Sinbad of the Seven Seas – 1989 – Lou Ferrigno

I love Fantasy and Adventure movies and I think I have seen my fair share och Sinbad over the years. This one – Sinbad of the Seven Seas was a new acquaintance. I don’t really care if it looks cheap or cheezy, that’s all part of the fun. But this movie…I can’t really understand what they were thinking.

First of all, there’s an introduction where Edgar Allen Poe is mentioned. He’s described as this horror author that inspired an entire world of writers to follow in his footsteps. They got that part right for sure. There is also information that he was born in 1809 and died in 1849. They got that correct too! Then they claim that he, apart from those famous stories that we all know and love, also wrote this adventure story based on themes from 1001 Nights. Seem strange to me that they would not include his name on the poster then? Well, I doubt that any involvement from Edgar Allen Poe is true. But what do I know?

Lou Ferrigno

Sinbad of the Seven Seas stars Lou Ferrigno as Sinbad. For me, he’s most associated with the ’70’s TV series The Hulk, where he was painted green and appeared as the monster twice in every episode. I have also seen him in some barbarian movies and I think he’s played Hercules on a couple of occasions. A great choice for a character like that who should have lots of muscles. For Sinbad…well, not so much I think. For me, Sinbad isn’t a hulk, He’s rather a witty and charming character who doesn’t really on raw strength. I don’t think Lou Ferrigno was the right choice for the part as well. But on the other hand, I also love Barbarian movies so I’ll let that one slip.

The whole story is built around a good night story a mom is reading to her child. It’s Daria Nicolodi reading by the way. That ought to give Sinbad of the Seven Seas some extra credit. Not that she’s in the movie very much but you can hear her voice. Or can you? No, I think she’s dubbed. Well, it’s hard to say. you don’t see her very much anyway.

John Steiner steals the show!

I think the show is stolen by John Steiner who plays Jaffar, the evil bad guy in Sinbad of The Seven Seas. He’s over the top and overacts quite a bit but he’s not the only one. At least he does it with charm. I think he did a fine job here. You all know the story right. Jaffar tried to take control over the country or city and want the khalifs daughter. He will stop at nothing to get what he wants of course. In this tale, he uses his magic to control the khalif and banished a few magical gems to some distant locations. And, you guessed it, Sinbad and his men go on a quest to retrieve them. They are the cornerstones for the well-being of this town.

Here’s some confusion as well. It’s not really consistent how many these gems are. And when Sinbad and his men go to see an oracle to find out where gems ended up they are told where they could be found. I had a hard time understanding the timeline here. It could’ve been much clearer. But then again, the dialog in Sinbad of the Seven Seas isn’t the best. The special effects aren’t either but they’re not much worst than in many other great Fantasy and Adventure movies. It’s not a big deal if it’s cheap and cheezy. That’s kinda part of the fun of it.

Add more sleaze!

I feel like Sinbad of the Seven Seas is an excuse for Lou Ferrigno to flex his muscles and there is also a couple of female characters that seems to be there just because of their beauty. I don’t mind that, but perhaps they could have made those characters mean something for the story or gone all-in with some real sleaze. Oh, and one other thing. Sinbad is supposed to bring the gems back in seven months and the princess seems to be tied to a machine to rip her of her kindness during all that time. Well, she’s as beautiful as ever when Sinbad comes back. I guess Jaffar has let her freshen up once in a while…