Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (The Movie)

"Most people think time is like a river, 
that flows swift and sure in one direction.
  But I have seen the face of time, 
and I can tell you they are wrong.  
Time is an ocean in a storm.
  You may wonder who I am and why I say this.
  Sit down, and I will tell you a tale like none you have ever heard..."

Prince of Persia to Farah

Last night Chris surprised me with the midnight release of a movie I've been anticipating for over two years! He set up a free babysitter (try finding that at midnight) and everything. It was so much fun and a much needed date night.

I have been so excited to see this movie ever since I heard they were making it into one. This movie definitely held some serious nostalgia for me. It was the first video game he and I found to play together. He liked video games, I did not. Now we play together because the stories are great (for me), the puzzles are difficult (for us both), and the combat is fun (for him). But this one was our first and therefore special.

The movie itself was a great ride. The characters were so much fun to see on the screen.

Jake Gyllenhall did a great job!

Gemma Arterton was sarcastically beautiful like she was supposed to be as the princess.

Ben Kingsley was super good at being a bad/good guy. You just weren't sure!

Looks just like the game!

Here is a link to the trailer if you haven't caught it on tv. www2.disney.co.uk/.../ official-trailer.jsp

My Take on the movie "Prince of Persia: Sands of Time"

If you like movies by Jerry Bruckheimer than you should like this one.  It seems that Bruckheimer has found a two-fold formula with Disney.  One, movies like National Treaure- adventurous, fun, family friendly.  Two, Pirates of the Caribbean- dangerous, dark, and mystical.  Prince of Perisa follows the later.

In my opinion Bruckeimer is a brillant director, he took parts of the game that worked: acrobatics, wit of the characters, and the sands of time.  And then he took the liberty to make it his own: new story, new characters, and awesome villans.

The opening scene was a total homege to those who have played any of the games, and it still has some of my favorite parts.  The great city that the story takes place in is the fabled Alamut- HQ for the infamous Hashashin (AKA Assassins).  The irony is that the city is a refuge from the villians.  The writers took a rather traditional approach in creating the culture and mythology of Persia- namly mixing time periods together, and creating something new and exciting- I loved it.  The villians of the movie were a total surprise to me, and I loved them.  They were mystical, deadly, and dark.  Bottom line is, I can't wait to see it again!

Prince of Persia (The Game)

The Legacy of

Its hard to believe that Prince of Persia started over 20 years ago. 

1989 Original Game

The first game came out in 1989- I remember playing it on my father's IBM computer.

                                                                                                                

                                                              

            

Sands of Time (2003)

Story
This is the first game that Tamy & I played together.  We had been married for just about 2 years and we were working on developing our relationship by building on common interests.  I liked playing video games, Tamy loved watching a good story visa vi movies.  Tamy's brother, Jim, let us borrow his PlayStation2 for a while.  One night, we decided to visit one of our favorite places, Hastings (Video/Bookstore).  We went over to the used video games looking for something that seemed interesting to both of us, and selected Prince of Persia, for only $12.99.  We went home to try out our new game and we both fell in love with the story and the game.  A new relationship was born that night that has followed us up to the present day.  Tamy & I have played almost every game we have bought, together.  We both love the storys, the game play, the cuts scenes.  Sands of Time was a blast to play and filled with beautiful scenery, danger, and puzzles.  Puzzles that Tamy was eager to help her 'hero' (me) solve.  The brave prince had discovered a mystical device that has the power to turn back time.  At the beginning of the game the Prince has suffered a terrible tragedy, and unleashed a terrible power.  His only course of action is to go on, face death defying odds, and perform feats that he wouldn't dare.  Along the way he meets a woman that would change his life, Farah.  We enjoyed the wit of the game, the brand new concepts- such as the dagger of time, the perilous obstacles and acrobats, and most importantly a great ending.

Warrior Within (2004)

  

The next year Ubisoft (Game Developer) came out with the brand new 'Warrior Within.'  This installment of the franchise was completely different from the previous versions.  Dark, gritty, with hard rock music for the soundtrack.  The prince was back, and fighting for his survival.  The fearless Prince is fleeing for his life in the face of a devastating creature, the Dahaka.  The Prince sets on a quest that defies time itself, but can he elude the guardian of time who hunts him...  This story appealed to the dark side of Tamy and I and we loved it!

 Two Thrones (2005)

   

This was the conclusion of of the trilogy.  In this adventure we got to witness the fabled Gardens of Babylon.  The Prince is in an internal battle for his soul, and everything that he cherishes is at stake.  This game demonstrated how much better graphics and sound had become on the PlayStation2.  The ending was extremely satisfying for those who had played all three.

Prince of Persia (2008)

   

                                          

 "I am the darkness.  I am your end..."

3 years later Ubisoft decided to make a whole new story with the Prince of Persia franchise, on the 'next gen consoles' X-Box 360 & PlayStation3.  The story was a great adventure, the game play was fresh and unique, and the art was like looking at a water painting.  With the advent of the 'next gen consoles' games have been taken to a whole new level. 

In most cases the cut scenes found in games rival the movie screen, in every case, the sound and music outperformed even the best blu-ray.  The 2008 game has become Tamy's favorite Prince of Persia, excluding the 2003 'Sands of Time.'

Forgotten Sands (2010)

                                                                                       

                                                         "I am more powerful than a sandstorm" 

Now, we have arrived at the game that Tamy & I are playing right now.  The Prince has new challenges to face, with a new power of his own.  The prince can freeze water, making it possible to run, climb and swing off of.  His only companion in this new adventure is a Djinn, Razia, who belongs to a time long forgotten that paralleled the age of King Solomon.  So far, we have enjoyed every game the Prince of Persia franchise has thrown at us.  Ubisoft, I dare you to make another one.

ShawFest 2010

I know it's a bit late, but the same weekend that we celebrated Evie's birthday the Base held "Shawfest 2010". That's a fancy way of saying we went to the air show held on base that Saturday. We had so much fun. Beyond the food, the planes, the fun, not one person came home sunburned! A definite win on our part.

JC loved the jets. I thought originally he'd be scared, but every time he saw a jet fly over his head he was as excited as if it were the first time. Most of my pix of him show him pointing at a jet. He pointed at every one and went "ooh" or "wow". It was so cute and such a boy thing to do.

Evie had fun, though she tired of the jets relatively quickly. The bouncy toys toward the end won her over. She was a great big sister making sure Lizzy was happy, keeping JC entertained and making sure I knew what everyone was doing all the time. She liked the planes, especially the one she sat in. So many buttons so little time!

Lizzy did a great job. She slept, ate, and even cracked a few smiles. I was grateful when Chris purchased ear plugs for her and Evie though. I wasn't sure they would stay in, but after the first jet scared her pretty badly, the rest were easy going.

Chris and I had so much fun. We love the air shows. We went to a couple at Fairchild when we were in Spokane and if you happen to see their air show this year in July, you'll see the same aeronautic acrobatics that we saw here earlier this month! What a way to keep in touch. I think we enjoyed it even more this year because we had kids to take.

I know it sounds funny, but I sure love taking my kids with me when we go to things like this. Movies, not so much. Fun family-like things, very much. Seeing the air show from JC's perspective was priceless.

That's four different jets

Look, daddy

So flexible!

Such a big boy

Inside the jet

Bouncy toys