Escape to the Movies: Prince of Persia

Hutchy_Bear

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May 12, 2009
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I saw this movie the other day and I have to agree. It wasn't a particuly great movie but entertaining and enjoyable nonetheless if a little too long. Yeah the ending was a bit of a cop out but to be expected of a Disney made movie anyway and it certainly didn't ruin the film for me. It would have been nice to get some more diversity in terms of ethnicity but I guess hollywood couldn't really obtain any famous Persian actors who they thought would draw in a big crowd - it's all about the money :) Plus I think J.G did a good job as the Prince and suited the role.
 

KeyMaster45

Gone Gonzo
Jun 16, 2008
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I like that Bob pointed out the very shite ending to lost, frankly I didn't watch the series because I felt the basis for it was a trumped up Gilligan's island and only got stupider every time it was given another season. (I may be able to avoid watching it but my friends wouldn't shut up about it) So the fact it had a very Sopranos shite ending only vindicates me to what I believed all along. Lost was a shitty tv series all around that made crap up as it went along.

On a note about the PoP movie I expected it to be good because, lets face it, when you throw a Disney budget behind something you've essentially given the director a blank check and said "Have fun, we'll be over here beating Pixar with a shoe horn if you need more."
 
Feb 13, 2008
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*wheeze* Apology accepted, Commander Bob *wheeze*

Heh.

But a good videogame movie, how about Streetfig... Ok, I can't keep a straight face on that one.

Probably will grab a lookie.
 
Feb 13, 2008
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Grand_Pamplemousse said:
If any one watches British TV we just had an amazing series end, called Ashes to Ashes. The ending wasn't a cop out and it was actually really very good.
Yeah, the Americans have had two "versions" of Life on Mars that did the whole American Red Dwarf thing, I wouldn't hold out much for the American Ashes to Ashes. Gene Hunt is just too British really. (Even though I had high hopes for Colm Meaney)
 

esperandote

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Feb 25, 2009
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300lb. Samoan said:
esperandote said:
Also the Doom movie was a good representation of the game's spirit, just monsters and guns action.
Except that the script completely removed all mention of Hell, which is what Doom is really about - unleashing Hell. If they hadn't copped out on that then the movie would have been genuinely true to the game AND would have had much more interesting visuals!
Maybe they tried to tell us that we live hell on earth... yeah, lame argument :p xD
 

MADNESS4

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Feb 10, 2010
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one thing thats irks me a lot is that i hear so many people say video game movies are bad (and ya they almost all are) but one movie i have to defend is Hitman, ya know that movie staring Timothy Olyphant, im sure not many people will say they like that movie as much as me, but its a long way form being "bad" and i really enjoy it
 

Phokal

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Oct 12, 2009
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I don't know if MovieBob will see this, but this review feels more like "I really wanted to review Lost" rather than a review of Prince of Persia. Sure, it addresses the "whitewashing" and "videogame," but doesn't mention much about the movie itself (like the direction ala 2012's review).

So, yea, Moviebob, you should totally review lost. You know you want to. You won't get it out of your system until you do.
 

SaintHax

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Sep 8, 2009
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The first good video game move was Resident Evil. Though Mortal Kombat was watchable, which was a milestone for VG movies-- though MK II was painful again.
 

Caligulove

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Sep 25, 2008
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Good review as always. Have been on the fence about whether to see this film or not. Only thing that really has kept me back from seeing it yet has been the fact that I really don't care much for Gyllenhaal. Not because of whitewashing but him as an actor.
But this is a step in the direction for me to go and see it at least

Dont agree about LOST though, liked the ending, but this is not the thread to talk about that
 

Iscin

Schism Navigator
Sep 8, 2009
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Mushroom Kingdom = Nintendo
Hyrule = Nintendo

-Sighs-

I respect MovieBob a good deal and his reviews are still very interesting but I really REALLY am getting sick to the core with his Nintendo fanboyism. Nintendo is a major player but is far from the only player to have created original and imaginative game universes and actually Nintendo kinda suck with story which is what other mediums such as films, literature or even audio plays will all require to be their core in a translation from video game to -insert media here-

So here is a quick open letter:

Dear Bob,
Thank you for Game Overthinker and Escape to the Movies over these months I have known of your work. However can you please work on toning your Nintendo fanboyism down more? By this point all your viewers (and certainly fans) get that you more or less see Nintendo's original (and largely unevolving apart from graphics engines) creations to be the gold standard of the video game industry as a whole entity, but the way your love of Nintendo seeps into almost every other review -or at least certainly feels like every other review- is honestly making at least I for one want to view your stuff less since it has become very predictable.

