Review: Prince of Persia (the Sands of Time)

I'm not entirely sure how popular this movie is, although I did find out in the process of writing this post that it's also a video game, but I figured it was worth a review.

Disney outdid itself in special effects and plot and all the technicalities of that, but it fell short in almost every other way that matters. Stick around and I'll prove it.

(By the way, this is a long review. There was a lot of ground to cover. So maybe make sure you're comfy, eyy?)

Prince of Persia (Sands of Time) by Disney

(As a warning, there might maybe be spoilers in here. So beware. I’ll make sure the spoilers are alerted, but just sayin’. ;))

A rogue prince named Dastan reluctantly joins forces with the mysterious princess Tamina and together, they race against dark forces to safeguard an ancient dagger capable of releasing the Sands of Time - a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world.

(Wow, that cover is really not good quality. Sorry about that. XD Anyways, here's the trailer for a bit more background.)

Star Rating

2.5 out of 5 stars

Content

Pros:

1. Language--None. Aaaand that's the only good content we've got, folks.

Cons:

1. Sexual--Where do I even start? *facepalm* Comments about polygamy, harems, and suggestive things abound. There's seduction, inappropriate costumes, and a nude female statue in the background of some shots. On a less dirty note, unmarried people kiss and we do see some shirtless men fighting each other. For this reason alone I'd suggest not letting kids under 13 watch the movie.

2. Smoking/drinking/drugs/etc.--Again, fairly high. People gamble and bet, many characters (including our main character, Dastan) drink, and there's a comment about how the job of the king's brother is to "make sure the king's glass stays full". A minor character misses his shot by an inch or so and are asked if they've been drinking. You get the idea.

3. Spiritual--This movie is set in "the mystical lands of Persia," which blends real-life with the fantastical. That means that a lot of the characters' religion is based off of what Persians living in that time period would believe. I don't have much of a problem with that, except that it is never shown that their belief is wrong - or even simply left as a belief. Instead, the "gods" are very real influencers of the story for the good. So just something to be aware of. ;)

As some examples of this, you'll hear plenty of mentions of the "gods", a "holy" city, "prayers", a "demon", and "the Creator" (singular, which is interesting). Tamina, one of the main characters, is seen praying to these gods. A holy prayer robe is given as a gift. The Hassanssins (not sure if I spelled that right, but okay XD) are a cult-like group of assassins who go into a kind of trance in order to see visions of the future. And the backbone of this whole story, that mysterious time-turning dagger, was a "gift" of the gods that (SPOILER ALERT!!) Tamina is charged to protect as a descendant of the first guardian, appointed by said gods. (SPOILER END!!) As a more gray-area issue, there's a legend of the gods that reminds me of Noah's and Jesus' stories. Not sure if that counts as good or not. XD

1. Humor--Dirty jokes abound, mostly about sexual things. There are some good ones in there too, but... yep.

Neutral:

1. Violence--This is an action/adventure, so you can bet there's plenty of blows going around. In the beginning, we see a child being struck multiple times (although it's clearly not a good thing). People fight each other, get thrown around, die, etc. There are a few battle scenes as well. It's not super gory, though. Let's just say that ideas are suggested and the rest is left to the imagination.

2. Magic--Most of what modern culture would consider "magic" in this film is actually the work of supernatural powers (which all "magic" technically is, but that's another topic), so I'll leave this one blank. :)

Messages

Pros:

1. Man has the potential for good and potential for evil (I don't think I need to support this Biblically, but if you would like me to, I can give multiple examples from the Bible about this)

2. The bond between brothers is the sword that defends an empire (family is a consistent theme throughout the entirety of Scripture)

Cons:

1. We make our own destiny (Psalm 139:16, Jeremiah 29:11, and others)

Neutral:

1. Do what you know is right, no matter the consequences (this is good, as seen in James 4:17; however, as seen with the "make our own destiny" and "follow your heart" themes, I'm willing to bet that the writers of this movie were introducing a theme more along the lines of, "Do whatever your heart/conscience says is right, no matter the consequences", which will get you into serious trouble as seen in Matthew 15:18-19 and Jeremiah 17:9 and many many other places)

2. Listen to counsel, but always your heart (yes, listen to counsel for sure (entire book of Proverbs XD) - but be very very wary of your own heart and always test it against Scripture (see passages above))

Morals

Pros:

1. Courage (Dastan, Tamina)

2. Valuing/loving life (Tamina)

3. Honor/chivalry (Dastan)

4. Humility (Dastan (finally, a protagonist who isn't either completely perfect or a cocky idiot XD))

Cons:

1. Recklessness (Dastan)

2. Disobeying orders (Dastan)

3. Pride (Tamina)

4. Stealing (Dastan, Tamina)

Neutral:

1. Lying to protect someone (Tamina - not ideal, but Rahab was commended for saving the spies in James 2:25 and she lied about them as well, so... *shrugs*)

Favorite Quotes

...I didn't write any down... 🙈 I'm not sure if that means that there were no lines that were quote-worthy or if I simply didn't bother. These notes are from September 2022, y'all. My brain doesn't remember all the details. XD

Techy Stuff

I'm no movie-making expert, but I will say that the visual effects were fantabulous. And the soundtrack is very nice, as well. The plot is intensely engaging (honestly one of the only reasons this movie has a 2.5 rating instead of lower *facepalm*), the characters are very well-developed, and the worldbuilding is good. Even better, the stunts, weapons, and (appropriate) costumes are stunning. So yay for that!

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Have you seen Prince of Persia? Did you like it? Why or why not? Who was your favorite character? If you haven't seen it, would you like to?

Until next time,

Take courage, pursue God, and smile while you still have teeth!! ;P

-Joelle