User Reviews

I'm a big fan of the fantasy genre and I grew up with the Sinbad movies featuring Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion work, so I have a massive inclination to like anything like this.

But...

This is just reaching beyond its ability to deliver. Production values are reasonable, but acting and story lines are just woeful. There is terrible CGI all over the place and Sinbad's "I cannot spend more than a day on land" amulet is an awful macguffin designed to drive tension in certain episodes.

They meant well, but they aren't delivering. Will there be a second season? We will have to see. But they need to do some work if it is to last much longer.

Scroll down if you just want to see a one line summary.

I came to watch Sinbad with no idea what to expect, as I couldn't find a single proper review of it online. After having watched the first two episodes, I can say now, right of the bat, that I was both impressed and disappointed with the series.

The cast chosen for the series intrigues me, and is one of the strongest features of the show, in my opinion. The ensemble cast is diverse, and quirky, from the tough and strong Norseman, to the gruff yet seemingly caring Cook, they all have something to bring to the show.

The age old premise of Sinbad the Sailor, tried and true, brings much to the table as well. I loved seeing an adventure show with a good cast, and believable computer graphics brought to the table. The choreography and fight scenes, while a bit rough, are also quite impressive, bringing back the memory of "Hercules the Legendary Journey" without many of the cheesy and hackneyed fighting moves.

The problems become apparent after that, however. The actors themselves are a bit rough; some of their actions and reactions just don't seem to fit the part. An example would be in the end of the second episode, where a giant Wyvern, carrying Sinbad, flies to the ship and drops him into the water. Personally, even in that world, a giant flying beast is some cause for concern or alarm. Not in Sinbad! "Oh look, a giant winged beast. It's carrying Sinbad? Oh, nothing to be alarmed about here, let's just cheer and celebrate, and dismiss the GIANT FLYING MONSTER altogether."

This really makes the suspension of disbelief difficult to achieve. There is this disconnect between how I feel someone should react, and how the actors portray their characters in the series. The plot's themselves are also, thus far, nothing out of the ordinary. Episode one: Street urchin angers powerful prince, prince seeks revenge. See "Farscape, episode 1" for more information. Episode two: Crew encounters savages on island, who want to eat them for sustenance. There was a bit of a side plot going on their with the leader of the cannibals, but their actions and reactions also felt like they were railroaded into the plot, and forced into a nice neat box that they didn't quite fit in.

TL;DR

Show has major potential, decent graphics and choreography, but with hackneyed plots, and major shortfalls in acting, causing many of the scenes to seem forced and awkward. The cast was well chosen, but seems very inexperienced, having difficulty convincing me that the characters in the show are truly reacting properly to situations presented to them.

This is a good fairy tale. Along with the 10th kingdom and a couple of other shows - for good fairy tales are rare on the screen. I am not talking about vampire staff or never-ending mess like 'Once upon a time'. I am talking about stories with simple and true fairy tale-logic, good role models for boys and girls, bright worlds full of nature and far horizons. It no big deal that some monsters look like they've been wrapped in kitchen towels and painted brown (the legendary "Princess Bride" has the same amateur tinge sometimes). The show is not glorious like GoT - it is cute and nice like a bedtime story. The characters are sincere and alive and full of hesitations and young unsolved problems, thanks god they are not superpeople. We have really enjoyed the show.