Dear Reader: Update, Movie Review Intelligence will
continue publishing this website through June (more...)
Search a Movie:
PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIMEMovie Reviews
Action adventure tale set in 6th century Persia about a prince who joins forces with a rival princess to keep the magical Sands of Time from falling into the hands of a nefarious nobleman. Cast:Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina, Steve ToussaintDirector:Mike NewellRelease Date:May 28, 2010DVD Release:September 14, 2010From:Walt Disney PicturesRating:PG-13Length:1 hr 56 min
SEPTEMBER 14, 2010
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Moderate Reviews
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time played to moderate reviews. • Mike Russell wrote in the Portland Oregonian, "...for a while, the movie's a fun throwback to the sword-and-sandal B-pictures I loved as a kid... finally it just grinds you down with its sheer dull busy-ness." • And Ty Burr wrote in the Boston Globe, "What would the movies be without enthusiastically corny B-flick swashbucklers to fill theaters on a lazy summer day?" More Reviews Below...
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Positive Reviews (48 Reviews, reviews below)
Richard Corliss, Time: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "No masterpiece, 'Persia' is fun for exactly as long as it takes to sit through it... engaging, in the smart-mindless way of Hollywood blockbusters..."(See all of Richard Corliss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 827 words, 05/28/10
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: MODERATE(cg) "There's nothing terribly memorable about 'Prince of Persia'... Gyllenhaal has been to the gym, clearly... does have its fleeting moments of swashbuckling fun."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 689 words, 05/27/10
Thelma Adams, Us Weekly: VERY GOOD(cg) "...combines magic, mischief and action.... stuffed with escapist fun... and throughout it all, buff, boyish Gyllenhaal is believable as the naive hero."(See all of Thelma Adams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 95 words, 05/27/10
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: VERY GOOD(cg) "...all that Arabian Nights-like stuff unfolds at a brisk, well-paced clip.... hey, this is what a videogame movie looks like now. I know I can't turn back time."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 328 words, 05/27/10
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a lively, action-oriented romp... The movie is as fast-paced as it is ultimately pointless - a lot of running around that results in no gain."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 819 words, 05/26/10
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...bulimia-light on substance, but it's quick on its feet and loaded with action and humor. Sadly, nothing pops up to take us by surprise."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 511 words, 05/28/10
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: MODERATE(cg) "The plot involves portentous dialogue which separate tiresome CGI sequences... we can see people getting whacked, but have no conception of actual physical space."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,014 words, 05/27/10
get our iPhone app... or get our mobile web app...
movie review intelligence
NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (14 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: MODERATE "...the talent is generally top notch but the ingredients have been masticated so heavily the results are mush.... perfectly painless mush.... The movie is irrepressibly silly..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 753 words, 05/28/10
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: POOR(cg) "...an epic example of muddled storytelling, chintzy excitement and scatter-brained execution.... lacks any momentum or thrills."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 455 words, 05/28/10
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: FAIR "...a Jerry Bruckheimer film will do its bombastic best to pummel, pound and, now, parkour you into submission.... a rumored budget of $150 million... it should be more."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 899 words, 05/27/10
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: MODERATE(cg) "...tolerable for older folks because of its more amusing aspects. Chief among them is surely the casting of erstwhile emo boy Jake Gyllenhaal..."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 632 words, 05/28/10
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...moderately entertaining chaos... sort of fun... Molina's wit enlivens a product you might otherwise forget as it slips in one eye and out the other."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 519 words, 05/28/10
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...fun and inventive, with a fine cast and an old-fashioned Hollywood flair. There's also enough cheeky humor to temper some of the sandal-clad seriousness."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 329 words, 05/28/10
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: MODERATE(cg) "The plot involves portentous dialogue which separate tiresome CGI sequences... we can see people getting whacked, but have no conception of actual physical space."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,014 words, 05/27/10
Nick Schager, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "...cacophonous, frivolous... has the same rollicking period-piece cheesiness that typified Bruckheimer's 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise..."(See all of Nick Schager's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 597 words, 05/25/10
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...that blasted toy dagger gets passed around more than a bong at a frat house party. Is there any reason why these sands of time couldn't flow just a little faster?"(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 846 words, 05/28/10
Randy Myers, Orange County Register: VERY GOOD(cg) "...transports us back to an innocent era of the action-adventure flick - a time when stars such as Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Errol Flynn swashed and buckled..."(See all of Randy Myers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 679 words, 05/28/10
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...bland and repetitive. Newell's direction has the same anonymous, vaguely overwhelmed quality he brought to 'Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire.' "(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 311 words, 05/27/10
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: MODERATE(cg) "A numbing muddle packed with Brits and self-propelled stunt doubles, snorting steeds, computer-generated serpents and an Errol Flynn-ish Jake Gyllenhaal..."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 617 words, 05/28/10
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "...functions well enough as an empty-headed expenditure of time and turbans... I'm always happy to watch attractive people flare their nostrils for two hours at a stretch."(See all of Amy Biancolli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 507 words, 05/28/10
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The plot is a quagmire of major and minor villains, exotic desert cities... But that's over-thinking a very popcorny summer movie..."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 503 words, 05/28/10
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: WEAK(cg) "...a pauper of a film.... lost in a sandstorm of hectic, uninvolving battle scenes, ham-fisted political allegory and witless dialogue."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 261 words, 05/28/10
