades at the Spartans? That’s them. Needless to say, the fight scenes are awesome.

It’s close but its not the perfect film. My one issue with the movie (and I blame Disney entirely for this) is the token action movie one-liners and soft-core humour. Ostrich racing? C’mon.

And yes, Jake gets the girl in the end, but doesn’t he always?