'Prince of Persia' Trailer Has Arrived!

Earlier today IGN released the full two and a half minute trailer for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, due to be released May 28^th.

I am sure you would like to see the trailer before I start yammering away, so here you go:

Produced by the bottomless pockets of Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Mike Newell, who has an extensive career even though he has only a few recognizable credits such as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is based off of the 2003 multi-platform game by the same name. It has only been five years since its release and still it seems to have been forgotten by a lot of gamers. With the release of the subsequent titles which saw a lot of, though not as much, good press, it is easy to forget how amazing and refreshing The Sands of Time had been.

The Sands of Time is one of my absolute favorite games of all time. Among all the things that made it great, its story is one that I hold in high regard. The reason I played it repeatedly was mainly because of its story. So with the film adaptation closing in, my nerves are wracked. However, from the trailer it appears the story may remain somewhat intact. I hate to hear when others say, “That was not as good as…” Movies are a different medium and require a different approach, so I am going to try and keep an open mind.

One of the major features of the game that I am worried will not translate well is, of course, the time control. While it was seen often in-game, a movie can easily mishandle it. Prince of Persia does not need a dozen bullet-time scenes.

From the trailer, it is apparent that there is going to be a decent amount of acrobatics, combat, and grandiose environments which relates well to the original property. And what would a Disney movie be without way more cross-protagonist flirting than there needs to be? Can the movie not be carried on the merit of the main conflict alone? Hollywood will be Hollywood, I suppose.

I have one other point of contention. Jake Gyllenhaal has never struck me as a spectacular actor, and I am not certain Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is going to change my opinion. What drove these people to decide on Jake Gyllenhaal, I’ll never know. However, as skeptical as I am, I will give it a shot. I just hope they don’t let everyone down.