"Sinbad: Legend Of The Seven Seas" is a beautifully animated adventure film from the folks at Dreamworks. It might not be as good from the story point-of-view as some of the other films released by the studio ("Shrek 1 and 2" and "The Road To El Dorado" are better), but it makes up for its lack of narrative ingenuity in other departments.
Infamous pirate Sinbad (voice of Brad Pitt) and his crew attack another ship in the Mediterranean Sea. They are trying to steal enough riches to retire to a life of luxury in Fiji, but their plans are interrupted when Sinbad discovers that the boat he's just boarded belongs to an old childhood friend, Prince Proteus (voice of Joseph Fiennes). Proteus is delivering a valuable, magical book The Book Of Peace to Syracuse, and is determined to protect his priceless cargo whatever the cost. After being knocked overboard Sinbad is saved from drowning by Eris, the Goddess of Discord (voice of Michelle Pfeiffer). She persuades him to steal the Book Of Peace for her, promising him wealth and power beyond his wildest dreams. But later Eris herself steals the Book, framing Sinbad for the crime and leaving him to face execution in the city of Syracuse. Proteus is the only person who believes that Sinbad is innocent of the crime so he does a deal. Proteus offers himself for execution and lets Sinbad go free the arrangement being that Sinbad must return within ten days with the Book. If he returns in time, he will be pardoned. If he returns late or not at all, Proteus will die. Initially, Sinbad plans to sail away as soon as his ship is over the horizon, but when Proteus's fiancée Marina (voice of Catherine Zeta-Jones) turns up as a stowaway on his ship he has to change his plans. Sinbad and his crew endure an action-packed adventure as they head towards Eris's kingdom of Tartarus a land from which no-one has ever returned alive. Along the way, Sinbad learns a few important life-lessons, such as commitment, honesty, friendship and loyalty. But he also finds himself falling in love with Marina, even though she is betrothed to his friend. Worse still, he learns that getting the book back from Eris will require sacrifices and a change of character that might just be beyond his ability ..
"Sinbad: Legend Of The Seven Seas" consists of good and not-so-good elements. As mentioned, the animation is consistently excellent throughout. Harry Gregson-Williams gives the film a memorable and exciting score, and John Logan's screenplay provides a sufficient variety of adventures in adventurous realms. The vocal acting is OK too, with some of the stars enjoying better roles than others. Pfeiffer and Zeta-Jones in particular get fully into the spirit of the film. Indeed, one of the most refreshing things about the entire movie is the strong female presence in it both Eris and Marina are powerful characters whose involvement in the story is central to everything going on. The not-so-good elements include a rather bland, by-the-numbers plot (anyone who's ever seen a Ray Harryhausen film will knows what's coming well before it happens). Similarly, the film has an annoying habit of either Americanising or modernising everything most notably the dialogue and the banter. Then there's the fact that Sinbad dreams of retiring to Fiji a good millennium or two before Fiji had even been discovered another lack of attention to detail that grates on the viewer. On the whole, however, I found "Sinbad: Legend Of The Seven Seas" to be an enjoyable and somewhat overlooked animated fantasy. Aside from its periodic flaws it's definitely fun for the family.
Infamous pirate Sinbad (voice of Brad Pitt) and his crew attack another ship in the Mediterranean Sea. They are trying to steal enough riches to retire to a life of luxury in Fiji, but their plans are interrupted when Sinbad discovers that the boat he's just boarded belongs to an old childhood friend, Prince Proteus (voice of Joseph Fiennes). Proteus is delivering a valuable, magical book The Book Of Peace to Syracuse, and is determined to protect his priceless cargo whatever the cost. After being knocked overboard Sinbad is saved from drowning by Eris, the Goddess of Discord (voice of Michelle Pfeiffer). She persuades him to steal the Book Of Peace for her, promising him wealth and power beyond his wildest dreams. But later Eris herself steals the Book, framing Sinbad for the crime and leaving him to face execution in the city of Syracuse. Proteus is the only person who believes that Sinbad is innocent of the crime so he does a deal. Proteus offers himself for execution and lets Sinbad go free the arrangement being that Sinbad must return within ten days with the Book. If he returns in time, he will be pardoned. If he returns late or not at all, Proteus will die. Initially, Sinbad plans to sail away as soon as his ship is over the horizon, but when Proteus's fiancée Marina (voice of Catherine Zeta-Jones) turns up as a stowaway on his ship he has to change his plans. Sinbad and his crew endure an action-packed adventure as they head towards Eris's kingdom of Tartarus a land from which no-one has ever returned alive. Along the way, Sinbad learns a few important life-lessons, such as commitment, honesty, friendship and loyalty. But he also finds himself falling in love with Marina, even though she is betrothed to his friend. Worse still, he learns that getting the book back from Eris will require sacrifices and a change of character that might just be beyond his ability ..
"Sinbad: Legend Of The Seven Seas" consists of good and not-so-good elements. As mentioned, the animation is consistently excellent throughout. Harry Gregson-Williams gives the film a memorable and exciting score, and John Logan's screenplay provides a sufficient variety of adventures in adventurous realms. The vocal acting is OK too, with some of the stars enjoying better roles than others. Pfeiffer and Zeta-Jones in particular get fully into the spirit of the film. Indeed, one of the most refreshing things about the entire movie is the strong female presence in it both Eris and Marina are powerful characters whose involvement in the story is central to everything going on. The not-so-good elements include a rather bland, by-the-numbers plot (anyone who's ever seen a Ray Harryhausen film will knows what's coming well before it happens). Similarly, the film has an annoying habit of either Americanising or modernising everything most notably the dialogue and the banter. Then there's the fact that Sinbad dreams of retiring to Fiji a good millennium or two before Fiji had even been discovered another lack of attention to detail that grates on the viewer. On the whole, however, I found "Sinbad: Legend Of The Seven Seas" to be an enjoyable and somewhat overlooked animated fantasy. Aside from its periodic flaws it's definitely fun for the family.