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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
Most science fiction spectaculars these days have second-tier actors and first-tier special effects. Levinson tries second-tier effects, and first-tier actors, but never makes that exchange pay off for the viewer.
It was a valiant effort, but in the end it was too unfocused to make a good story.
I've seen Alien, and I've seen The Abyss -- hence, I had already seen Sphere.
The sphere is luminous and hauntingly beautiful on the surface, with its interior kept alluringly, frustratingly unclear -- much like the superficially diverting but ultimately disappointing film itself.
Long before Sphere dithers to its forgettable climax it's become as flat as a pancake.
Sphere is a high concept, overly calculated, expensive, long, badly written, and terribly concluded waste of time.
The only excellence is in the acting, and even then the screenplay puts the characters through so many U-turns that dramatic momentum is impossible.
Basically, what Sphere delivers is a mediocre Outer Limits TV script resting atop a massive, needlessly complex superstructure of overplotting, high-dollar f/x and banal head games.
Even though they lose it somewhat in end, the film has so much intelligence and energy than it is well worth seeing.
Sphere is a film full of potential and fascinating ideas, enmeshed in a sea of confusion. With its high profile cast going through the motions, Sphere has its moments, but they never gel to create the masterful film it could have been.
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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