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Dastan, is not a prince by blood. King Sharaman, in one of his marketplace trips sees Dastan’s nobility when he saved a friend from the palace guards. The King then adopts Dastan as one of his own and raised him with Garsiv and Tus.

Years after when Tus, the first-born, is training to succeed his father, there seemed to be an illegal weapons manufacturing in Alamut – the sacred city. Although King Sharaman believes that Alamut must be left alone, Nizam, the King’s brother, advises Tus to continue breaching Alamut’s walls. Dastan wants to lead the assault but Tus assigned Garsiv to do it instead since Dastan is not yet ready. Dastan’s disobedience gave them victory when he successfully breached Alamut’s eastern gate. During the fight, Dastan acquires the mythical Dagger of Time. Princess Tamina, head and priestess of Alamut, is the guardian of the dagger for it gives the owner the ability to go back time and may be used for evil. The sacred city falls to the Persians, Tamina is captured and offered as a wife for Tus. The princess agrees because she wants to get the dagger from Dastan’s hands.

During the celebration, Dastan, as directed by Tus, gives a gown as a gift to the King. The gown is poisoned and kills the King. Shocked, Dastan flees with Tamina. Dastan has to prove himself innocent and Tamina tags along because of the dagger. On the night that Tamina attempts to kill Dastan, he accidentally discovers the dagger’s power. He suspects that Tus poisoned his father for the dagger to be the new ruler of Persia.  They soon find themselves in the Valley of the Slaves where they met Sheik Amar, an entrepreneur who is allergic to taxes and Seso, a master knife thrower. Dastan offers Tamina as a slave in return fro their hospitality. When they discover how precious the dagger is and how they could be rewarded when they return Dastan to Persia, they assault him but the couple escaped.

With the goal to tell Nizam everything, Dastan and Tamina attend the King’s funeral in secret. Dastan tries to convince Uncle Nizam of Tus’ treachery but when he realizes the truth after seeing the burns in his uncle’s hands, he flees.

Dastan explains to Tamina what has transpired and finally figured out that it was his uncle who wants the power of the dagger. His uncle saved his brother one day from a lion’s attack when they were young. He believes his uncle wants to undo what he did, ensuring Sharaman’s death and his throne as king of Persia. Tamina explains that this could not be done because it will wipe out the human race. Long ago when the gods saw how sinful humankind has been, they wanted to destroy the earth with sand. But an innocent girl begged them to seal the sands in a glass and save mankind. But should the dagger pierce the sand glass, it will destroy the entire world.

In Persia, Nizam convinces King Tus to have Dastan killed without trial. But Tus, now thinking like a king, dismisses this suggestion. Desperate, Nizam hires the Hassassins to kill Dastan.

After leaving a riot back in the Valley of the Slaves, Dastan and Tamina are captured again by Sheik Amar. The Hassassins control vipers to kill the group. Seso should have been killed but because Dastan used the dagger, he saved the master knife thrower. Tamina is able to convince the Sheik’s participation because of a promise of mountains of gold inside the secret sanctuary. Here, Tamina plans to sacrifice herself to seal the dagger. Unfortunately the group runs into Garsiv’s men. Dastan is able to convince his brother of his innocence but the kind brother is killed by the Hassassins. The latter acquired the dagger from Tamina and gave it to Nizam.

Dastan has to reveal the truth about Nizam to King Tus in time but they had to get the dagger again to convince the King of its powers. With Seso, sacrificing himself in a duel against another knife throwing Hassassin, they got the dagger again. While the Sheik distracts the guards, Dastan faces his brother and presents the truth and the dagger’s power by killing himself. King Tus, presses the dagger’s hilt and saves his brother. Nizam arrives and after realizing he is exposed, he kills the King and is now on a race to get to the sand glass first. Tamina opens a secret door to the sand glass to intercept Nizam. After a confrontation with the Hassassins, they are left with Nizam who knocks Tamina off the cliff. She manages to hold on to Dastan but after professing her love,

she sacrifices herself to free Dastan and save mankind. Nizam releases the sands of time destroying half of the city. But after Dastan takes control, he turns back time up to the point when he first held the dagger during the seige of Alamut.

