Sinbad (Manu Bennett) raids the desert camp of an evil sorceror (Steven Grives), stealing a key to the whereabouts of the invaluable head of the Colossus of Rhodes. With his crew in tow, and pursued by the angry sorceror, Sinbad sets sail for the island that harbours the head, only to find out that to get to the treasure, he must confront the legendary minotaur.
As you’d expect, Sinbad and the Minotaur is a pretty rote melding of disparate cultural tales in the spirit of Frankenstein vs. Dracula or Godzilla vs. King Kong or whatever else is in the bargain bin this week. The bubbling, cartoonish opening titles, complete with Star Wars-esque expositionary text, indicate straight away that this is to be a particularly light-hearted romp, with no reverence for the tales that inspired it – indeed, there’s nothing remotely Arabic about grizzled, muscular New Zealander Manu Bennett’s Sinbad.
The film is directed by Australian Karl Zwicky, who helmed an episode of Farscape (not to mention several episodes of Home & Away and Neighbours), and accordingly, there’s nothing cinematic about it. From the naff special effects and CBBC-style performances to the standard, glossy photography and cheap synth music, it has the look and feel of a TV show.
There are a few problems – presumably you’d watch this film for the action, but Zwicky’s not a great action director, with the hysterical editing style means that it’s not always clear what’s going on. Also, the 12 certificate does limit the film’s audience somewhat; I’d have thought it would be most suitable for 9-15 year-olds, as anyone over that age is clearly old enough to know better. Still, for what it is, it’s pretty good, unpretentious fun.
Overall Verdict: Standard, cheap, clash-of-the-titans DVD fare.
Special Features:
Trailer
Reviewer: Tom René