This was originally posted October 17, 2008 and based on the bad reviews for Prince of Persia, I am sticking to my guns on this one. We will see if I eat my words when I see it on DVD September 14th.
This rant comes on the heels of what I believe is a casting travesty. It really irks me when a potentially good movie is ruined with bad casting.
There is one video game that I have been obsessed with since the first one came out in 1999: Prince of Persia. It’s got a great storyline and great action. So, I was ridiculously excited when I heard they were going to make it into a movie. It had potential to be one of those fantasy/action flicks that I love. (Yeah, I am nerding-out, what of it?)
So, imagine my TOTAL dismay when a friend emailed me the cast list and it included Jake FRAKKING Gyllenhaal as the Prince. The Prince of PERSIA.
I immediately freaked about his ethnicity being totally wrong for the role. I was sent an email response from a friend stating that back in that time period, Persians were actually Caucasian, so it is historically accurate to cast a white guy in the role.
But, Gyllenhaal? Anyone who has ever played the game knows that the prince is an agile fighter with amazing skill and a big sarcastic streak. I’m sure they can teach little Jakey to fight, but I just don’t see him pulling off the rest. Plus, do we really care if a movie made from a video game is historically accurate? It’s a fantasy world. Even the character in the video game looks of modern-day Persian descent. ANND, If it’s so historically accurate, why would they cast Ben Kingsley as Nazim and Alfred Molina as Sheik Amar?
My vote was to cast Eric Balfour in the role. (see below…mmmm).
I saw him on the pilot of The Ex-List, and with his “muscly” tone and attitude, he would have been perfect–And a damn sight cheaper than Gyllenhaal, I suspect.
According to my email buddy, Balfour is ‘too tall’ to portray the Prince. He suggests Sayid (Naveen Andrews) from Lost would be much better. Apparently, I forgot about that centuries-old rule of combat: No tall people.
While we are on the subject, here are my top three egregious casting errors:
- Tom Cruise as the Vampire Lestat (vurp) in Interview with the Vampire. Vamps are long and lean and graceful and Cruise, regardless of what some people said after the film, was a lumbering hunk of cheese compared with his child costar, Kirsten Dunst. They surrounded him with other horrible vampires like Christian Slater and Brad Pitt, presumably to make him look like a better actor. Ugh.
- George Clooney as Batman in Batman & Robin. As a matter of fact, you could say that casting anybody but Christian Bale or Michael Keaton in that role was horrifying. Can we just erase the others? Please?
- Kevin Costner as Robin Hood Prince of Thieves? (Shudder). With his terrible slight-Southern accent and complete lack of emotional expression, he was a train wreck in this film. Cary Elwes from Robin Hood: Men in Tights was a better fit. You know there is something wrong when a Mel Brooks film casts a better actor than a blockbuster release like this one. Thank God for Alan Rickman, as the Sherriff of Nottingham, whose creepy demeanor and incredible ability to portray evil just by standing there made this movie worthwhile.
What do you think? Weigh in on my nerd-rant about the Prince of Persia. Tell me some of your examples of extreme casting errors and who you would have cast in the role?
By the way, the vampire Lestat=Peter Murphy.
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