Dastan uses his knowledge to expose Nizam to his brothers. Frustrated, Nizam attacks Dastan but Tus saves him. The Persians apologize to Princess Tamina and propose her marrige to Dastan as a sign of goodwill. Dastan returns the dagger to the surprised princess as a gift.

Prince of Persia Movie Review

It is first best to choose your stand before you watch the movie. Are you going to watch it as a gamer or a simple movie goer who has his expectations down to the ground? Just like all movie adapted from games or novels, the gamer or reader has a different, if not higher, expectations.

As a family movie, Prince of Persia is a well rounded movie that portrays family values like loyalty and brotherhood.The princes father taught them that they should stick together no matter what happens. The brothers doubted each other throughout the film but in the end, they are the allies. Nizam’s unresolved internal conflict with his brother is precious and worth delving into because it is a forerunner for a same possible conflict within Garsiv.

The stunt director is able to showcase dastan’s moves from the game much to the gamer’s satisfaction. Unfortunately, the fights and the chases are one too many. Good thing they are short enough to avoid extreme eye strain.

Though undeveloped, Dastan and Tamina’s cat and mouse love affair will keep the girls on their seats and the boys entertained. Her role as the dictator could be very tiring and her sacrifie in the end seems to be out of place. Tamina could have proven her true worth if she was able to seriously wound Dastan and after realizing her feelings, she could have used the dagger to undo what she did.

Set in Persia, the movie is colorful and it matches the individuality of the characters. Although each are very distinct, their motivation and humanity are still too vague. The emotions they are trying to communicate doesn’t come across. Dastan is an ordinary kid exuding royalty and nobility but the plot was not able to maximize this. The situatios only challenged his persistence and acrobatic skills. As “the” Prince of Persia, the struggle of his father’s death should have baffled him instead of just wanting to clear his name. Tamina is very beautiful, regal and cunning. It is disappointing though how noisy she has become overtime. With all that jazz, the Hassassins seem to the the worthy opponents – the last “boss” Dastan has to fight. Because they are too dark and too fast, only Seso’s knife throwing duel justified their existence. A one to many confrontation could have challenged Dastan’s worth as the bearer of the Dagger of Time.

Prince of Persia Movie Review Trailer

Prince of Persia Characters

Dastan – the street rat turned Prince of Persia. He controls the mythical Dagger of Time.

Tamina – Princess and high priestess of Alamut. She is the Dagger of Time’s guardian.

King Sharaman – the King of Persia who adopted Dastan as his own son.

Nizam – the King’s brother and advisor

Tus – (center) the King’s first-born and heir to the throne.

Garsiv – (left) Tus’ brother and head of the Persian army.

Shiek Amar – (left) an entrepreneur and race organizer in the Valley of the Slaves

Seso – (right) a master knife thrower from Ngbaka.

Prince of Persia Actors

Jacob Benjamin “Jake” Gyllenhaal is an American actor. The son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, Gyllenhaal began acting at age ten. In the 2004 blockbuster The Day After Tomorrow he portrayed a student. He then played against type as a frustrated Marine in Jarhead (2005). The same year, he won critical acclaim as Jack Twist in the film Brokeback Mountain opposite Heath Ledger.

Gemma Christina Arterton is an English actress. Her commercial breakthrough was her role as the eponymous heroine in the BBC adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles. She has since starred in many feature films including British comedy St Trinian’s and its sequel St. Trinian’s II: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold, as well as blockbuster hits: James Bond film Quantum of Solace (2008) and Clash of the Titans.

Sir Ben Kingsley is born Krishna Pandit Bhanji. He is an English actor who has won Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards in his career. He is known for starring as Mohandas Gandhi in the film Gandhi in 1982, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. In 2007, Kingsley appeared as a Polish American mobster in the Mafia comedy You Kill Me, and a Middle Eastern oil minister in War, Inc. In 2010, Kingsley starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Shutter Island, directed by Martin Scorsese.

