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Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (don't worry it's actually pretty good)

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Prince of Persia The Sands of Time: A movie review
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Ok, so going in I had pretty high hopes for this movie for 2 reasons: the Prince of Persia game series was friggin' awesome and pirates of the Caribbean was a fun movie to watch. But I was worried like so many people who have seen beloved video games turned into crap movies: what if they screw this up and completely ruin the memory of something that was totally awesome for me?

We've seen it so many times: street fighter (arguably the worst video game movie ever), Mortal Kombat, Super Mario Bros, Wing Commander, Double Dragon, the list goes on and on. The appetite of Hollywood for cashing in on name recognition at the cost of artistic integrity can never be fully satisfied it seems.

However, all members of the gaming community can breath just a little bit easier this time (at least in my opinion). The movie is good, not great or spectacular, but not bad or mediocre either. In the 1 to 10 scale it sits comfortably in the 6.5-7.0 range, not at all unlike myself. The best thing this movie has going for it in terms of being related to the game is that it contains all the important plot elements: invading army, sacred relics, the prince, some evil usurper, lots of free running/parkour elements, very tongue-in-cheek humor by the prince, and a hot babe for the prince to chase around/save/get totally frustrated by.

Half the reason I went to see this movie in the first place was because I knew Gemma Arterton was going to be in it and she is HOOOOOT! (slightly elevated pitch in voice to add emphasis on juvenile fixation on smokin' hot babes). But enough of that.

What I liked most about this movie was the way it managed to capture the experience I had when I first played the game, which was a mix of curiosity, excitement, wonder,and just a little something I can't quite make a name for just yet. The plot and action of the movie are straightforward, the acting is good, the action is solid (as opposed to liquid, or supercooled liquid [like glass]), and the visual landscape is lush and beautiful. That last point is pretty important since this story is trying to capture the environment that inspired so many stories that have captured our imaginations for ages like Aesop's Fables or the Grimm Brother's fairy tails.

So should you see this movie? Yes. And if you're a big fan of the games, just relax, everything is going to be just fine (just try to relax and enjoy the movie and don't spend all your time trying to compare it to the games).

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