Filmink
July, 2003
By Paul Verhoeven

“…formulaic, sugary fun…”

Having occupied a firm spot in the annals of mythological literature (and later in the films featuring Ray Harryhausen’s innovative stop-motion animation), the loveable, scurrilous seafaring rogue Sinbad has once again leapt onto the big screen. The studio that spawned Shrek, obviously seeking further tales of colour-drenched wonderment, have turned to this particular hero of literature and the screen with surprisingly effervescent results.

Sinbad (Brad Pitt), after years at sea, encounters his childhood friend Proteus (Joseph Fiennes). After the goddess of Chaos, Eris (Michelle Pfeiffer) steals away the all-important book of peace, Sinbad must travel to the farthest reaches of the Earth to save his friend’s life, and in the process learns a thing or two about how to live his life. With a plot straight from the Disney manifesto, this sounds like your typical western “conflict: resolution” blockbuster.

And in many ways, it is. It's formulaic, sugary fun, but with this much enthusiasm and talent involved (Catherine Zeta Jones and Dennis Haysbert also lend their voices), it’s almost impossible not to crack a smile. Sinbad and his crew are empathetic, vibrant and engrossing, as are the bizarre foreign surroundings they traverse on their journey. Perhaps the film is a little CGI-heavy, but it’s refreshing to see studios other than Disney making genuine efforts to create
such lively, entertaining works. Sinbad is far from deep, but sometimes skimming the surface is enough.