Alfred Molina (born May 24, 1953) is a British and American actor. He first came to public attention in the U.K. for his supporting role in the 1987 film Prick Up Your Ears. He is well known for his roles in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Spider-Man 2, Species, Not Without My Daughter, Chocolat, Frida, Steamboy, The Hoax, The Da Vinci Code, Little Traitor, and An Education. He is also the only actor to have two Lego Minifigure modeled after him.

Steve Toussaint began his acting career in the mid 90’s. For starters he played supporting roles in movies like Judge Dredd and Circus. He then acted for Dog Eat Dog and The Order, and earned major accolades for his roles on TV shows like The Knock, The Bill, Doctors and Broken News.

Toby Kebbell is an English actor.  He became famous through his role as Anthony in the film Dead Man’s Shoes. He was nominated for Most Promising Newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards. Kebbell then appeared in Oliver Stone’s Alexander and Match Point, which Woody Allen cast him in without audition after being impressed with his performance in Dead Man’s Shoes. He is set to play a role in the 2010 movie – The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

Richard Coyle is an English actor. He began appearing in such television programmes as Lorna Doone, as John Ridd and Evelyn Waugh’s wartime saga Sword of Honour, and in Mike Leigh’s film Topsy-Turvy In 2000, Coyle’s big break arrived in the form of the socially inept Jeff Murdock in the hit comedy Coupling. Most recently Richard has completed filming the lead role in Renny Harlin’s upcoming movie Georgia.

Ronald Pickup is an English actor. His television work began with an episode during the second series of Doctor Who in 1964, for which he was paid £30. More modern roles have included parts in Hornblower, Hustle, Foyle’s War, Midsomer Murders, Waking the Dead, The Bill, Silent Witness, Sherlock Holmes, and Inspector Morse. He is also a regular character in the BBC sitcom The Worst Week of My Life. His most recent appearance was in Holby City as Lord Charles Byrne. In February 2010 he appeared as ‘Pegleg’ in the BBC’s period drama Lark Rise to Candleford.

Prince of Persia Trivia and Posters

The movie banked on the popularity of the game and its characters. The posters were presented as such probably to establish the movie as the first installment to a blockbuster franchise.

Movie Trivia

Before Jake Gyllenhaal was cast in the leading role, both Orlando Bloom and Zac Efron were rumored for the part.

Rey-Phillip Santos was replaced by actor Toby Kebbell due to a motorcycle accident on location.

Screenwriter Robin Morningstar approached the property owner Jordan Mechner with a script based on the original 1989 game of the franchise, the aim being working as a team to get a film made. He and his materials were abruptly exorcised before Disney bought the film rights to the series. The Disney film focuses on the much-later “Sands Of Time” story arc, whilst the game canon seemingly reboots well clear of its origins with a new game titled simply “Prince Of Persia”. Robin Morningstar’s script, much like the original 1989 canon, is out in the cold. (This was referred to briefly during interview in Retro Gamer Magazine Issue 51.)

In February 2008, Iranian star Golshifteh Farahani was invited to do a screen test in London along with Gemma Arterton for the role of Tamina but she was arrested at the airport by the Iranian authorities & banned from leaving the country for six months because she had played in Ridley Scott’s Body of Lies (2008)

This film marks the second PG-13 rated movie under the Walt Disney Pictures label in the United States. The first was Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), not counting its film sequels.

The “Hassansins” are obviously modeled on the famous Islamic mystery cult called the Hashashin from which the word “assassin” is derived given their use of terror and assassinations as political leverage. Their leader was named Hassan Ibn Sabbah. Legends have surrounded the indoctrination process of the members of the Hashashin cult, which are said to involve drugging and mind control.

At the first UK screening at the Disney Roadshow, Director Mike Newell stated that, as he has known ‘Jake Gyllenhall’ since Jake was 7 years old, he always wanted Jake for the part. He went on to say that he selected Gemma Arterton because of “how very old seeing the back of her beautiful neck” made him feel.

Dastan, the Prince’s name in this movie means “Champion” or “Hero” in Farsi. Farsi is the language most commonly spoken in Iran.