MOVIE REVIEW

Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas  (2003)

Voices: Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dennis Haysbert, Ralph Fiennes
Directors: Tim Johnson, Patrick Gilmore

Rating: PG

Studio: DreamWorks SKG

Release Date: 7.02.03

Review Posted: 7.02.03

Spoilers: Minor

By Sara Michelle Fetters

"Sinbad a Legendarily Bland Adventure"

The summer is going to the pirates.

Next week, Disney unleashes its newest theme park ride-to-film motion picture starring Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush, The Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl. From über-producer Jerry Bruckheimer and flashy director Gore Verbinski, the movie with one of the longest title in movie history is sure to be filled with eye-popping sets and visuals; let’s just hope the script by Shrek writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio holds water.

But more on that next week as the first pirate out of to sea and hitting cinema screens is a wee bit more animated than that one, even if it does star Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michelle Pfeiffer. In fact, Dreamworks’ Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas is the latest traditionally animated offering from the studio, continuing the conglomerate’s heated rivalry with the Mouse House. Not that Disney has much to worry about when it comes to their adversary, Sinbad proving once again that, outside of the computer animated arena, they are still only second best.

Not that this latest incarnation of the legendary Arabian thief doesn’t have potential. Placing Sinbad (Pitt) in direct competition with Eris (Pfeiffer), the goddess of chaos, is definitely a good place to start. Due to her dastardly machinations, the pirate must sail his crew deep into the heart of her domain in order to recover the Book of Peace or friend, and future leader of Syracuse, Proteus (Joseph Fiennes, Shakespeare in Love) will be put to death. Accompanying him on his trip is Marina (Zeta-Jones), the fiancée of his compatriot who hides a secret hungering for the sea and an adventurer’s life.

It’s a decent enough little set-up for a family film and the potential for a great animated entertainment is definitely in place. So where does it go wrong and why is it so bland? Start with John Logan’s juvenile and ponderous script. More and more his work on Gladiator looks to have been a fluke what with weak screenplays for films as various as Bats, The Time Machine and Star Trek: Nemesis working against him. While I am not looking for anything approaching depth in a film like Sinbad, it would still be nice if it didn’t constantly feel like the movie was shouting at me. It moves from ONE BIG MOMENT to the next with all the subtlety of Godzilla stomping through Tokyo and characters shout out their lines no matter whether they’re yelling for help or asking for directions or ordering a tuna fish sandwich. The whole enterprise could readily use a shot of Ritalin and it gets more than a bit tiring as I felt like I was being mauled with a hammer, not exactly the best way to enjoy a movie to be sure.

Still, kids are going to eat most of it up, and some of the animation is wondrously superb. Standouts include a confrontation with some slithery water Sirens and the rolling desert sands of Eris’ home world that reveal and then hide civilizations and armies long-buried by her evil scheming. Even better is the goddess herself. Animated with grace and nuance, Sinbad picks up steam and engages the interests every time she’s on screen. Even Harry Gregson-Williams (Phone Booth) one-note score becomes something special; bubbling over with a surreal playfulness the movie really needs more of to be a success.

The voice work by all the performers is nothing special save for Pfeiffer, who’s obviously having a ball playing her demonic goddess character. She just oozes sensuality and wickedness and her rapport with Pitt is fantastic. Makes me wonder what the two of them would be like playing off one another in the flesh. She’s got the material dead on and I could hear it in her voice that she knew it, all the confidence and seductiveness a goddess of this type would inherently possess embedded in her silky smooth delivery.

Maybe I’m spoiled. Pixar’s Finding Nemo has set the bar so high for summer animated entertainment there is just no way Sinbad can hope to compete. But this movie isn’t even as good as last year’s Disney disappointment Treasure Planet and it’s even a long way from the studio’s own flawed-but-intriguing Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron of last summer. This is nothing more than a direct-to-video family film some reason being given the all-star big screen debut it utterly doesn’t deserve. As pirate movies go, here’s hoping next week’s swashbuckler turns out better.

Rating: 2 out of 4

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