Waterworld (1995)

One of the worst of all time.

Boring!
Boring!!
Boring!!!
Costner was riding high up until this junker.
This movie kind of ruined any credibility he used to have.
One of the worst movies Hollyweird has ever done.
Lame acting, boring direction, a story that could have come from a fifth grade class.
UUGH, Costner sitting on a boat looking at the water, oh joy!!!
I'd put Water World in my top twenty of worst movies of all time ANY DAY.
AVOID!!!!!!!!!!! June 30, 2008

Forget what you've heard, it's not that bad.

Thousands of people all over the world want to come out and denounce this movie as terrible. Why? Because some people just don't want to be laughed at for liking something other people don't. This film was HYPED as bad before it even opened. That's right, hyped. It died before it ever got a chance to breathe.

But I watched it in the theater during its initial release and I was absolutely blown away by it. I didn't listen to the hype. I thought for myself. I still love this movie 15 years later. Here's why...

1.) Kevin Costner is unlikeable. He's an anti-hero. He's a loner and likes it that way. He didn't ask for the people who come on his boat and for the villains chasing them. They were thrust on him. When he throws Tina Majorino overboard, I cheered. Yes, I admit it. Finally, a hero who acts on his impulses rather than think about what is PC. It's those same homicidal impulses that are going to serve him as a warrior later when he takes on an army of villains. And just watch how when Costner sails the catamaran he becomes ONE with the boat. It's not man and vessel, they merge. It's sheer poetry.

2.) Dennis Hopper is crazy. This film was a warm up to his even better performance in "Speed", but for now, just marvel in how outrageously hysterical he is as he throws away line after line after line. There have been some very well-crafted villains since Alan Rickman defined the type in "Die Hard." Hopper does his best to keep up with the rest in this film.

3.) The film is a riot in the humor department. Just watch the scene when the guy strapped into the dual-50 caliber machine gun boat loses control and slowly drifts his shots toward Hopper et al. They try to stop him by screaming his name "Chuck." To this, Hopper says, "Maybe he doesn't respond to Chuck. Call him 'Charles!'" I lose it every time.

4.) Stunts. What else can I say. The action set pieces were stunning. The work involving the jet skis was incredible.

I'll leave it at that. I'm sure I'll get a million people responding to how stupid I am, but I don't care. If you watch it for yourself and not for how other people are thinking, Waterworld is a terrific ride. June 27, 2008

Atmospheric

Yep, as a movie, it kind of did present the same old tired American formula action film in yet another way--no better and no worse than the rest. Still, it ranks among my favorites for the atmosphere. All that water is just a striking thing to me. I gave it a three solely for the atmosphere, which I thought was a weak five. The action and humor by themselves are worth watching once anyway. I don't see that it deserved the negative attention it received any more than any other such film. I associate that with Hollywood's reception of Costner's lack of leftist, anti-American leaning in his work. Oh well. May 18, 2008

Road Warrior with Water

This is a bona fide Big Budget Bomb.

It is pretentious, silly, earnest, and dumb.

Also boring.

The only interesting thing happens within the first 15 minutes: the recycling toilet.

The gills are a little interesting, but predictable.

Apart from that it is straight (wet) melodrama.

As with the Postman (Costner's next Big Budget Bomb), there are heavy End of The World overtones.

Hopper is his standard-villain self. Tripplehorn looks appropriately embarrassed.

Costner sleepwalks, or sleepswims, through the role.

I have heard that the DVD has 2 extra hours of coma-inducing boredom. The original (VHS) is already 3 stupefying hours.

May 15, 2008

Good Idea not fully realized.

This movie is not terrible, but its not great either. I remember buying this on laserdisc back in the 90's for nearly 60 bucks haha. This movie was doomed before it came out. This was after Costner had directed Dances with Wolves, wich is a masterpiece from beginning to end, so the expectation for this movie was high. It was, at the time, the most expensive movie ever made in Hollywood. The huge city on water (Atoll) actually sunk in the ocean during production and had to be completely rebuilt, which threw off the production schedule and sent the movie way over budget. The huge set also had to be able to rotate in the water to deal with the sun during shooting. Shooting in water has got to be the hardest thing to do from a production stand point and I respect Costner for what he tried to do. It has some great moments, Like when hes trying to escape the Atoll, and some of the cinematography is really quite good. There are some shots, though, where you can see land in the horizon. Oops. Good idea story wise, but the dialog and execution leaves something to be desired. May 9, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...