Look out because here comes another three or so parted series of films. You can always tell by the colon in the title that you’re about to get sucked into a saga that won’t find closure until the studio is bankrupt. And not even then will it end because someone or some part of the film can be sold or spun off into another colonated series. This time it’s Disney, Jerry Bruckheimer and the people behind Pirates of the Caribbean doing a big screen adaptation of the video game by the same name, Prince of Persia. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Ben Kinsley, and Alfred Molina who all three, quite frankly, save this picture. Yeah, it took me a while to get into the story but you know what? It’s not bad. Not bad at all.

The Story: The King of Persia witnesses an orphaned boy named Dastan save a boy and defend himself against the King’s more brutal soldiers. His display of courage wins the heart of the King who then adopts the boy and raises him as his own. Fifteen years later the King and his brother Nizam played by Ben Kingsley lay siege upon a holy city where the grown Dastan (an obvious play on destiny) played by Jake Gyllenhaal discovers a dagger made of glass filled with magic sand, the owner of which can travel back in time until the sand runs out. The power of such a device is intoxicating to a handful of unsavory characters that know of it and will do anything to own it. Dastan’s two step-brothers and uncle Nizam turn on Dastan unexpectedly when a tragedy befalls the family. Dastan flees the scene to protect himself but going along for the ride is Princess Tamina played by Gemma Arterton (Clash of the Titans (2010), Quantum of Solace (2008)) who like Princess Leia in Star Wars (1977), or Rachel Weisz’s Evelyn Carnahan from The Mummy (1999) knows of the dagger’s origins and, like the ring in Lord of the Rings (2001), how important it is to keep it from the evil empire. Or should I say keep it from the French archeologist Belloq, the dude in the white from Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). I’m being facetious but the similarities are there especially when Alfred Molina shows up as a Bedouin-type ostrich racer who’s motivated by reward. More than on a few occasions he’ll remind you of Han Solo, or an older Jack Sparrow or a cross between the two. The object regardless is for Dastan to restore favor with his brothers and protect the dagger. Maybe win the girl along the way.

The Goods: All of these characters give the story depth of course as the plot really thickens in the second act, or the long middle as some refer to it. This is actually one of the goods of the film to my surprise. I had a hard time getting over the high-key, bright lighting of the film—almost all scenes in Prince of Persia are photographed with very little darkness, which is the case with most of Disney’s family films, Pirates being the exception—but once I galloped and fought past that stigma and became acclimated to, or should I say succumbed to, the gold-colored look of the film, it no longer became a distraction. The script helps in that regard and I must say hat’s off to the writers who although borrow from a multitude of films they give this very simple story conflict and advancement to keep us watching.

Boaz Yakin who penned The Rookie (1990) and The Punisher (1989) like those other films gets the audience concentrating on a central character to which all plot challenges develop around. The Bible-like speak and glossary of terms running the gamut from “ancient” to “mystical” to “destiny” are at times a bit too much but evolving out of the parable-like density of short explanatory verses between characters is a better understanding of the higher importance of keeping the dagger safe, or on a few occasions getting the dagger back. Doug Miro and Carlo Bernard are the other writers involved, working from a video game concept from Jordan Mechner. Miro and Bernard have another of their scripts being brought to the screen this summer in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. My guess is executive producer John August also helped a bit. He wrote the Charlie’s Angels scripts one and two along with Doug Liman’s Go (1999) and Tim Burton’s Big Fish (2003).

Mike Newell who directs has had a string of successful productions starting with Enchanted April (1992), Four Weddings and A Funeral (1994), Donnie Brasco (1997) and more importantly Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), which is what probably landed him the job on Persia. His best trick in directing this film is restraint with time travel. It’s used sparingly and when done so pushes the film up the steep hill of that long middle part just when other films might start to slide. Scenes that exercise the dagger’s powers are by far the best parts of the film, used in moderation but with a wallop of energy that kicks the plot into overdrive every time it’s unleashed. It is this film’s equivalent of a Genie. Prince of Persia after all is grounded in the atmosphere and action of stories like The Arabian Nights.

I must say again too that Gyllenhaal has done some fantastic work in films like October Sky (1999), Donnie Darko (2001), Zodiac (2007), and played the partner who helped get Heath Ledger an Oscar nomination for Brokeback Mountain (2005). He’s part of the reason Prince of Persia succeeds. Conditioned and fit to wield big swords and jump from building to building in some ancient form of parkour, he adds that extra sense of adventure and always does so with the wide-eyed twitching brow face of a curious young man maturing before our eyes. If casting were just slightly off on the choice of Dastan the film would be a disaster. And seeing the previews, I didn’t have high expectations for him in this role. I just felt Gyllenhaal wouldn’t fit the character. But he does and that tells you something about the importance of lowering your expectations. The best goods of all, however, are Gemma Arterton’s lips. They are characters themselves and beg to be kissed.

The Flaws: But the discovery of the dagger from which all plot points hinge is a little too convenient as is the discovery of Dastan, as is the convenience of a tent in a sand storm, or the cliché of an oasis with water in the heart of the desert. In addition, like many story elements that occur in fables we have to rely on stereotypes and accepted notions for example like that of brotherly love or the unspoken bond of father and son to give us insight to character in Prince of Persia. Therefore motivation for stealing and controlling the powers of the dagger are chalked up to simple themes of jealousy and greed. As I mentioned earlier, the video look and lighting, ninety percent gold in color, and the lack of creativity in composition made it feel less like a motion picture, more like a series you find on the SyFy channel. There’s much the editors did after the film was photographed too to give us an almost artificial slow motion. Like 3D in Clash of the Titans, the slow motion in Persia looks like an afterthought for which digital technology becomes the supposed saving grace. Instead, it hints of “rushed job” and I don’t think it needs it.

The Call: Spend the ten. Why not. It’s summer. Though Robin Hood’s production value and cinematography is top notch, Prince of Persia blows it away in terms of story and plot development. What Prince of Persia lacks in character development (there is virtually none) it makes up for in mounting adventurous fun.

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action. Running time is amazingly just under two hours at 116 minutes. I say amazing because it felt like more than that which is okay because the film seeks to provide an epic feel with desert locations mythical legend-like themes.