tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post6077418753920804297..comments2023-03-30T16:56:53.692-07:00Comments on Icebox Movies: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)Adam Zanziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14524618281515322239noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-2784272406469658192010-06-16T01:25:35.154-07:002010-06-16T01:25:35.154-07:00Belated thanks for the kind comments about my blog...Belated thanks for the kind comments about my blog, Adam - I'm all behind again. My teenage son says just the same about games being turned into movies, that he has never really seen a good movie of the game.Judyhttp://movieclassics.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-18984586956514852892010-06-08T18:14:58.132-07:002010-06-08T18:14:58.132-07:00Adam, I was watching Tavis Smiley the other night ...Adam, I was watching Tavis Smiley the other night & that's where Kingley made the link between Shakespeare and Prince of Persia. But he was so eloquent about the movie in other promotional appearances that he almost convinced me that this movie was actually substantive. I saw in another comment on your blog that apparently die hard Potter fans hate Goblet of Fire which is odd since the storytelling and acting are really strong in that one - which makes me think Potter-heads are basically tone deaf when it comes to judging good cinema. I don't think they liked the Cuaron one either & that was easily the most cinematically imaginative of the series.<br />I'm pretty sure Newell also directed an episode or two of the Young Indiana Jones series in the early 90s. So I don't think he's overwhelmed by scale or budgets per se.<br />Not to defend Bruckheimer's cultural output, but I have heard from multiple reliable sources that he's a genuinely nice man who treats his staff very well. That doesn't make up for unloading bad movies onto the world - but there are alot of terrible human beings (including those who actually make good movies) that I've witnessed firsthand. So when I hear that someone successful is actually a decent person, I am willing to cut them a little slack.ckoh71https://www.blogger.com/profile/10563402142923766923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-4098636869183829062010-06-08T13:05:32.053-07:002010-06-08T13:05:32.053-07:00Chris, I don't don't necessarily recommend...Chris, I don't don't necessarily recommend against the movie (I'm not one of those "see it" or "skip it" people--I generally even like it when people see movies that I dislike or hate so that they know what I'm talking about). Of course, I'm not recommending the movie, either, but... I had no idea Kingsley was comparing the movie to Shakespeare!?? When did he do that?<br /><br />It's bizarre, but I haven't seen <i>Goblet of Fire</i>, or even Yates' <i>Order of the Phoenix</i>. I've seen every other Potter movie, but yeah... there was a long gap lasting from 2005 to 2008 in which I didn't attend a single one (meaning, two of them).<br /><br />And you reminded me: <i>Kangaroo Jack</i> is the best Bruckheimer movie ever made that feels like it was made to inspire a Six Flags theme park ride. I should know because I used to work at Six Flags and most families that go there reek of Bruckheimer infantile-ness. But now I'm just rambling about a job I hated.Adam Zanziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14524618281515322239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-86685212014904068332010-06-08T11:31:20.093-07:002010-06-08T11:31:20.093-07:00Thanks for posting a detailed write up on this fil...Thanks for posting a detailed write up on this film so I can definitely cross it off my list. I harbored a perverse desire to see this movie for a while - and I was almost enticed by Mike Newell's name. You forgot to mention that he directed the 2nd best Harry Potter film which was distinguished by its clean storytelling. I was hoping some of that would rub off here. But clearly, the cast and filmmaking team was subordinate to the demands of making an uber-blockbuster product. Black Hawk Down the only Bruckheimer production approaching greatness - surely you have forgotten Kangaroo Jack? I jest - I actually worked on marketing KJ before it became a rapping kangaroo movie. The original script was a straight ahead mob action film (albeit a really inept one). Oddly enough, in our plans for the web marketing - we focused solely on the kangaroo & that's what happened to the movie.