I know this one has been done to death. But I wanted to assure the neophytes: I've been reading about how entertaining this movie is on this site for a while now, and I'm not the biggest fan of "so-bad-they're-good" movies, either. I noticed it was at my local video store, and since I was bored I thought I'd give it a try, but I was expecting that it had been built up too much in my mind and would prove disappointing.

Nope. I nearly busted a gut. Jaffar was everything promised, and yes, the "HA!" scene was, no matter how prepared I thought I was for it, so breathtakingly funny I had to pause the tape and get some kleenex. Lou Ferrigno is pretty funny, too -- I can't believe he's seriously trying to emote. It's GOT to be some kind of self-referential thing. It's GOT to be.

A few other notes:

First of all, the opening was a gigantic lie. Edgar Allan Poe DID write a story called "The Thousand and Second Tale of Scheherezade," but it had zilch to do with Sindbad the Sailor (yes, "Sindbad" is actually the correct spelling) and was actually a rather bleakly satirical tale about scientific progress. I'm amazed that the people who made this movie were that literate. But no matter, they obviously realized that they were intellectually superior to their audience and that no one would know if they just flat-out lied.

Did anyone notice the similarities of the characters to "Aladdin"? I mean, obviously there's the Arabian Nights thing, and I believe Jaffar has appeared elsewhere, but the whole situation and "character dynamic" (if you can call it that) at the beginning was reminiscent of the animated film, right down to the appearances of the characters. There's even a "Prince Ali."

Why didn't anyone mention how many attractive, scantily-clad women there were in this movie?

Naming the babbling wizard "Nadir": could that actually be one moment of intentional wit? It's even funnier if it's unintentional. Anyone notice that he has no problem understanding what other people say to him, yet still continues to speak gibberish? Or that his entire language seems to consist of two words and a lot of gulping noises, spat through clenched teeth? I need hardly point out that his daughter, who has presumably had no one else to talk to for a while, can speak English without even a slight accent. Also, they're said to be from Baghdad...but, um, isn't that in Arabia, and isn't that where Sinbad comes from? Would he really speak such a radically different language?

Also, this movie is insanely un-PC. Offensive, even, if it weren't so laughable. Lou Ferrigno's pawing of Poochie early on is virtual molestation. The guy can't go a scene without being ridiculed for his height, by the narrator especially. Chinese guy speaks flawless English, without an accent, accept when he's quoting Confucius. And...the Viking's Swedish accent...!

Finally, as to the mother-daughter narration, besides being an obvious add-on in the wake of "The Princess Bride," didn't it strike anyone as horrific that the mother was telling her child this ribald, violent, "satanic" story with lots of violence, scantily-clad maidens, and dwarf-molesting? One that was clearly designed for teenage boys and direct-to-video fantasy fans, rather than small children? And who ARE direct-to-video fantasy fans, anyway?

I agree with the 5 turkeys.

Response From RinkWorks:

Well, I, for one, am a direct-to-video fantasy fan. Mostly because that's where about 75% to 80% of all of the best bad movies ever made come from. -- Dave.

The similarity with "Aladdin" IS odd, especially considering "Sinbad of the Seven Seas" predates the animated film by several years. I can't imagine Disney ripped THIS off, so where does the original character dynamic come from? -- Sam.