Dr Couples Analysis: Sinbad and Marina

First thoughts right after watching the Movie

Ooh……. I did rip them apart when I reviewed this three and a half years ago. Anyways, they would have been fine, but there are way too many predictable contrivances that make this romance kind of annoying. They try though, so I give them credit for that. I’m struggling to summarize even more, so let’s get to it.

Summary

Their first interaction is when Marina’s fiance Proteus introduces him to her. Sinbad has this flustered look on his face while Marina questions whether he is a thief or prince, since he intended to rob her fiance, but then saved his life. Before when Marina and Proteus turned around, Sinbad turned around, and stormed off from the ball, demanding his crew to follow him.

So Sinbad has this dumb look on his face when Marina ends up in his chambers. She is fascinated by all of the intricacies that involves bones, a bra from a brothel, and so on. When she is aware of his presence, Marina tells him that she is on the ship to make sure Sinbad gets the book from Tartarus. He questions if she knows the direction to Tartarus, and if she brought a crew, which she of course did not. Marina is furious that he does not feel bad about leaving Proteus to die, and tells him that he’s not a complicated man. Sinbad thinks she will sleep with him to get him to change his mind, but Marina ends up bribing him (just like she bribed the entire ship).

I have mentioned in my review about how I did not like this interaction, and while I have softened a bit, a lot of the sentiments are agreeable. Sinbad carries her unwillingly to his dog’s chambers to stay. What a brilliant way to treat your friend’s fiancee, and the girl you have a schoolboy crush on.

Marina uses a sword to break out the door he locked her into (which is even worse that he did that), so we know that she is resourceful. This is perfect, because a bunch of sirens are sent on them. Before this happens, Marina is about to ask him a bunch of questions, but he rudely interrupts and banters without even letting her speak, saying that she should “stay silent for a free lesson”. Sirens are sent on them, and because Marina is a woman, she is the only one that is not affected by it, so she saves the ship from falling on a bunch of rocks, thus all of the men. Instead of being grateful, Sinbad’s first instinct is to roll his eyes about her saving them.

I have to give him slight props for walking to her, and to apologize. Right before he is able to apologize, Marina smugly questions if he still sees a ship as no place of a woman, which of course sets him off. Instead of apologizing and thanking her, he rants about all of the damage the ship caused. All of his crew members and dog glare at him, which forces him to thank her.

As of right now, I still do not see chemistry; not even lust between the two of them. Just a bunch of irritating arguing. Their next scene involves the crew getting material to repair the ship, and he tries to stop her from getting off the ship. Sinbad is getting more and more upset with everyone liking Marina. He hates her smug attitude, claiming that he already thanked her, while Marina likes that the other men have common courtesy, unlike him.

After claiming that she couldn’t fix a finger nail, Marina snaps, and calls him the most boorish man she’s ever met, which causes Sinbad to claim he is the only man she’s ever met, acting like he is better than the high-born men around her. A dig against Proteus, brilliant. Things are thrown, and things are close to getting physical as more insults are thrown. Sinbad claims she is repressed, and Marina challenges him about how repressed she can be. This is the first sign thus far of slight sexual attraction.

The ice is starting to break, as most of the crew got sick after a tryst with a whale I believe. Both give one another smiles after a joke about lunch, and Marina admits that she did not expect him to take them this far. She then mentions that Proteus did, and neither understand why he trusts Sinbad so much (I think all of us agree with this). This is Day 2 on the ship (I like to keep timelines), and we clearly see that she has some care for Proteus, and has no feelings for Sinbad whatsoever yet. I guess this is the first in-depth conversation they’ve ever had.

Marina questions why they fell out, and he claimed that they took different paths, and the camera looked at her. Uhmm……. what? I don’t know if I mentioned it in the other post, but he said that when he met the prince, they fought said by side, and they were so in sync it was like they rehearsed it. So she ruined it? And it’s clear that all Marina knew beforehand is what Proteus told her about him. I’ll get into more of this later.

A monster grabs Marina, and Sinbad goes to save her, while complaining about her not seeing the bird. All I got from this is that their bodies are consistently pressed together to establish sexual tension, and Marina is thrilled and shocked that Sinbad went out of his way to save her.

It is the evening of the second night, and Marina thanks him for saving her, and right as Sinbad is about to make a smug comment, he stops himself, and simply states “your welcome”. Baby steps and progress. Marina states that sea life suits him, and Sinbad claims that he was not meant for the land, and the two start to bond about the sea. Marina says she loves it, but her responsibilities in Syracuse prevents her from fulfilling it. This hits home for him because Sinbad was not supposed to be a pirate. Him and Proteus were planning on going into the Navy, but his responsibilities as a prince crushed that.
I have to say that DreamWorks has the tendency to bait three-way relationships a lot in their films, especially in their early ones. Sinbad felt some sort of way, but was not jealous. He then outright told her that he went for the sea the day he saw Marina come from Thrace to be delivered to Proteus. The two hold hands and are about to kiss, but is interrupted.

I mentioned it in the other post, and HOW OLD WERE ALL THREE OF THEM WHEN THIS WAS HAPPENING? Marina is a young woman, both Sinbad and Proteus are young men at the time of the film. Sinbad said that he last saw Proteus a lifetime ago in the beginning of the film, and that would have been the ONLY time he saw Marina. So Sinbad was obsessed with the look of a preteen/teenager Marina for all of this time, and let it be the catalyst? Let me break this down real quick. Sinbad met Proteus after running around the castle, and it is established that the two knew one another for a long time, so this must have happened when they were children. And how old was he when he went on the ship for the first time?

They make it to Tartarus, and Eris calls them out about developing a relationship behind Proteus’ back (it has been 12 hours roughly since the two have been at one another’s throats). Eris reveals her plan to have Proteus killed, so Syracuse could have been sacrificed, and the both of them feel bad. Eris leaves them alone and Marina is a crying mess.

She is now talking Sinbad up about how good of a man he is, and that she does not want Sinbad or Proteus to die, while she goes back to explain everything. Marina then claims that she loves him. I am not as insensitive about the moment this time, because their relationship is not as horrid as I thought in 2013.

Apparently it is the 10th day (though I only counted three, since there were no montages to skip time, but I’ll let it slide), and Proteus is about to be executed, but of course they show up to stop it. Marina clings to the dog, and cries as Sinbad is about to be executed, but Eris is forced to keep her word. After Proteus lets her go, Marina goes on the ship, and the two engage in a kiss, which is interrupted by the dog launching at them. It is so obvious that all three of them love one another.

Final Thoughts

Honestly, their relationship is one of the weakest aspects in the entire movie, but at least they try to add depth, which kind of does not make sense how they do it. Maybe if it was not so “by-the-books” with the “love hate” archetype, there would be more there.

 

Expect another post today, and thanks for reading.

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