Lost in Translation? – Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Welcome to Lost in Translation? – the Ready Up series where we look at the rocky two-way road of media adapted from video games and games based on films and TV shows, in a bid to decide whether the juice was worth the squeeze, or if what made the source material great in the first place got lost in translation.

Having dipped our toe into the world of anime last time on LIT?, this time we’re taking a look at the live-action film adaptation of one of my all-time favourite games (see – it even says so in my author bio). Ladies and gents, for your consideration – Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

Released in 2010, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time starred Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko, Jarhead), Gemma Arterton (St. Trinian’s, Quantum of Solace) and Sir Ben Kingsley (Sexy Beast, Iron Man 3) and was directed by Mike Newell (Donnie Brasco, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire). It looked somewhat like this:

The film was based loosely on the 2003 videogame Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, a stylish third-person action-adventure which cast players as the unnamed Prince as he battles to redeem himself after unleashing the titular Sands of Time during the game’s first act. Featuring an innovative mechanic whereby players had limited use of an ability to rewind time, as well as addictive acrobatic traversal of numerous tricky environments, the interactive Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time looked rather like this:

Although taking its central big idea from the game that inspired it, the filmic Prince of Persia differs somewhat from its source material. For a start, our hero has a name – Dastan – and rather than unleashing the Sands of Time, Dastan is instead framed for the murder of his adopted father, the King, and sets about clearing his name, planning to ultimately use the Sands of Time’s time-bending properties to stop the murder from having ever taken place. Reluctantly along for the ride is Princess Tamina, the guardian of the Sands of Time, and the only one who knows the truly devastating force the Sands possess.

So was this big-budget action adventure a match for its frankly fantastic forebear? Let’s take a look.

What it got right

While the film was at one point derided for the casting of the none-less-Persian Jake Gyllenhaal in the title role, he does an admirable job of leading this fun adventure from its awkward start – the search for non-existent weapons tipping the hat to Iraq parallels – until its convenient conclusion, playing Dastan as an always-watchable likeable rogue and doing fairly well with his English accent. Yes, that’s right – English accent. Don’t ask.

…the filmic Prince of Persia differs somewhat from its source material.

Plot-wise, Prince of Persia adopts a few key points of its namesake, though takes its own narrative path. The main constants between the game and film are the titular Sands of Time and the equally eponymous Prince, along with the Dagger of Time, the device sought by just about everyone in the film as much for its ornate beauty as for its power to reverse time. Ben Kingsley’s nefarious Nizam stands in for the game’s villainous Vizier and Gemma Arterton’s Princess Tamina is broadly equivalent to Princess Farah, serving as both an initially unwilling helper to the Prince and, eventually, as a love interest.

Where the film tries particularly hard is in its attempt to recreate some of the game’s thrilling acrobatic feats and in some regards does quite well, although this mostly translates to free-running sequences as the Prince frequently flees pursuers. Stylistically the film succeeds in capturing the look of the game that inspired it, with the Prince at one point wearing a costume taken directly from Prince of Persia: The Warrior Within and the not-meant-to-be-a-tie-in to this film (though sort-of was), Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands.

What it got wrong

Broadly speaking, there’s little to dislike in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. It’s a well-made movie and though not a classic by any means, does a good job in translating the game series to the big screen.

Ultimately the biggest narrative shift in the Prince’s journey to the big screen saw it losing one of the most fascinating aspects of the game that inspired it – namely the game’s narration. Told from the Prince’s perspective, as though telling his tale after it had happened, it was full of fun quirks, especially when a player’s foul-up resulted in the Prince’s demise, only to have his voiceover say “No, no, no – that’s not how it happened,” urging the player to pick up from the last checkpoint and get it right this time. Equally, after an extended look at the pause screen, the Prince would say “Now where was I?”, constantly reinforcing that you are playing his take on events, which would perhaps explain how he was capable of gravity-defying acts like wall-running. While such an approach could perhaps translate to film, the writers chose to play it safe in this regard.

The Verdict

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a fun adventure that narrowly fails to capture the magic of its source material, trying hard to stand on its own two feet, and with little in the way of subtle nods to fans of the game. Regardless, this is a valiant effort and a competent film, so for that reason this one isn’t lost in translation. A solid adaptation.