Three major stars being involved, it all wraps up happily but implausibly.
Sphere (1998)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:48
Fresh:6
Rotten:42
Average Rating:4/10
Consensus: Sphere features an A-level cast working with B-grade material, with a story seen previously in superior science-fiction films.
Runtime: 2 hrs 32 mins
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
Synopsis: When psychologist Norman Goodman (Dustin Hoffman) wrote a report for the government on how to deal with extraterrestrial life forces, he didn't expect his recommendations to be used. Now that a... When psychologist Norman Goodman (Dustin Hoffman) wrote a report for the government on how to deal with extraterrestrial life forces, he didn't expect his recommendations to be used. Now that a secret government agency is investigating what may be an alien spaceship that has been discovered partially buried on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, Norman finds that the plan he outlined is being put into effect and that the team he named in his report has been assembled. In addition to Norman, there is Harry Adams (Samuel L. Jackson), a mathematician; Ted Fielding (Liev Schreiber), a physicist; and Beth Halperin (Sharon Stone), a biochemist and Norman's old flame. Led by the secretive Barnes (Peter Coyote), the foursome undergoes a crash course in diving and living under the sea in a naval habitat and begins investigating the mysterious vessel, discovering a huge glowing sphere made of an unidentifiable substance with a shimmering, almost liquidlike surface. As the investigation continues, a series of strange, horrific events leads the team of scientists to doubt each other's sanity and motives. The film is based on the best-selling novel by Michael Crichton. [More]
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, Samuel L. Jackson, Peter Coyote
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, Samuel L. Jackson, Peter Coyote, Liev Schreiber, Queen Latifah, Marga Gomez, Huey Lewis, Michael Keys Hall, Bernard Hocke, James Pickens
Director: Barry Levinson
Director: Barry Levinson
Producer: Barry Levinson, Michael Crichton, Andrew Wald
Story: Michael Crichton
Screenwriter: Kurt Wimmer, Stephen Hauser, Paul Attanasio
Composer: Elliot Goldenthal
Reviews for Sphere
Decent performances and an abundance of good ideas and effects but there is definitely a lack of pace to the dramatic tension and you may find yourself just not caring.
The central idea for Sphere is an intriguing one, but similar concepts have been much better executed on episodes of Star Trek, which makes one wonder why movie writing is allowed to be so bad.
Word 'pointless' is the one that should be attributed to this whole film, one of the worst to come from Hollywood in past decade and one that would test patience and temper of the audience like few others.
Let's face facts: Michael Crichton is a hack. He comes up with innovative concepts, but his characters are cardboard cutouts. Given the psychological foundations of the story, that's an egregious flaw, and the ending is absurdly dissatisfying.
If you want a better sci-fi film go see Dark City. A better Levinson movie? Try Wag the Dog.
Packaged as a smart psychological drama, it gradually dissolves into a badly edited action thriller, albeit one obscured by a cast of top notch talent.
For a movie of a novel written by Michael Crichton with such a capable cast, Sphere is quite a disappointment.
Sphere yearns to be a philosophical epic but it's final and only edict is so rudimentary as to barely exist: man is not yet 'ready' either intellectually or emotionally for the gifts E.T.'s are willing to share with us.
You can't accuse the makers of Sphere of skimping on talent. If only they knew what to do with it.
The ending, though emotionally satisfying, collapses under scrutiny. This lack of payoff is a real flaw in a film pitched to a discriminating sci-fi mentality.
Sphere is not trashy, or silly, or exploitative; a lot of talent has been used to good effect here. But in the final analysis, fine filmmaking cannot overcome mediocre material.
Given its situational premise -- outer space goes underwater -- Sphere is filled with visual potential, yet Levinson can't tap it. He's just a whole lot more comfortable trying to tame the human software than the technical hardware.
A sci-fi thriller that presents a riveting and rounded anatomy of fear.
We snuck guiltily into the almost-empty theatre, already prepared to hate it. But we were ill prepared, all the same...We have nothing to sphere but Sphere itself.
As the umpteenth entrant in the We-Are-Not-Alone sweepstakes, Sphere feels awfully familiar because it is.
Latest News for Sphere
November 05, 2008:
Michael Crichton Passes Away (1942-2008)
Best-selling author, screenwriter, and director Michael Crichton has passed away at the age of 66. The medical doctor-turned-filmmaker was best known for writing... More...
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