Most critics find Prince of Persia passable: a mixed, middling reception with few outright champions. The reviews agree that it is watchable and that the praise falls in two places. Alfred Molina’s comic turn is singled out again and again as the liveliest thing in it, and the real-world stunts, the parkour in particular, are credited with giving the action some pace. Several critics also like the look of the film, the detailed medieval cities and the cinematography, even when they like little else.
The reservations cluster around the story and the lead. Many find the plot convoluted and the whole thing forgettable, and a few call it plainly dull. Jake Gyllenhaal splits the critics: some think he has presence, others that he never gives the prince any edge. The spread is wide. Eye for Film says it exceeds expectations as a game adaptation, while Slant Magazine finds it lifeless and weighed down by effects-epic habits.
