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Waterworld (1995)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:47
Fresh:19
Rotten:28
Average Rating:5.1/10
Consensus: Though it suffered from toxic buzz at the time of its release, Waterworld is ultimately an ambitious misfire: an extravagant sci-fi flick with some decent moments and a lot of silly ones.
Runtime: 5 hrs 13 mins
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
Synopsis: The future has arrived, and it brings a world composed entirely of water, due to the melting of the polar ice caps. In this desperate society one must distill one's own urine for drinking water,... The future has arrived, and it brings a world composed entirely of water, due to the melting of the polar ice caps. In this desperate society one must distill one's own urine for drinking water, and land is only a myth people dream of. Roaming the high seas is the Mariner, a surly, selfish man/fish mutant with no name. But his loner existence changes when a woman named Helen and an orphaned girl named Enola save his life, and the Mariner reluctantly agrees to take them along with him. At first the Mariner has a rocky relationship with his two passengers; then he realizes that the tattoo on Enola's back is a map leading to the never-seen "Dryland". But as the trio struggles to decipher the map, they must also try to escape a band of filthy, reckless thugs known as "Smokers", led by the maniacal, one-eyed Deacon. Then the Smokers kidnap Enola, turning the Mariner into a one-man killing machine desperate to rescue his human map. And only if he succeeds will they ever know the feel of solid ground beneath their feet. [More]
Starring: Kevin Costner, Dennis Hopper, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Tina Majorino
Starring: Kevin Costner, Dennis Hopper, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Tina Majorino, Michael Jeter
Director: Kevin Reynolds
Director: Kevin Reynolds
Screenwriter: Peter Rader, David Twohy
Producer: Charles Gordon
Composer: Mark Isham
Reviews for Waterworld
Waterworld is the movie that didn't happen. Which is a roundabout way of saying that the infamous Universal film is very good, damn good -- not great, mind you, but rousing and continually entertaining.
In the tradition of the old Westerns and Mel Gibson's Road Warrior flicks, this film provides good escapist fun.
Nearly $200 million down the drain, and you get this astonishingly mediocre action wannabe-epic.
It's one of those marginal pictures you're not unhappy to have seen, but can't quite recommend.
While it is true that time, and the obsessive culture of the Internet, has lessened Waterworld's "Fishtar" reputation to some extent, this is still one massively flawed film.
I had no idea what the characters were thinking half the time, but I had an excellent idea what they were feeling, physically.
There is the nagging feeling that much of the film's story, dialogue and character development were left on the cutting-room floor.
It's not $200 million of entertainment, but a dead loss is one thing it definitely ain't.
Waterworld isn't Fishtar, but Kevin Costner's pricey, post-apocalyptic sloshbuckler isn't a seafaring classic either.
Just another special effects-laden, digitally enhanced, B-movie, adventure thriller.
It's a genuine vault at greatness that misses the mark -- but survives.
It really is like "Mad Max" gone to sea, both in its retro-futuristic, salvage-yard look and i ts frenetic pacing.
Waterworld is a marginal film: always extravagant, sometimes entertaining, often preachy and dull -- a pure formula picture.
Regardless of faults, I embrace Waterworld as the pure matinee escapism it was intended to be, readily devouring the sci-fi excitement both Reynolds and Costner are happy to dish up.
Although the show grew on me, it is too ridiculous for me to recommend it.
Waterworld is a near-model summer fantasy: two hours and 21 minutes of loud, expansive fun.
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