Five years after its release, an anonymous reviewer for the "Ottawa Citizen" described the film as a "bad umpteenth entry" in the series, and slowly paced. Linda Gross in the "Los Angeles Times" was kinder, declaring it "a fantasy laced with nostalgia and corn". In another retrospective review, Alan Jones of "Radio Times" awarded the film three stars out of five, arguing that it "may not be up to the standard of the previous two Sinbad adventures — it's too long and Patrick Wayne is a distinctly charisma-free hero — but there's still plenty of pleasure to be had from the special effects of Ray Harryhausen." "Halliwell's Film Guide" described it as a "lumpish sequel to a sequel: even the animated monsters raise a yawn this time".