Frosty here. Yesterday we posted the script review for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and at the top of the review I wrote… After a long time debating, I’ve finally decided to start allowing people to contribute script reviews to Collider. The problem I’ve always had with script reviews is that the film that’s on the page is almost never what we finally see on screen. As everyone knows, so many things get altered in the creative process that it’s just not fair to judge a movie on a script that may or may not be the version they use to film with.

That’s why the script reviews that run on the site will always have an intro like this… something to remind you that what we review might not be the final shooting script. We’re also going to make sure we list what version of the script is being reviewed and we will always make sure to not reveal too much. While that’s a repeat of yesterday… it’s important to say it again. And with that, here’s Paul with a look at Prince of Persia. Look for another script review later this week…and it’s a big one.

Reviewed by Paul Stuart

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Script date: October 23, 2006

Script written by Jordan Mechner

Revisions by Jeffrey Nachmanoff

As videogames continue to fly off shelves on pace with DVD’s, its little surprise that Hollywood studios have taken notice. An unprecedented amount of mainstream gaming titles recently transitioned to popcorn viewing, including – and among others: ‘Final Fantasy (2001);’  ‘Resident Evil (2002, 2004, 2007);’ ‘Silent Hill (2006);’ ‘BloodRayne  (2006);’ and arguably the most successful, Angelina Jolie’s starring role in two separate offerings of  ‘Tomb Raider (2001, 2003).’

What began with 1993’s kitschy ‘Super Mario Bros.’ (I still have nightmares of Bob Hoskins donning overalls) remains a mediocre marriage at best. An admittedly surprising struggle since many of these gaming titles are powered by deep, elaborate storylines seemingly tailor-made for big screen greatness. Or, at minimum, on equal footing as comic book-to-film successes (‘Spiderman,’ ‘The Incredible Hulk,’ ‘X-Men,’ and ‘Batman’).

The latest crack at big screen gaming appears via ‘Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,’ a Jerry Bruckheimer film slated for 2009 release (according to IMDB.com). (Not to mention one this writer’s favorite video games of all time.) Collider got its grubby little paws on an early – but complete – script for the ‘Prince.’ Here’s our take.

OVERVIEW

‘Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time’ is inspired by the 2003, critically acclaimed, multi-platform video game of the same name. ‘Sands of Time’ was a sequel to Jordan Mechner’s original 2-Dimensional (1989) ‘Prince of Persia,’ then renowned for its lifelike portrayal of on-screen character movements. ‘Sands of Time’ spawned several follow-ups and equally successful sequels (‘Prince of Persia 2,’ ‘Prince of Persia 3-D,’ ‘The Warrior Within,’ ‘The Two Thrones,’ etc.) and likewise a recent downloadable re-release of the classic first title.

The nameless Prince, the protagonist in all titles, both moves and engages enemies in acrobatic fashion. His movements are similar to the current fad of ‘freestyle running,’ as the Prince runs up and across walls, flips from hanging bars, and seamlessly leaps between both ledges and heights.

PLOT

While based on the game of the same name, there are glaring differences between movie and console. Character names have been changed, also the family structure of the Prince. The movie version features three older siblings (Tus, Farhad, Farhan) for the now-named Prince (Dastan) plus a sole uncle (Niham). Moreover, Farah is now Tamina, her besieged city entitled Alamut.

In ‘Sands of Time’ the game, the Prince acquires the mystical Dagger of Time that – when filled with sand from the Hourglass of Time – is capable of reversing history itself. The dagger is a prized war spoil gained after besieging an enemy city, one formerly ruled by a brave, beautiful and cunning princess (Farah). Disney would be proud.

The Prince is tricked by his father (the Maharajah)’s evil vizier into releasing the Sands of Time en masse. This act turns all peoples – victors and conquered -- into cursed zombie-like creatures, including the Maharajah himself. Realizing his folly, the Prince and Farah unite to defeat the Vizier, reverse time to before the sands were released…spawning two additional video game sequels.

THE GOOD

The movie version – written by Jeffrey Nachmanoff (‘The Day After Tomorrow’) does a capable job of borrowing from its video game namesake. The Prince’s personality shines through via dialog, interactions, and solid character development. Moreover, Nachmanoff -- cognizant of the Prince’s acrobatic legacy – employs no less than a half dozen scenes of the Prince completing battle sequences resembling movements (wall climbs, wall runs, rope slides, sword volleys, knife throws, backflips, ledge movements, etc.) found in the video games. Producer Bruckheimer – known for his on screen theatrics (‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’ for example) -- has a lot to work with here.

Finally, if scenery descriptions reach fruition, odds are this will be one beautiful looking film, backed by some fantastic special effects.

THE BAD

Script deviations from that of the video game are, well, awful. The introduction of a caravan led by an endlessly altruistic leader (Farood) adds little to plot development other than the ability to contrast stereotypical character traits among the film’s main protagonists. The caravan is looked to far too often to move the story along, likewise provide unnecessary comic relief.

Related, the evil vizier is now replaced by a simplistic and devious uncle (Niham). Instead of an hourglass SNAFU, the Prince is framed into accidentally killing his father via a gift of a poisonous, silk robe (yes, you read that correctly). In a ‘Three’s Company’-esque plot twist resembling Janet mistaking Jack and Chrissy’s closed-door dialog for sex, everyone in ‘Sands of Time’ buys in to the framing as fact. Much like Mr. Furley, cheesy end dialog attempts to remedy the glaring misunderstanding. Then we all live happily after.

THE UGLY

Akin to most Bruckheimer films, the dialog is childishly weak throughout. Moreover, oversimplified stereotypes and religious preachiness seep their way into the already soft script. These two flaws combine to create an occasionally sickening storyline, let alone its on-screen counterpart waiting to be filmed.

CONCLUSION:

Here’s hoping the early script to ‘Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time’ is in BETA mode, with substantial changes ahead. In its current iteration, neither video game fans nor mainstream moviegoers will appreciate a very generic and occasionally intellectually insulting film.

The ‘Prince of Persia’ series is famous for its elegance, mysticism (sans-religious identifiers) and elaborate worlds. None of these appear in this early script version.