Mmm… Jake’s abs

Prince of Persia: 3.25/5

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain), Gemma Arterton (Quantam of Solace), Ben Kingsley (Ghandi), Alfred Molina (Frida, Spiderman 2)

In a nutshell: More action packed than the original platform game

Synopsis: We follow the quest of Dastan, resourceful and hunky street urchin –come- adopted Prince of Persia as he fights to prove his innocence following the death of the King, find the culprit, protect an ancient dagger, woo the girl and of course save the world.

Action packed from start to finish with the occasional cheeky one-liner thrown in for good measure, this is simply a fun outing at the cinema.  The occasional Parkour moves, jumping from building to building, and the swinging from strategically placed rods of the hero, took me back to my teenage days of playing the game on the pc.  Gyllenhaal, the thinking woman’s piece of candy, is more buff than usual and quite charming to listen to with his passable British accent.  While Arterton makes a good antagonist and, I’m sure the guys will agree, is not bad to look at either.  Kingsley and Molina are good in their supporting roles as always, although perhaps Kingsley was a little subtle for my tastes.  It does not take rocket science to figure out the story line, but the action, humour and richness of Persia created make up for it.  I would definitely watch it again, if only to see Jake’s abs.