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Sinbad - Legend of the Seven Seas (Widescreen Edition)

Sinbad - Legend of the Seven Seas (Widescreen Edition)

List Price: $19.99
Your Price: $17.39
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not the best DreamWorks animated film, but still good fun.
Review: Movie viewers above a certain age will doubtless remember fondly the films of Ray Harryhausen. A genius in the field of stop-motion, Harryhausen specialized in making the fantastic seem real, and though his work seems quite dated today, it was magical in its time. And it was through Harryhausen that filmgoers became familiar with the character of Sinbad, a daring sailor whose stories are recounted in THE ARABIAN NIGHTS, a collection of tales brought to the Western world by intrepid adventurer Richard Burton.

As a result, DreamWorks' animation studio and their release, SINBAD: LEGEND OF THE SEVEN SEAS, has a strong legacy with which to contend. ARABIAN NIGHTS purists will detest this latest entry into the Sinbad oeuvre as yet another Western mangling of a classic character and his stories. Devotees of the cheesy thrills found in such Harryhausen-fueled pictures as SINBAD AND THE EYE OF THE TIGER are also likely to come away disappointed. Those looking for an entertaining romp with colorful characters and swift action, however, will have a good time with this latest SINBAD.

Outside of DreamWorks' huge computer-animated hit, SHREK, the studio has had mixed success in the field. THE PRINCE OF EGYPT was stirring and beautiful, but films like THE ROAD TO EL DORADO and SPIRIT: STALLION OF THE CIMARRON, were less successful. SINBAD isn't perfect by any means, but it's still a diverting way to spend an hour and a half. Brad Pitt lends his expressive voice to the title character, and he's joined by other recognizables such as Michelle Pfeiffer and Dennis Haysbert. The script involves Sinbad's unexpected tangle with the Eris, Goddess of Discord, the theft of a valuable artifact, and love triangle Sinbad has spent ten years trying to avoid.

SINBAD is jammed with incident, as is expected in animated films these days. The film makes heavy use of computer animation that, as usual, doesn't quite mix with the traditional, cel-driven images. There's some amazing hand-drawn moments, such as an interlude where Sinbad experiences an interior struggle over how to deal with the unanticipated arrival of a stowaway; some actors can't put across this much emotion when viewed live, so seeing this animated is quite a treat. When the giant monsters and other threats come calling, however, it's back to the hard drive, which can be somewhat distracting.

There are some rather adult emotional issues with which to be dealt in SINBAD. Unlike the standard Disney formula - learn to appreciate yourself, and nothing can stop you - DreamWorks' better animated films have more complex structures. Adults will appreciate SINBAD's attention to loyalty, sacrifice, and fear of the unknown, while kids will devour the flashing swordplay and feats of nautical derring-do.

SINBAD seems hampered by its status as a kid flick. The emotional content is strong enough to have carried a more ambitious film, but the short running time and need for big set pieces have curtailed the film's mature impulses. This is too bad, as DreamWorks has thankfully pared away the ridiculous, quasi-Broadway musical numbers and left more time for real storytelling. With the explosion of Japanese animation to the market, perhaps DreamWorks will feel freer to develop more adult-palatable fare. SINBAD would have been a good place to start.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Absolutely Fantastic!
Review: I had the good fortune to be invited to a premiere of this movie in New York, and it was FABULOUS! The audience was packed with people of all ages, and everyone had a great time. And how could they not? The movie has something for everyone! Fun, adventure, phenomenal graphic artistry, romance, humor, and a bouyant spirit! The characters are also brilliantly brought to life by the actors. I never would have thought of Brad Pitt as Sinbad, but he gives such a goregeous rough-voiced humor to this pirate that you can't help but love him. Catherine Zeta-Jones is perfect as the fiercely passionate Marina, Joseph Fiennes gives a heroic nobility to Prince Proteus, and Michelle Pheiffer is deliciously wicked as the goddess of chaos, Eris. The crew is also fantastically lovable and deserves high praise. Go see this film! You won't be disappointed! I can't wait to see it again!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Fun, mindless, but clunky CGI
Review: The plot is fluffy and formulaic, but the characters are quite fun and the voices are well done.

What distracted me most from the movie was the extremely crude CGI. "Titan AE" did a much better job of blending CGI believably with cel animation. On "Sinbad", the characters seem to float on the imagery. I think the movie would have appealed better had it used fully traditional animation.

Overall, I found the movie worth renting, but I would never buy it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Action-packed, entertaining, witty and funny.
Review: This movie about one of the greatest all-time thieves has little to do with the original legends attributed to him told in the Arabian Nights, often even incorporating elements from other mythologies, but is fun-filled and very entertaining nonetheless.

The movie finds Sinbad (voiced by Brad Pitt) searching for riches and trying to steal The Book of Peace from his long time friend and prince of Syracuse, Proteus (voiced by Stephen Fiennes). While trying to take the book he encounters the Goddess of Chaos, Eris (voiced by Michelle Pfeiffer) who offers him all the riches of the world if he should steal the book for her. But when Sinbad is about to steal the book he encounters Proteus' fiancée Marina (voiced by Catherine Zeta-Jones) and desists of his efforts. Eris ends up stealing the book herself and frames Sinbad for the crime, who is then sentenced to die in ten days if the book isn't returned. Proteus who believes that Sinbad didn't steal the book, takes his place to allow for Sinbad to steal the book back from Eris. From here on the adventure begins.

