Donnie Darko is . . . The Prince of Persia

Here's how: Jerry Bruckheimer.
CSI (Vegas)'s success was a fluke accident, and tribute to the acting talent involved.
PotC was a case of JB funded something other people had spent 10 years working on.
Two other movies were OK because the actors and directors managed to make something of them.
The rest is idiotic, mindless blockbuster garbage.

 

I don't understand why the entire Prince of Persia series couldn't be more rooted in Persian mythology... I mean, they actually took the time to revamp the entire franchise again for the next gen platforms. Still haven't gotten the thing rooted in Persian myth. There's plenty of resources for that... Shahnameh, even The Adventures of Amir Hamza(which is about the Muslim hero, Hamza, uncle of the Prophet Muhammad; but is very very Persian in its motifs). This is just some sand stereotypes wrapped up in superficially Persian imagery. The games are somewhat forgivable since their thing is difficulty, puzzles and a nice scenery to run around in. The movie is less so in part because the threadbare mythology of the series becomes increasingly apparent, and because of the casting... a problem shared by The Last Airbender which at least will have some connection with the East Asian mythology that the cartoon series referenced to great effect.

 

I saw the movie on opening day. I just loved it. It first movie this summer for me that I want to go see again. I saw iron man 2 and Robin Hood. Both were decent movie. I needed something little more fun loving. I love the time travel aspect of the plot. Never played the game. Didn't have any expectation so that could have help.

 

Thanks to Koohi for getting me to the right thread

I honestly am surprised at the negative reaction to this movie. I honestly enjoyed it and I have some background with the video game, so it isn't like I didn't have expectations. Here are some highlights of things I enjoyed:

1. Dastan is a true hero. He is not a tortured or reluctant hero that is so popular in film nowadays. He genuinely cares for his family and country, and yet pursues his own way of doing things. He is willing to sacrifice himself for the truth and for others, including the princess. He is far more heroic than many characters presented on scene today.

2. The world has depth-one does not have know about the background of a video game to appreciate the world. The tensions between Nizam and his brother, the king, are evident, especially as we are not certain who is guilty when it comes to certain nefarious and murderous schemes. I also enjoyed the tensions between the Persians and those who operate outside the Empire. Yes, Molina's character was a bit over the top, but that doesn't make him a tea party goer. He was far more comedic relief than political commentary. I've read enough history to know that people have been grumpy about taxes and empires for a long time.

3. The sands of time did not become a convenient "reset button" to make things all better and tie them up in a neat package whenever the movie makers got bored with the film. Instead, it provides a tension and a device that could be used, but can only be used in a limited way.

There are many more points I could make, but I came away from the film with a strong sense of fun and excitement and thought the film was well done.

Also, I really don't see too many Pirates of the Caribbean connections. Sorry, but in my humble opinion, saying so takes away from the depth of both movies.

 

I liked it alot too.

 

Thank. You.

Still haven't acquired the means to see it yet. I'm hoping to remedy that extremely soon.

 

I have to admit, I really liked this movie too. I thought Dastan was a good charming/tortured reluctant hero. Tamina was a great foil/love interest for him. I loved how she went out there and took action. Alfred Molina's character really made me chuckle. Kingsley was a fine villan although I would have liked to see more of him. And the effects were top notch. I really liked the gold sandy rewind effect. Everything worked well for me.

I'd go see it again

 

We should be going to see it tonight...

 

See! I'm not a completely useless blowhard.

Um, well... OK, maybe...

 

I saw it earlier today. Wow, incredibly impressive. I haven't been so deeply impressed with a film in a very, very long time. The dialogue was incredibly crafted, the characters were very likeable, the plot moved with a fluidity that most directors will dream of and drool over with equal vigor, the special effects threatened to jar my teeth out of my head, and the ending's a killer that I never could've predicted in a billion years. Ladies and gentlemen, this is what a movie looks like when the story and characters are focal, rather than the ability to launch a dizzying array of airborne objects at a quarterbacking audience. It saddens me to think that people will flock to a film like Shrek, but there were only three other individuals in the theater besides myself.

Loved it. I'm ready for a sequel. At least one, preferably two.

 

Someone needs to tell me, was there a scene at the end of the credits? I wasn't able to stick around after the movie ended.