Yours sincerely, Iscin.

/hopefully tactful criticism over

In other news: I really should see this film sometime soon ^.=.^
 

Skeleon

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Nov 2, 2007
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I like the new smilies you use, especially the "huh?"-version.

As for the actual review, that's a relief. I was wondering whether I should go see it, but the trailer looked a little... cheap, to be honest. I think after this review I'll give it a shot regardless.

Turned off the volume just in time for the Lost-spoiler. I want to live the rage in its full form myself.
 

DigitalSushi

a gallardo? fine, I'll take it.
Dec 24, 2008
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Baby Tea said:
EnigmaHarper said:
I honestly don't understand what everyone's deal is with "whitewashing." I think if you have an actor that is good in a role it shouldn't matter what color he is.
It's about authenticity.
Some (silly) people might claim is has something to do with racism, but really: It's about authenticity.
Ancient Persia would have been populated by Persians, so have a Persian Cast makes it more believable. You can't say Slumdog Millionaire would have been nearly as good is the cast was all Asian. Or that any movie portraying the Yakuza as African guys would be believable. The point of a movie is to tell a story, and you grip people into a story with atmosphere. The proper ethnicity really helps that atmosphere.

It's not a deal breaker, mind you (Not for the sane, or people who have any inkling of an imagination), but it really does help the immersion of the tale unfolding on the big screen in front of you.
The problem is that Persian's were originally Aryan, you know blue eye'd and blonde haired with incredibly muscular builds (you know that Aryan that a particular moustachio'd fella loved).

The "dark" aspect of the Mesopotamian region is a relatively new thing, so having a white guy play a Persian isn't so far fetched in terms of historical authenticity, seeing him covered in baby oil however kinda destroys any illusions you may have had.
 

UtopiaV1

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Feb 8, 2009
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MovieBob said:
Prince of Persia

This week MovieBob takes a look at Alad...errr...I mean Prince of Persia.

For more from MovieBob, check out Intermission [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/moviebob/7615-Stealing-From-the-Next-Generation].

Be sure to join Escape to the Movies Facebook Fan Page here [http://www.facebook.com/pages/Escape-to-the-Movies/374853431247].

Watch Video
We really don't care about the flag thing, so many people get it mixed up the only people who are bothered about it are British people who aren't English (so, Northern Irish, Welsh and Scottish, but really, when has anyone really listened to them? :p )

That was an okay review, but you seemed to deal with the cultural problems, rumors and controversy surrounding the film, and not review the film itself. You are aware that you're a reviewer, and not a social critic? If you want to write columns on society as an organism and the intrinsic role the media plays in it, then do so, but please don't disguise it as a review for a movie. Bob. :p

Glad to see this is an okay film, might go see it. As for the whole Whitewashing thing, I've not heard anything about it until you mentioned it in your video. You sure that's not just your own 'white guilt' being mentally cast onto the film in your own mind?

Oh yea, last thing, you really had to throw that whole 'Jewish Origins' bit in there, trying to say where all the Jews come from? REALLY??? I was sucking my teeth all the way through that. I think you stuck your neck out there for no reason, don't be suprised if someone bites you for it. Don't forget Judaism is a religion, not an ethnicity.
 

Yureina

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May 6, 2010
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Hmm... maybe i'll have to tell someone to go watch this in the theatre for me so that they can tell me about it. It might actually be worth seeing. :eek:
 

Eldritch Warlord

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Jun 6, 2008
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I feel compelled to point out that the Persian Empire that the PoP franchise is based on (the Achaemenid Empire, which you had a map of) was ruled by people who had recently migrated/invaded from the area around the Caucasus Mountains. They were Caucasian and as white as any given European race.

What makes them look "Arab" now is nearly three millenia of interbreeding with practically every Old World ethnicity outside of Europe. The genetic history of the Middle East is horrendously complicated. Example: nearly a quarter of all people currently living in Iran are a descendant of a Mongol.
 

Markness

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Apr 23, 2008
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Yeah I wouldn't really call it a videogame movie. It didn't seem tied to the game at all. The dagger/time machanic was as deep as it went