The great special effects bring to life everything from menacing sea monsters, to ethereal mermaids to the ever-shifting realm of chaos known as Tartarus. The seamlessly incorporated hand-drawn animation is beautiful. The well-developed characters are deeper and wittier than most characters on the latest animated features and their dialogues and interactions are funny, emotional and well timed. The excellent musical score, one of the best for an animated feature, will leave you feeling like a swashbuckler even hours after the movie is over.

The main reasons this movie doesn't get five stars are: the repetition of some plot elements from other Dreamworks' animated stories (like Road to El Dorado) and the fact that this animated movie is not suitable for kids under thirteen for its treatment of certain topics like the main characters love relationship.

Overall, very good adventure and lots of fun.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Visually stunning - a rare treat!
Review: I loved this movie. I'm going to go through some of the points raised in other reviews, in the hopes of shedding light on the polarized opinions. First of all, I don't have kids, I just like animated films. There were some weaknesses in this movie - Brad Pitt's voicing was somewhat lackluster, but since he played the character of a rough-and-ready pirate, that lack didn't particularly intrude. Zeta-Jones is a wonderful voice actress - who knew? And Pfieffer as Eris is lush fun.

I read a few complaints from animation geeks who complained about the melding of the two different kinds of animation in this movie. It's true, sometimes I could see the difference between the two, but I didn't have a problem with that. In fact, it gave the film a weird sense of dimension, like watching a three-D movie with glasses on.

The story is solid and emotionally satisfying. There are some adult one-liners that will make you bark with surpised laughter. But I'll tell you what makes the film great - The ART. The thing that sets Sinbad apart from pretty much any animated film I've seen is that these artists imagined things that were visually stunning and original. Watching this movie is like seeing a Cirque d'Soleil show for the first time. Never have I seen animation exploited so beautifully. Dreamworks used it not only to do things that you couldn't ever do in real life, they used it to portray things that most of us couldn't even imagine. And they did it so convincingly that at times I forgot I was watching an animated film and thought, "How did they DO that? Oh, yeah...it isn't real." Combine that with taut, action-based storytelling and you have a film worth buying.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Non-stop ACTION and AMAZING animation...AWESOME !
Review: *SINBAD: Legends of the Seven Seas*
This movie is FANTASTIC and, after reading some of the reviews, I thought it was going to be a let down. On the contrary...it's nothing short of spectacular. As a family, we had a great time watching this movie. It is, at times, like being on a rollercoaster ride and we'd all go, "Woooo" at the same time. Yes, it's that thrilling. I couldn't get over how neat and 3 demensional the animation appeared at times. That's really one of the main reasons I wanted to post this review. If you're into fantastic animation this movie, alone, is stunning and won't dissapoint. But if you like action too, then have I got a treat for you. FUN ALL THE WAY THROUGH!
2 thumbs up...WAY UP!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: TWO THUMBS WAY DOWN!
Review: Brad, Catherine, and Michelle, what a great cast. The story was even good but this animated movie from Dreamworks totally killed the story of Sinbad. The effects were horrible, and even though, the cast was good vocally the film just didn't out-do the other animated films of 2003 (ex. Brother Bear) If this movie had been live action and used the same cast, It could probably rival Pirates of the Caribbean, but as an animated film the movie totally disappoints in every aspect.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Fun, mindless, but clunky CGI
Review: The plot is fluffy and formulaic, but the characters are quite fun and the voices are well done.

What distracted me most from the movie was the extremely crude CGI. "Titan AE" did a much better job of blending CGI believably with cel animation. On "Sinbad", the characters seem to float on the imagery. I think the movie would have appealed better had it used fully traditional animation.

Overall, I found the movie worth renting, but I would never buy it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Well-cast crud
Review: "Sinbad-Legend of the Seven Seas" is a well cast and performed forgettable fantasy. While Brad Pitt, Michelle Pfieffer, Dennis Haysbert, and Catherine Zeta-Jones loan excellent talent to the movie, there's little for them to work with. Ultimately, it's a waste of talent of actors who seem natural for the roles.

Brad Pitt shines behind the microphone as Sinbad, the charming rogue, and Michelle Pfieffer also glows black as the evil Eris, goddess of discord. (Her hair is practically a character itself.)

But, the story is formulaic and predictable, and seems to be driven on just enough for the next high speed chase. And the animation seems to poorly mesh, and often seems to be stuck 10 years behind the current technology. (And is it my imagination, or does every single Dreamworks character seem the same?)

All in all, it's not bad, but there's a lot better out there.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Sinbad not so bad
Review: I liked this movie. Most of the reviews here state that the movie is really terrible, but my son and I really enjoyed it. There were definitely some slow parts through the middle of the movie, but the action sequences were enough to keep our attention. I particularily loved Michelle Pfeiffer as Eris. The animation for her character was really cool and her voice definitely suited the character.

This movie is worth the $16.99 you'll pay for it, especially if you have kids 10 and under.


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