by Andy Gibbons

You can’t help but have noticed that London has become the capital of Persia this week as the cast and crew of swords and sandals video game epic Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time have been in town to promote the movie.

Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Sir Ben Kingsley, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Mike Newell and Jordan Mechner, the man who created the original game, have all been camped out in a posh West End hotel talking to an endless stream of international media about the film which opens here on May 21st. Jake even went one further by taking his life in his hands and appearing on Jonathan Ross’s Friday night chat show although he did get to stir fry Wossy’s shiny new iPad.

Disney also took over Westfield Shopping Centre to stage the biggest premiere the UK has ever seen- ah, the perfect blend of cinematic excess and overt consumerism. But with all this promotional work going on, it least it did give me the chance to get up close and personal with some of the costumes and props used in the film including the actual dagger which holds the mystical Sands of Time – click on the images below for a bigger version.

The good news is that the movie’s actually pretty decent (I’ll give you a full review nearer release as well as various video interviews) and the really good news is that it’s not been retrospectively kitted out with some shoddy 3D in a shameless attempt to squeeze more money from the cinema going public – yes Clash Of The Titans, I am looking at you!