even more Prince of Persia movie comments

I watched Prince of Persia again recently, and I was reminded of two scenes that struck me, even though I neglected to elaborate in my previous writings.

As ever, Caution! Spoilers!

Framed for the murder of his father, Dastan is on the run. While trying to seek help, he is discovered by his vengeful brother, Garsiv. In the confrontation, Dastan insists that he is innocent, but Garsiv is unmoved, remaining set on ending Dastan’s life. Dastan escapes, but later Garsiv catches up again. Dastan maintains his innocence, and this time there is evidence to confirm his story, so that, although Garsiv is still angry and skeptical, he pauses to listen. Dastan rattles off his explanation, ending the account of his current predicament with, “Who could I tell?” Garsiv stands for a moment before imploring with a sincere, “Tell me, brother.” Okay, the scene is a bit corny, particularly after Dastan’s quoting their late father’s claim that “the bond between brothers makes their kingdom strong” (or however he said it). But I love the pictures painted here: a changed heart, a restored relationship, not to mention giving hope to Dastan who was out of options.

AGAIN MAJOR PLOT SPOILERS!

After time has been reset, it seems as if all of the bad things that happened have been undone: Dastan’s family and best friend are still alive, and Dastan is able to right the previous wrong by revealing his uncle’s treachery. However, as Tus is apologizing for the invasion-under-false-pretenses, when Dastan sees Tamina, it’s clear that something good was undone as well, that is, the growth in the relationship between Dastan and Tamina. Sure, they started out shaky, but in true Disney style they overcame it to find love… except that now it only happened for Dastan. (Hence, my reference to the [i]Angel[/i] episode, “I Will Remember You.”) Fortunately with Tus proposing a marriage between Dastan and Tamina to strengthen their countries’ relationship**, the two are on the road to getting back what they lost. Dastan even comments that he looks forward to the day when they know each other well. (Again.) 😉

** I love Tus’ “remedy,” btw. “So sorry we invaded your city by mistake. You can marry a complete stranger to make up for it!”

* I still find the Hassansins(sp?) scene hysterical, particularly when one guy just spins – really, that’s his deadly skill? LOL – and Dastan’s uncle looks positively giddy just to be there, walking through the midst of it all.

~ * ^ + – ~

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more Prince of Persia movie comments

Caution! Could be spoiler-y!

A few random comments about Prince of Persia: Sands of Time – in honor of its being released on DVD today. :throws confetti:

* The scene where a young boy charges into the street, causing a guard to be thrown from his horse mimicked a scene from Disney’s “Aladdin.”

* When Dastan and Tamina are escaping from Sheik Amar, why didn’t Seso throw a knife to kill him or them? He could certainly reach through the gate that was blocking their path.

* When it seemed Dastan was going to have to give Tamina up, there was an element of the Angel episode, “I Will Remember You.”

* As one reviewer pointed out, Tamina does get the worst lines. Plus, she frequently comes across as spoiled… or maybe she’s supposed to. :shrug:

* Plus, Tamina can face down the leader of the group who just invaded her city, but she screams at being mildly manhandled while posing as a waitress?

* The scene where the assassins – oh, excuse me, Hassansins(sp?) – are practicing in their lair/hideout is sort of funny. Don’t get me wrong, they’ve obviously got mad skillz, but they’re really just showing off at that point. “Look how easily I decapitate this dummy, who can’t move or fight back! FEAR ME!”  😆

Prince of Persia: movie review and favorite scenes

I saw Prince of Persia: Sands of Time on its opening weekend and made note of a few non-spoilery thoughts to share:

* At least one part of all the reviews is true: you can easily spot the bad guy within the first few minutes, although the other characters remain blissfully unaware.

* My one complaint: I did not appreciate their attempt at being political. It was absolutely unnecessary. In fact it was a distraction, because it pulled me out of the story (and into a state of annoyance) for several minutes.

* There is a boatload of violence – no surprise there, given its inspiration – but at least things happen fast. Maybe that was intentional as part of the video game feel.

* I liked the ending very much, but, at the same time, it feels kind of like, “You cheated.”

Overall, I found the movie fun and watchable. In fact, I plan to see it again before it leaves the theatre, and that’s the first movie I’ve been able to say that of for a long time.

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Favorite scenes from Prince of Persia

After seeing Prince of Persia again, I feel compelled to describe some of my favorite scenes.

CAUTION! BIG TIME SPOILERS! SERIOUSLY, DO NOT READ IF YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED!

As Dastan is scaling the walls of Alamut (in a very video-game moment) to break in during the Persian attack, his comrade is shooting arrows from a crossbow into the stone wall for Dastan to climb on. After several hits precisely where they were needed, the archer misses, and the arrow bounces off the wall as Dastan is reaching for it. Dastan casts an annoyed glance over his shoulder. A fellow Persian scolds the archer, “Have you been *drinking*?” [Side comment: the guy asking the question here reminds me of the Ben Affleck character in “Shakespeare in Love” when they’re at practice for the play and a displeased Ben critiques another actor’s performance by asking, “Are you going to do it like *that*?”]

Having fled after being framed, Prince Dastan camps out in the desert. Princess Tamina, knowing that Dastan has the time-shifting dagger (although he has no idea of its powers), wormed her way into going with him. That night, using her feminine wiles to get close to him, she suddenly attacks, trying to obtain the dagger. Dastan defends himself and retaliates, but in doing so, he accidentally activates the dagger, sending him back one minute in time to when she’s trying to get close to him. Understandably, Dastan is disoriented, but he recovers enough to realize that she’s about to attack. And she strikes again, this time slashing him across the chest. Mortally wounded, he decides to try the dagger again, and it works again, undoing his wound and sending him back to the moment just before her attack. Stunned, he asks, “Did you see that?” Tamina moves again to enact her plan (for the third time, although she’s unaware of this). Dastan grabs her arm and growls, “Go for that sword again, and I swear, I’ll break your arm.” Surprised and alarmed that he knows her intention, Tamina gasps, “‘Again’?”

Sheik Amar asks Dastan where he found Tamina. Not wanting to reveal who she really is – and who *he* really is – Dastan lies that he traded a camel for her in a (slave) market. The suspicious sheik doesn’t believe him. “A camel?” he scoffs. “Look at her. She’s worth at least two.”

After the battle with the spike-thrower, Seso smiles briefly at his victory, but then his face turns sad/pained and he looks down. The camera pans out to reveal spikes embedded in his chest. As his last act, he throws the time-shifting dagger out the window, and it lands precisely where the others are waiting. As a memoriam, Sheik Amar says proudly, “Have I told you about the Ngbaka?” And Dastan, similarly respectful of Seso’s skills – and sacrifice – says simply, “Yes. You have.”

REPEAT! MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING FOLLOW!

After time has been reset back to the point where Dastan first got the dagger, he stands by as his brother, Tus, apologizes for the wrongful attack. When Dastan sees Tamina, he sort of catches his breath, and then waits as his brother starts talking about a union. No doubt Dastan is thinking that Tus wants to marry her, but this time Tus offers that she marry Dastan.

(“Thoughts” originally posted Sun Jun 06, 2010 1:57 pm,   
Favorite scenes originally posted Fri Jul 09, 2010 11:47 am)