Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977)

 

Of all the three Sinbad-films produced by Charles Schneer and made immortal by the legendary Ray Harryhausen, this one is unfortunately the least interesting. Not because of the special effects, as they are mostly great (thanks to Harryhausen), but because the story and development is so darn weak. It really is a travel tale this time, but only few interesting things happen and they are few and far between.

Sinbad returns to the city of soon-to-be caliph Kassim, only to find things are no longer what they were. The city feels under siege, because the wicked witch Zenobia is holding sway and wants to put her own son Rafi on the throne. To this end, she has put a spell on the rightful heir Kassim, turning him into a baboon. Because Sinbad loves Kassim's sister Farah, they set out to find the Greek scientist/philosopher Melanthius, who might know a way to undo this spell. 

Alas, Zenobia and Rafi are following them in order to stop this from happening. Because of course they are. 

After finding Melanthius, they all head to the North Pole, where a mythical land known as Hyperborea is supposed to be and there they hope to find some way of turning Kassim back into his human self. The how and why is surprisingly vague this time around. You might assume the titular Eye of the Tiger might be responsible for this, but there is never any mention of this in the entire film. 

Figures. Although Zenobia's eyes sometimes turn cat-like, maybe this is what they meant. 

Will they succeed? Will Zenobia's evil be undone? 

Silly to ask such questions. This is a heroic tale, after all.

Where the other two Sinbad outings ('The Golden Voyage' and 'The Seventh Voyage') are filled to the brim with memorable characters, colourful locales and interesting monsters, this one falls incredibly flat. Patrick Wayne is fine as Sinbad, but he doesn't have that much to do. And the sidecharacters and villains are horribly bland and uninteresting. Zenobia is a boring witch; her son Rafi is barely in this film; Jane Seymour as Farah is just there to look pretty and even Patrick Troughton as Melanthius is barely given enough material to work with. 

This is also very much a voyage. Literally. Where the others had mostly action after a short trip, this is mostly a long trip and scarce action. It is painful and boring. Zenobia has a bronze Minotaur and he does nothing except row, pull a stone out of a pyramid and die. 

Wow. 

Harryhausen's effects are stellar as always: you get a baboon, hellspawn, the minotaur, a troglodyte and a sabre-toothed cat and they all looks and act wonderfully. I'd even go as far as to say that the troglodyte has more personality than everyone else combined. He at least emotes something. Everyone else feels made of cardboard. And sure, Jane Seymour and Taryn Power are very easy on the eyes, but you do wish they had something to do or the semblance of a personality. Alas. 

In all fairness: you could easily skip this one. If you want magic and adventure, the other two are highly recommended. This feels like an afterthought and plays out like afterbirth: messy and not what you expect.