Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas - Ray's Review

Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003)

Directed by Patrick Gilmore and Tim Johnson

Written by John Logan (Gladiator, The Aviator)

Starring the voices of:
Brad Pitt as Sinbad
Catherine Zeta-Jones as Marina
Michelle Pfeiffer as Eris
Joseph Fiennes as Proteus


Plot Synopsis from Amazon.com:

"Sinbad gets commissioned by the wicked goddess Eris to steal a magical book called the Book of Peace from the city of Syracuse--but the prince of Syracuse turns out to be a childhood friend of Sinbad's. So Eris steals the book herself and frames Sinbad, making the hero sail to the edge of the world to get it back, accompanied by Marina, a woman he's secretly loved for years..."

Ray's Opinion:

Sinbad is not as good as Dreamworks previous animated effort The Legend of El Dorado. Firstly the basic structure is far more conventional and hero based, making it feel predictable. Secondly, the voice work is merely average, with Michelle Pfeiffer coming off best, simply because her character isn't as banal as the rest (but Eris is still dull). It's all very well to choose big stars to headline an animated film, but you can't just choose them because they are famous, choose them for their interesting voices and vocal comic skills... something Brad Pitt and Catherine Zeta-Jones sorely lack (at least when you can't actually see their pretty faces).

The look of Sinbad is impressive. Much like El Dorado the palette is again highly saturated and leaps off the screen. Like previous animated Dreamwork's films, Sinbad is loaded with CG elements and overall they look cool. The huge monsters (like a giant squid and a massive white eagle) have a sense of weight to them, due to their 3D nature, yet they don't quite mix with the 2D animated characters. Take for example the bit where Sinbad's slobbering dog Spike bites onto the giant squid's tentacle, Spike and the squid look completely different, the squid is far more detailed. However I can overlook this, as the 3D elements add far more than they take away.

No matter how hard the filmmakers tried Sinbad has a generic feel and as a result I didn't really become involved. The witty banter between Sinbad (Pitt) and Marina (Zeta-Jones) didn't ring true, or perhaps I'm just bored of the antagonistic male-female interplay thing... it's so predictable: They rub each other the wrong way, yet secretly they are attracted to each other and ultimately they grow close through their shared adventures and then sail off into the sunset together... yawn. After the hilarious antics of Tulio (Kevin Kline) and Miguel (Kenneth Branagh) in The Legend of El Dorado, the character interactions in Sinbad just didn't measure up. Where's the originality? Where's a single moment between them that you couldn't see coming a mile off?

Another problem lies in the feeling of déjà vu you'll get watching it. For example, one of the big - if not the biggest - action set-pieces they build to is when Sinbad saves Marina from the giant white eagle's nest and they slide down the mountain using a shield as a sled. I have already seen this twice. First in Aladdin, when he barely escapes from the lava-filled underground lair on the magic carpet and again in Ice Age, when they all slide down the icy slopes to save the human baby. There in lies the problem with Sinbad, almost everything contained in this film you've seen before, detracting from any merit the scene may have, no matter how pretty they've made it look. Sometimes when a film is riddled with cliches and stale ideas they still manage to rise above it with some fresh, new elements - Sinbad is not one of those films.

Yet while it is predictable, there is still something charming about the whole affair. It is a fun adventure film, with dynamic action scenes and some cool supporting characters (the monkey man who swings around on ropes being a highlight). It's all wrapped up in a visually sumptuous package and it does its absolute best to entertain you while it lasts. It's just a shame that the voice work is bland and the plot so generic, when so much effort has gone into its design.

6/10

Trivia:

Initially, 'Russell Crowe' signed up for the title role, but in the autumn of 2001 he was replaced by Brad Pitt because Crowe was too busy working on another project.

Brad Pitt and Catherine Zeta-Jones did not meet until the premiere - perhaps that explains the complete lack of chemistry between them?

Read my review of The Road to El Dorado