These days, when people say that all Hollywood is interested in is hashing up remakes of films that don’t need remaking, it’s simply not true. It also loves to rape video game titles in a desperate attempt to be seen to be producing something almost-but-really-not-even-close-to-being original.

It began with the film version of platform favourite Super Mario Bros in 1993 which starred, rather inexplicably, Bob Hoskins as the world’s most famous plumber. The project was such a mess that it took four people to direct it. It was a disaster on almost every level. Yes even the boss levels. If this was any other industry, they would have put it down to being a terrible idea and moved on. But not Hollywood, oh no.

Still, if Disney can make a successful film franchise from just a theme park ride, who can blame them?

The real surprise here is that it’s taken Hollywood so long to pick up on the Prince of Persia game, as it’s been around since 1989. It was probably the re-boot of the series by games developer Ubisoft that caught their eye. In 2003 they released Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time, which saw the game’s dashing hero leaping every which way whilst dispensing foes with his trusty sword. And if he buggered a section up, the said sands of time would allow him to reverse time for a bit and therefore undo his usually fatal mistake. Now fast forward to 2010, with Disney’s latest live action release about a dashing hero leaping every which way, who can also reverse time for a bit.

I told you that you had to double flush it, now look what you've done.

As a child, Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal) was an orphan living a life of poverty. His destiny changed when the king saw how brave he was protecting another child; from that moment on he would raise Dastan as his own.

Despite not being of royal blood, Dastan is every bit the prince. He is fiercely loyal to his family, in particular to his brothers Tus (Richard Coyle) and Garsiv (Toby Kebbell), and his uncle Nizam (Ben Kingsley).

When the family learns of a neighbouring settlement's plans to attack their city, they decide to pre-empt them and attack first. This is where Dastan meets Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) for the very first time and although they don’t exactly see eye to eye, their Persian adventure together soon begins.

The most immediate thing that strikes you about Prince of Persia is how it’s possibly the best game-to-film title to date. Although that could be construed as a back-handed compliment, it’s not. Well, not completely.

Since his breakout hit Donnie Darko in 2001, Gyllenhaal has played plenty of serious roles for such a young man. His first taste of blockbusterdom came by way of 2004’s The Day After Tomorrow, which certainly lived up to being a disaster of a film, if nothing else. This role gives him the experience to play the lead in a proper, big budget, action adventure flick.

Dastan is in the mould of a Persian Jack Sparrow, only more sober and with a better English accent. Gyllenhaal has certainly beefed up well for the role and handles all the athletic and acrobatic duties asked of him.

Where he comes slightly unstuck is in the dialogue. The relationship he has with Arterton’s character has a Han Solo/Leia feel about it. Unfortunately for Gyllenhaal, there’s nothing really rogue-ish about Dastan to pull it off. The banter between the pair is missing that spark that was all too evident with Ford and Fisher. Arterton stumbles with her character too; she carries off the aloofness but suffers from a lack of warmth. Thankfully the film doesn’t rely on their relationship too much.

What the film is, essentially, is the skeleton of an Indiana Jones plot, with the loose skin of a video games narrative draped on top of it. However its British director, Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) doesn’t really seem to be up on his video games. This is evident when he uses two obvious references from a completely different gaming franchise, Assassin’s Creed: not only does Dastan wear a hoody so as not to be noticed when he’s gallivanting around the place, he also adopts one of the game’s signature moves – the leap of faith. Perhaps someone gave him the wrong game to play?

It doesn’t help that the story is on the convoluted side. Ironically the game’s creator Jordan Mechner has a ‘screen story’ credit on the film. Now, story isn’t the most vital component of a video game, but if it’s a good one it helps; a story for a film is another matter altogether. Can you imagine ‘from the man who created Pac-Man’ being that big a draw on a poster?

One of the key elements of the games, including the latest release Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, was certainly the ability to rewind time. Sadly, the film woefully under utilises this concept. When it does come into play it looks impressive, it’s just a shame it isn’t used more.

With a real drought of worthy summer blockbusters this year, this still manages to be one of the best of a bad bunch. Despite having more fake tan than an Essex club on a Friday night, Prince of Persia at least has a sense of fun about it. Also the combined acting weight of Alfred Molina and Sir Ben Kingsley is both welcome and enjoyable, while the sensation of an Arabian adventure, if nothing else, is all too vivid.

At least we can be thankful that Uwe Boll – who has directed more pitiful game-to-film projects than should be legally allowed – didn’t get his grubby mitts all over it.