Film Reviews

Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas

• Rating:
• Director:
• Starring: Catherine Zeta-Jones
• Details: US / 86 mins / (G).

Beautifully animated but dramatically leaden feature which dusts off the heroics of the Baghdad born sailor (not that you'd know it here, thanks to the dulcet tones of one Brad Pitt). Our boy has a bit of a rogue's reputation and leads a merry but strangely non-violent gang of pirates who are intent on nicking a treasured artefact, the Book of Peace, from the peace loving Proteus (Fiennes). In a convenient plot twist, Proteus and Sinbad were best mates until a decade previous. Anyways, after Sinbad makes an ambitious attempt to steal Proteus' cargo and fails, the self-styled "goddess of discord", Eris (Pfeiffer) cuts Sinbad a deal and subsequently betrays him. To cut a long and unnecessary convoluted plot short, Sinbad has to retrieve the Book of Peace, with old flame (and Proteus's current squeeze) Marina (Catherine Zeta-Jones) in tow. If he doesn't manage to find it, then he has to accept the consequences of high treason.
Big on the old Disney staples of trust, love, friendship and loyalty, Sinbad is more a self-improvement masterclass than a thrill a minute ride. Although the animators inexplicably seem more interested in saving their best for anything other than the central characters, they do some extrordinary work, especially on the marvellously textured backgrounds and Eris' demonic creatures, which add some much needed energy to the proceedings.
Unfortunately, that's about as close as we get to depth as John Logan's script doesn't do much to spark the imagination. It looks nice, it acts (too) nice - just don't expect to be bowled over.

Review by Garreth Murphy