Saturday, June 5, 2010

Movie Review - Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time

- Beginnings
Early on, a fellow by the name of Jordan Mechner loved movies. Classic, fast-paced, and heart wrenching adventures. In the early 80's he brought his ideas to life, in a film project with his brother & famlily. Creating two diverse games called "Karateka" & "Prince of Persia". From the start you were given a short introduction, then tossed into a dungeon. Along with a time clock, you had to engage every catacomb, trap, clash with guards, and many perils. But you did it all to save the woman, your hero loved. It was a simple premise, but it opened up a plethora of a imaginitive minds.


- The Next Step
Akin to Prince of Persia's legacy, JM continued on various projects. Most notably a mystery game called "The Last Express", and various documentaries. For some time, JM took a long deserved break from designing games, and sought other projects. But something brought him back to games, a company by the name of UbiSoft thought of reviving the PoP franchise (which ran into many rough spots throughout the years). Thankfully being an advisor, "Sands of Time" was given approval, and gave the series a new life, and an engaging story.


- From videogame to film, the journey unfolds
Jerry Bruckheimer, many film fans know this name, and thankfully his crew delivers their utmost word. For those that have been fans of "Pirates of the Caribbean", to CSI (Miami, NY) , and many of his production teams other projects. "Sands of Time" as interpreted into a film treatment has been done with the utmost care, and still gives its best to fans either from the gaming community, or those who love action movies.

Going to diverse aspects of lost kingdoms, and the desert dunes. Every background piece is a part of the story, between night & day, and battles that take place. Motion & solemn moments are carefully directed with diligence that JB's team delivers.

Storywise, SoT takes a departure from the in-game series, and takes the viewer on a different quest. Following the same prince, now as we know as "Dastan", his origin, and how he came to be. To meeting the "damsel in distress", along with the "dagger", "allies", and the "villains".

In short, "Sands of Time" is an excellent movie, and definitely not one to miss.

*Bonus links -
http://jordanmechner.com/ Jordan Mechner's official website
http://ubisoft.com/
http://adisney.go.com/disneypictures/princeofpersia/
http://prince-of-persia.us.ubi.com/ Official Series site

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