Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Jake Gyllenhaal cuts a strange action figure. No one can argue with that physique, and the chest hair is a nice touch. Even the hair, though not exactly the most flattering, is period acceptable. But, man, when the camera closes in on those puppy eyes, you're in another movie.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a near perfect Disney summer blockbuster: lots of action, lots of good-looking people, lots of fun. It's also overstuffed and overlong, but, hey, that worked for Pirates, right? DP John Seale was obviously inspired by video games for much of his composition, particularly shots of Dastan (Gyllenhaal) diving from various heights and running across Persia's rooftops (parkour before it had a name).

The story itself feels like a mash up of Moses, Aladdin, and The Fugitive: an orphaned street kid is adopted by the king and raised as a prince. Later, framed for murder, he goes on the run with a beautiful princess (Gemma Arterton), who seeks to steal and return the dagger the prince claimed in battle to its sacred temple before it falls into the wrong hands. The dagger, you see, is a one-minute time machine. So they run all over Asia at incredible speed (seriously), and Alfred Molina shows up just for the love of ostriches.

It's all very silly, but it's summer. As long as the guys are hot and the story doesn't make us beat our heads against our seats at the incoherence of it all, why complain? Putting a ringer like Gyllenhaal in the lead role is just icing: the emotional moments ring true even when they shouldn't, so holding hands is enough to make hearts flutter. Aw. If only they have cast someone worthy as his romantic interest. Arterton really needs to learn to lighten up. B-