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: MODERATE(cg) "There is an old-timey feel to some of the stunts and fights, though there are plenty of computer-generated effects to go around... once it's over, it's also just as forgettable."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 566 words, 05/28/10
Manuel Mendoza, Dallas Morning News: EXCELLENT(cg) "...has a great look that seamlessly blends advanced special effects with old-fashioned location shots, making it difficult to tell where reality ends and fantasy begins."(See all of Manuel Mendoza's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 432 words, 05/28/10
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: MODERATE(cg) "What would the movies be without enthusiastically corny B-flick swashbucklers to fill theaters on a lazy summer day?"(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 751 words, 05/28/10
Clint O'Connor, Cleveland Plain-Dealer: POOR(cg) "...a truly awful film. A dud of the desert. A sultan of stink. A Bruckheimer bust. Not only is it based on a video game, it looks like a video game."(See all of Clint O'Connor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 451 words, 05/28/10
Mike Russell, Portland Oregonian: FAIR(cg) "...for a while, the movie's a fun throwback to the sword-and-sandal B-pictures I loved as a kid... finally it just grinds you down with its sheer dull busy-ness."(See all of Mike Russell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 663 words, 05/28/10
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...woven of recycled fibers, but by the slipping standards of summertime entertainment, it's a magic carpet ride."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 342 words, 05/28/10
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...one of the more tolerable examples of the joystick genre.... has a Saturday matinee goofiness that'll go well enough with air conditioning."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 572 words, 05/30/10
Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: WEAK(cg) "...silly, derivative, convoluted nonsense... There's plenty of action, but it's all the same, each fight indistinguishable from the next..."(See all of Connie Ogle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 607 words, 05/28/10
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (6 Reviews)
Nick Schager, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "...cacophonous, frivolous... has the same rollicking period-piece cheesiness that typified Bruckheimer's 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise..."(See all of Nick Schager's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 597 words, 05/25/10
Scott Tobias, AV Club: MODERATE(cg) "Give the filmmakers credit for sidestepping the pitfalls of videogame adaptation, but getting around the problem isn't the same thing as solving it."(See all of Scott Tobias's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 389 words, 05/27/10
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...bland and repetitive. Newell's direction has the same anonymous, vaguely overwhelmed quality he brought to 'Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire.' "(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 311 words, 05/27/10
Andisheh Nouraee, Atlanta Creative Loafing: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...the second film in seven years in which British-born actor Sir Ben Kingsley has played a murderous, Persian army commander.... Talk about range."(See all of Andisheh Nouraee's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 530 words, 05/28/10
HIGHBROW PRESS (4 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: MODERATE "Gyllenhaal's dashing Dastan drives this action adventure with a sense of fun... [yet] the film is at war with itself... it's a junkyard of Arabian Nights clichés..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 335 words, 05/28/10
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: MODERATE "...the talent is generally top notch but the ingredients have been masticated so heavily the results are mush.... perfectly painless mush.... The movie is irrepressibly silly..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 753 words, 05/28/10
David Denby, New Yorker: POOR "...the way it draws on layers of junk is depressing.... you may find yourself wishing that the filmmakers had wiped out everything after the opening titles."(See all of David Denby's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,151 words, 05/24/10
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: FAIR "...a Jerry Bruckheimer film will do its bombastic best to pummel, pound and, now, parkour you into submission.... a rumored budget of $150 million... it should be more."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 899 words, 05/27/10
MOVIE INDUSTRY (6 Reviews)
Leslie Felperin, Daily Variety: MODERATE "...passably enjoyable... slabs of drama are just about substantial enough to maintain moderate grown-up interest, although the dialogue is largely boilerplate Bruckheimer..."(See all of Leslie Felperin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,017 words, 05/11/10
Ray Bennett, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...the film has dash and flourish with adequate performances and expert effects that keep a far-fetched tale buoyant without leaving any lasting impression."(See all of Ray Bennett's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 681 words, 05/10/10
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: FAIR "...a Jerry Bruckheimer film will do its bombastic best to pummel, pound and, now, parkour you into submission.... a rumored budget of $150 million... it should be more."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 899 words, 05/27/10
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: FAIR(cg) "...narratively cheesy... impersonally and indifferently directed by Mike Newell... a throwback to the sort of fare that was made in the 1950s..."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,480 words, 05/10/10
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: MODERATE "...the talent is generally top notch but the ingredients have been masticated so heavily the results are mush.... perfectly painless mush.... The movie is irrepressibly silly..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 753 words, 05/28/10
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: MODERATE "Gyllenhaal's dashing Dastan drives this action adventure with a sense of fun... [yet] the film is at war with itself... it's a junkyard of Arabian Nights clichés..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 335 words, 05/28/10
16.8 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time's reviews are separated by an average 16.8 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (48 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time's reviews cover 94.5% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 26,995 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 562 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Coverage, Volume & Length (48 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 16.6 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time's reviews on average broke 16.6 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (48 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
Mobile Web App version 1.2 shows a list of all current movies and review information. You can click through to the cast, director, synopsis, release date and rating on page two, plus individual reviews on page three. The information is updated on a live/real-time basis. You can also search our database of films. Designed for when you're on the move and want the latest info, this app will work on any mobile web browser. From your mobile device -- only from a mobile device -- open our Mobile Web App here...
