Waterworld (1995)
*** (out of 4)
Talk all you want about how this thing was a bomb at the box office. I've personally never seen how good or poorly a movie does at the box office should have any impact on its entertainment or quality level. Is WATERWORLD flawless? Not even close. There are countless problems with this film but for the most part I've always enjoyed its ambition and it keeps me entertained. The story is pretty simple as in the future all the world is covered by water, although there's rumors of land somewhere. A part-man, part-fish (Kevin Costner) gets involved with a family (Jeanne Tripplehorn, Tina Majorino) and soon must defeat some bad guys (led by Dennis Hopper) who has kidnapped the girl. WATERWORLD runs on a bit too long, loses focus on any type of story and yes the budget was crazy but in the end it's still a pretty entertaining summer blockbuster. I think a lot of credit has to go to the actual look of the film, which of course turned out to be some of the biggest issues with the production. I thought the director managed to do a good job creating a world where the viewer really did feel was nothing but water. The futuristic atmosphere also worked and the look of the costumes, ships and supplies were all realistic and fun. The action scenes were also extremely well handled and especially the ending with all the explosions and fires. The battles at sea were really just things we had previously seen in pirate movies but they were still fun. Costner also turns in a good, not great, performance in the lead and he at least keeps you interested in everything going on. Hopper delivers that crazy type of performance we all love and Tripplehorn is good in her supporting bit. Majorino is also fun as the young girl who befriends Costner. I remember watching this when it was originally released and everyone was going crazy about the budget. Everyone seemed to forget that the people leaving the theater actually liked the movie. It's too bad WATERWORLD was doomed from the start but it remains a fun movie.
