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Movies / On DVD / Sphere
Sphere

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Sphere (1998)

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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

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Sphere

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Three major stars being involved, it all wraps up happily but implausibly.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeff Dawson
Jeff Dawson
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/07/09
Jon Popick
Jon Popick
rec.arts.movies.reviews

An empty shell.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
08/05/08
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
03/14/05
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons

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.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
02/02/04
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews

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.

comment Comment
08/12/03
Carlo Cavagna
Carlo Cavagna
AboutFilm.com

If you want a better sci-fi film go see Dark City. A better Levinson movie? Try Wag the Dog.

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
05/22/03
Eugene Novikov
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather

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.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/14/03
Jeanne Aufmuth
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly

For a movie of a novel written by Michael Crichton with such a capable cast, Sphere is quite a disappointment.

Full Review Source: Film Quips Online | comment Comment
02/08/03
John R. McEwen
John R. McEwen
Film Quips Online

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.

Full Review Source: Critics Inc./America Online | comment Comment
01/02/03
Brandon Judell
Brandon Judell
Critics Inc./America Online
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
11/06/02
Jeff Strickler
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune

You can't accuse the makers of Sphere of skimping on talent. If only they knew what to do with it.

Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
10/15/02
Margaret A. McGurk
Margaret A. McGurk
Cincinnati Enquirer

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.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
06/18/02
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle

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.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/05/02
Cathy Thompson-Georges
Cathy Thompson-Georges
Boxoffice Magazine

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.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
04/12/02
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail

A sci-fi thriller that presents a riveting and rounded anatomy of fear.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
03/01/02
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

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.

Full Review Source: Cinerina | comment Comment
06/14/01
Karina Montgomery
Karina Montgomery
Cinerina

As the umpteenth entrant in the We-Are-Not-Alone sweepstakes, Sphere feels awfully familiar because it is.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
02/14/01
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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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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