Originally written 12/29/15
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad made me feel
like an old-timey little kid watching adventure serials. The movie has the same
spirit as Star Wars, pure pop
escapist fun. Brawny heroes, fawning dames, evil wizards, and giant monsters.
The exotic mythical locales are gorgeously shot in loud, Mario Bava-level
colors that have that fantastic Technicolor pop. The special effects are
absolutely fantastic for 1958. Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion monsters filled me
with unparalleled joy. All the action scenes are fantastic cinematic spectacle.
It is very easy to get swept up in the childlike excitement of the film.
As
thrilling and engaging as the movie is, Sinbad
is spectacle first and everything else second. The acting is hokey and the
story expects audience involvement based on the hero's goals alone, not the
charm or personality of the character. But ultimately those are trivial
complaints, because it is not the film's intent. It is a fine piece of
self-insert wish fulfillment. Sinbad is the blank slate clean-cut good guy so
we can vicariously partake in his perilous adventures. Who cares about
character arcs and the nuances of acting when there are skeletons to
swordfight?
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