Things kick off in the kingdom of Charak, where a grand coronation is in progress. Prince Kassim (Damien Thomas) is to be anointed the new caliph of the realm. However, an evil witch named Queen Zenobia (Margaret Whiting) has her own designs on the throne—she’d rather have her son Rafi (Kurt Christian) as the new caliph instead of Kassim.
Just as the crown is being placed on Kassim’s head, Zenobia casts a wicked spell on him, which transforms him into a baboon.
Sinbad (Patrick Wayne) sails into Charak’s port along with his entourage of salty sailors. He is seeking Kassim’s permission to marry the prince’s sister, Princess Farah (Jane Seymour). However, just as Sinbad and company walk up to the city’s outer gates, they discover that the city has been shut down for the evening. As Sinbad and his crew ponder the unfortunate circumstances, Rafi conveniently pops up and offers lodgings for the night.
All seems joyous as Sinbad and his friends eat, drink, and enjoy the swirling hips of scantily clad dancers at Rafi’s place. That is until one of them begins choking after sipping on some poisoned wine. Rafi ambushes Sinbad but is no match for the famed sailor’s swordsmanship and is defeated after a quick bout of fencing.
Ever the schemer, Rafi’s mother Zenobia summons a gang of zombie-like creatures and sics them on Sinbad. However, he manages to destroy the entities by luring them in front of a pile of bound logs and cutting the rope binding them together; the logs roll off and crush the fiends.
Sinbad soon learns that the only person capable of returning Kassim to his human form is a Greek sage known as Melanthius (Patrick Troughton). So, Sinbad and his crew, along with Farah, set sail for Melanthius’s home, which is located on the distant island of Casgar. Farah also brings along Kassim in his baboon form. Zenobia and Rafi follow Sinbad and his crew in a small boat that is rowed by a golden automaton known as a Minoton (think minotaur).
When Sinbad and his band arrive at the island of Casgar, they quickly locate Melanthius, along with his daughter, Dione (Taryn Power). The Greek sage and his daughter agree to help Sinbad in his effort to restore Kassim to his proper human form. However, Melanthius informs them that they must sail to a mysterious land called Hyperborea, where an ancient people known as the Arimaspi once lived. Meanwhile, an attraction begins to develop between Sinbad and Dione. Will our hero be able to stay focused on the challenging task ahead?
In comparison to the first two Sinbad films, “Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger” is definitely the slowest moving of the trilogy. Although it features the same sense of whacky adventure as the previous films, along with some fantastic stop-motion effects by Harryhausen, everything movies along at a slower pace.
Overall, the acting performances are pretty solid. Wayne, as Sinbad, is the most athletic of the prior Sinbad actors. His swordplay is definitely convincing. Sam Wanamaker’s direction is also decent and pairs well with the rousing score by composer Roy Budd. Patrick Troughton is delectably inscrutable as the wise old sage and Whiting turns in an exceptional performance as the insidious Queen Zenobia.
This third film is a fun adventure fest that is still quite entertaining to this day.
