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Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas
PG
Playing in area theaters
Two-and-a-half reels out of four
If Shrek was a grand slam, then Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, the latest animated feature from Dreamworks Pictures, is a ground-rule double. Neither an instant classic nor a complete dud, it gets an A for effort but could have been much better.
Sinbad (Brad Pitt), the dashing, adventurous sailor who appeared in Arabian Nights, is framed by Eris (Michelle Pfeiffer), the Goddess of Chaos, for stealing the powerful and priceless Book of Peace. He must steal the book back from Eris or else his best friend, Proteus (Joseph Fiennes), will be killed.
Proteus’ betrothed, Marina (Catherine Zeta-Jones), stows away on Sinbad’s ship, and the two encounter various monsters and obstacles during their journey into Eris’ evil world.
You may not often hear this about animated films, but the best thing about Sinbad is the screenplay. It crackles with wit and adventure in the tradition of the great swashbucklers. Screenwriter John Logan (Gladiator) has cleverly inserted adult themes, such as unrequited love and betrayal, but not in a way that will overwhelm the kids.
Logan has said he wanted the movie to remind viewers of the Ray Harryhausen movies of the ’60s, and in that regard he has succeeded. Harryhausen wore many hats during his Hollywood career, but was best known for being a special-effects whiz. The fancy restaurant in Monsters, Inc. was named for him out of respect for his talents, and the creatures in Sinbad are also a fitting tribute. Made with computer animation — the rest of the movie is not — the creatures do much to enhance the feeling of adventure and magic.
Meanwhile, what’s an animated feature film without celebrity voices? Dreamworks has scored a minor coup by signing up such A-list talents. Especially notable is that only Pfeiffer has done voice work in a cartoon. She’s deliciously evil and seductive as Eris. Pitt infuses Sinbad with a puckish sense of adventure and oodles of charm. The only other person I can imagine doing as good a job is George Clooney.
Alas, where the movie falters is in the artistic representation of the human characters. As expressive as the creatures and the beautiful backgrounds are, there is something almost lifeless in the humans. The most interesting character on the crew is Sinbad’s dog. Sinbad himself lacks any distinct quality that might make him memorable, or at least more than a two-dimensional figure.
As the market for children’s entertainment becomes more competitive, the bar gets raised every year. There was a time when Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas might have been a huge hit. I don’t see that happening this time.
Born on the Fourth of July
R
Born on the Fourth of July embodies the highpoint of several careers. It is debatably Oliver Stone’s best movie. It is without a doubt Tom Cruise’s finest hour as an actor. And the haunting score is one of the best things John Williams has done outside a Spielberg film, with the possible exception of the Lost in Space theme. Cruise plays Ron Kovic, a young man from Massapequa, N.Y., who is paralyzed from the waist down after a tour of duty in Vietnam. After going through hell in a veterans’ hospital, Kovic ends up being one of the most outspoken opponents of the war.