<br />Anyway, back to Prince of Persia - I do find it depressing that an actor as great as Ben Kingsley is out shilling himself and comparing the movie to Shakespeare & convincing others (as he must have convinced himself) that this is indeed a movie with heart about seeing the potential in every one.ckoh71https://www.blogger.com/profile/10563402142923766923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-85504456930589959242010-06-08T00:48:08.298-07:002010-06-08T00:48:08.298-07:00Pleased to meet you, Judy! I was feeling that bore...Pleased to meet you, Judy! I was feeling that boredom during parts of the movie as well. And there are some summer blockbusters where the boredom doesn't really affect me either way, but with this one it just kind of depressed me... since I admired the video game, and thus, the movie had a lot going for it. I still don't think there has even been a decent film-to-game adaptation.<br /><br />By the way, I checked out your blog. I like it a lot--you put a lot of thought into it.Adam Zanziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14524618281515322239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-86770051448665032762010-06-06T23:51:33.178-07:002010-06-06T23:51:33.178-07:00Great review, Adam - I'll admit I was fairly b...Great review, Adam - I'll admit I was fairly bored by this movie, which my teenager dragged me along to, despite loving other Newell films such as 'Donnie Brasco' and 'Mona Lisa Smile'. I also enjoyed 'Goblet of Fire', though I'm not a big Potter fan so wouldn't know how true it was to the book! <br /><br />I do agree with you that this felt like a 'Pirates of the Caribbean' rip-off - I liked Gyllenhaal but felt he was wasted a lot of the time. I did notice the failed search for the weapons of mass destruction which you highlight here.Judyhttp://movieclassics.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-41555446102343601222010-06-05T23:57:29.005-07:002010-06-05T23:57:29.005-07:00Many thanks, Sam! My opinion is that Gyllenhaal wa...Many thanks, Sam! My opinion is that Gyllenhaal was well-cast as the Prince: he looks a lot like the Prince from the game, and he has a similar voice. Plus, with <i>Brokeback Mountain</i> and <i>Zodiac</i> to his credit, he can also be a superb actor when given the proper tools. I think he could have excelled in <i>Prince of Persia</i> the way Tobey MacGuire did as Spider-Man (at least, in <i>Spider-Man 2</i>--the only movie from that trilogy I enjoy), had he been allowed to do a little more. But in true Bruckheimer-production tradition, the screenplay is so uneven that his Prince doesn't make much of an impression. It's sad, too, because I wanted him to wow audiences the way Ledger did in <i>The Dark Knight</i>. No luck.<br /><br />I gotta familiarize myself with Newell more. I've heard <i>Enchanted April</i> is one of his best. And of course there's other stuff like <i>Mona Lisa Smile</i> that he probably only did for money; and <i>Goblet of Fire</i>, which I hear he messed up so bad that every Potter fan now hates him with a passion! I'll always forgive him because he made <i>Brasco</i>, though.<br /><br />Honestly, I didn't like <i>Clash of the Titans</i> either. Again, with that movie I sensed a real uninterest from the filmmakers in the source material. I probably had a better experience watching <i>Persia</i>, though, because Newell is more aesthetically interesting (though not much of an advanced visualist). Leterrier, on the contrary, seems to have a serious problem with being able to hold a shot long enough for it to register in the subconscious.Adam Zanziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14524618281515322239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8545661733980837263.post-36729242204097224672010-06-05T13:18:21.508-07:002010-06-05T13:18:21.508-07:00"I did enjoy the way Newell films the time-re..."I did enjoy the way Newell films the time-reversal sequences: he has the characters look upon the dagger with astonishment, as the blade shines brightly, sands flies through the air, and oblivious characters in the background start moving backwards. And I like how Newell does not feel confined by the PG-13 rating and sometimes gleefully pushes the envelope of violence; a scene where a character's throat is slit is just as potent as the basement ambush in Donnie Brasco. And Newell pays special care to the strained relationship between Gyllenhaal and Kingsley's characters, much as he did to the strained relationship between Pacino and Depp in the earlier film. In effect, Newell tries his very hardest with the material he has."<br /><br />Indeed Adam, I'd concede that much too, though in a general sense you've nailed this film. As you note, Newell's work on DONNIE BRASCO is solid (my favorite film from him is actually ENCHANTED APRIL)but has been undermined by a lackluster script and cast. Gyllenthal was somewhat campy though, I'd have to say. CLASH OF THE TITANS - no CITIZEN KANE either (ha!) rates an edge over this, but this may have to do with the mythological slant of my own taste. <br /><br />As always,a though and superbly argued essay.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.com