The Film (2.5/5)

Trying to get her daughter ready for bedtime, a mother (Daria Nicolodi) tells her the story of Sinbad (Lou Ferrigno) the Sailor and one of his many adventures. This adventure deals with his return to the city of Basra. The city has been taken over by the evil wizard Jaffar (John Steiner), who wants to marry the emperor's daughter. But she is engaged to one of Sinbad's friends, Prince Ali (Roland Wybenga).  Sinbad discovers that to stop Jaffar, he must collect sacred gems. But the challenges that await him, may be too much.

SINBAD OF THE SEVEN SEAS (1989), comes from the tail end of Italian genre cinema's heyday. The 1980's was a period of lower budgets and lack of interest. SINBAD was produced by the legendary exploitation company Cannon films. Cannon too was facing money trouble, and by the end of the period would cut production in half. So, SINBAD marked one of the final big productions so to speak.

Produced off a screenplay by Luigi Cozzi (STAR CRASH, KILLER MUST KILL AGAIN), who also made two HERCULES films for Cannon, SINBAD was a hilarious inept cash in on PRINCESS BRIDE. This was mainly thanks to the non-stop narration from Nicolodi's character. While a novel approach, the finished screenplay is a flaming mess. Cozzi was originally assigned to direct but was replaced by action specialist Enzo G. Castellari (STREET LAW, KEOMA). Cozzi's lackluster dialogue and story are saved in some respects by Castellari's direction. While not his best, the action scenes are a blast to watch.

The movie is a mess, with the narration sounding like nails on a chalkboard. But that's not to say the movie is not watchable for the cheese factor. Unlike Cozzi's HERCULES movies, SINBAD is a little too serious to work on every level. John Steiner (TENEBRE) hams up every scene he is in to 130 percent. And despite looking bored in the film, Lou Ferrigno (INCREDIBLE HULK, CAGED) is a likable lead.

As strange as a Cannon action fest rip-off of PRINCESS BRIDE sounds, SINBAD OF THE SEVEN SEAS sadly drops the ball.

Audio/Video (3.5/5)

The movie comes with an English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio track. The sound mix is off kilter, with some sections of the movie reaching peak levels. The audio spikes up a few dozen times during the first 30 minutes. The narration from the Daria Nicolodi character is especially off balance and suffers from a noticeable room tone sound. It also sounds hollow.  English subtitles are included.

The 1080p HD picture looks great. There are a few minor issues where the brightness of the picture leaves a few corners looking flushed out and dull. There is no print damage and minor natural film grain.

Extras (2/5)

We get a trailer gallery featuring SINBAD OF THE SEVEN SEAS, THE VIKINGS, KINGS OF THE SUN, and FLESH + BLOOD.

Overall (3/5)

If you’re a fan of bad action movies, then you're in for a treat. While not a great movie, it's fun enough for a lazy afternoon. And if you’re a fan of this movie, Kino's release is worth a look. Recommended.