It could be worse.

You didn't figure that out when they cast one of the whitest guys in Hollywood as the lead? Hey, at least they got Kingsly who has played Persian before and can kinda sorta pass in the right light.

The way God intended it.

Yeah, it sure is monstrous to have characters of the wrong ethnicity when portraying a fictional, magical version of Persia.

Eesh. This is over-sensitivity, folks.

Ben Kingsley is apparently an avid gamer. First BloodRayne, now this?

eh, it looked epic and cheesy both, much in the same way that Pirates of the Caribbean did.

As for the reviewer, I'm not really sure what his problem is. He's blaming plot points on Bruckheimer that were pulled straight from the video game this movie is based on. He complains about "English accents" when that's one of the most overused devices in film history. Did he complain that Caesar spoke with a British accent in HBO's Rome? And I had no trouble determining "which way is up".

Honestly, I half expected him to end with "The last good movie set in the desert was Casablanca, now get off my lawn!"

FishyFred: Ben Kingsley is apparently an avid gamer. First BloodRayne, now this?


Or maybe it's just the three ex-wives. Gandhi gots to get paid.

Sybarite: Hey, at least they got Kingsly who has played Persian before and can kinda sorta pass in the right light.

Ben Kingsley's father was Indian. He was born "Krishna Bhanji."

Just sayin'.

This movie looks terrible. That said, The people of Persia, and modern day Iran, actually are white. They're darker skinned, but then again, so are Italians. But the Persians were what we would call 'Caucasian'

MaxxLarge: Sybarite: Hey, at least they got Kingsly who has played Persian before and can kinda sorta pass in the right light.

Ben Kingsley's father was Indian. He was born "Krishna Bhanji."

Just sayin'.

And here I thought his mother just ate too much vindaloo when she was pregnant.

Disney's Prince of Persia Aladdin reimagined ancient Persia (fictional) Agrabah as a land of spray-tanned white people with English American accents

NaturalDrunkenPungence: This movie looks terrible. That said, The people of Persia, and modern day Iran, actually are white. They're darker skinned, but then again, so are Italians. But the Persians were what we would call 'Caucasian'

The funny thing is the words "Iran" and "Ireland" are actually from the same root word "Arya" which is where they got Aryan from. It's proto-sanskrit for Noble. It was the same people group that moved out of Northern India and some went to where Persia was and the rest drifted over into Europe and became Celtic and Germanic peoples.

Most Iranians could shave off their beard and look like a European banker.

*Note, despite my use of the word "Aryan" this is not some racist screed but the actual research anthropologists have done. It's not my fault the white-power movement has co-opted the word.

Y'know, usually I'm one of the assholes deriding the lack of subtlety and over-prevailence of action, explosions and one-liners in modern cinema, but that actually looked pretty fun in a "Pirates of the Caribbean" way (the first one, not the crappy sequels).

The fact that I loved the game possibly has something to do with it.

FishyFred: Ben Kingsley is apparently an avid gamer. First BloodRayne, now this?

I vaguely remember him saying in an interview that he did Bloodrayne because he always wanted to play a vampire, but had never been offered a part as one before.

NaturalDrunkenPungence: This movie looks terrible. That said, The people of Persia, and modern day Iran, actually are white. They're darker skinned, but then again, so are Italians. But the Persians were what we would call 'Caucasian'

correct. In fact, Xenophon described ancient Persians as whiter than his own Greek troops. There are also Persians with blue eyes. I found it very hilarious those who claimed casting him was racist. Most of those people wanted someone who had arabic features.

Great, because Hollywood didn't piss off Persia/Iran enough with 300, now we have this? Yes, I know that 300 was based on an excellent graphic novel, just as this new film is based on a popular video game, but those over there seem to miss said important points of interest. At least all the butthurt will be fun, if not the film itself.

As long as someone makes a good video game movie, and bucks the trend that Uwe Boll started, then I say good on ya.

timujin: eh, it looked epic and cheesy both, much in the same way that Pirates of the Caribbean did.

As for the reviewer, I'm not really sure what his problem is. He's blaming plot points on Bruckheimer that were pulled straight from the video game this movie is based on. He complains about "English accents" when that's one of the most overused devices in film history. Did he complain that Caesar spoke with a British accent in HBO's Rome? And I had no trouble determining "which way is up".

Honestly, I half expected him to end with "The last good movie set in the desert was Casablanca, now get off my lawn!"


This.

I do not think the author is familiar with the game it is based on. He sounds like the character, who is capable of running on all sides of walls to obtain a dagger which controls time. So... the problem here? It is what it is. A popcorn flick.

I'll go see it.

Ancient Persia was largely populated by superstitious, smelly, barbarians. Much like today.

yllosubmarine: Great, because Hollywood didn't piss off Persia/Iran enough with 300, now we have this? Yes, I know that 300 was based on an excellent graphic novel, just as this new film is based on a popular video game, but those over there seem to miss said important points of interest. At least all the butthurt will be fun, if not the film itself.

Everything we do pisses off the arab world.

while Gemma Arterton whispers expository dialog in your ear like she wants to do you.

TFA says this like it's a bad thing.

timujin: Honestly, I half expected him to end with "The last good movie set in the desert was Casablanca, now get off my lawn!"

Well...It was.



/Get off my lawn...for old times sake.

NaturalDrunkenPungence: The people of Persia, and modern day Iran, actually are white. They're darker skinned, but then again, so are Italians. But the Persians were what we would call 'Caucasian'

Iran is named for the ethnicity of the majority group, a group also referred to as Persian. The root that Iran derives from is Aryan. Persians are white people.

Modern day Persians do tend towards a darker skin tone, mostly because they got their asses conquered by Arabs with regularity during the first millennium, common era.

Interestingly, Persians speak Farsi, which is actually an Arabic corruption of Persian. Arabic has no "P" sound, while Persian does. In the mouths of the Arab conquerors, "Parsi" became "Farsi".

Despite using similar alphabets, Farsi is not related to Arabic. It's in the Indo-European family of languages, while Arabic and Hebrew constitute the Semetic branch of languages. However, due to cultural cross pollination, Farsi borrows many words from Arabic. It also borrows heavily from French. In common usage, "Merci" is the appropriate way to say "thank you".

//Currently learning Farsi; my wife is half Persian.
//Where's Persepolis when you need him?

Durka durka!

NaturalDrunkenPungence: This movie looks terrible. That said, The people of Persia, and modern day Iran, actually are white. They're darker skinned, but then again, so are Italians. But the Persians were what we would call 'Caucasian'

If you dare say that to an actual Persian you'll get your ass kicked. Just saying.

Abracapocalypse: The funny thing is the words "Iran" and "Ireland" are actually from the same root word "Arya" which is where they got Aryan from.

I thought the root word of Ireland was Ire, meaning anger.

FishyFred: Ben Kingsley is apparently an avid gamer. First BloodRayne, now this?

Never mention that abomination of a film ever again.

I'm pretty there is a circle of hell dedicated to watching that movie.