216 - Waterworld

Episode 16 of the Second Chance Cinema podcast, hosted by Second Chance Cinema, titled "216 - Waterworld" was published on August 18, 2023 and runs 57 minutes.

August 18, 2023 ·57m · Second Chance Cinema

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Summary

A listener named Jackson recommended this movie to us, and we dove right in! Contemporary reviews for the film were mixed. Roger Ebert gave Waterworld 2.5 stars out of 4 and said: ”The cost controversy aside, Waterworld is a decent futuristic action picture with some great sets, some intriguing ideas, and a few images that will stay with me. It could have been more, it could have been better, and it could have made me care about the characters. It’s one of those marginal pictures you’re not unhappy to have seen, but can’t quite recommend.” Owen Gleiberman gave it a B in Entertainment Weekly. He commented that while its massive budget had paid off by genuinely creating the sensation of a world built on water, the film generally came off as a second-rate rip-off of The Road Warrior, with weaker, slower-paced action sequences and less startling villains. He praised Costner’s performance, but found the film’s environmental message pretentious. James Berardinelli of Reelviews Movie Reviews was one of the film’s few supporters, calling it ”one of Hollywood’s most lavish features to date”. He wrote: ”Although the storyline isn’t all that invigorating, the action is, and that’s what saves Waterworld. In the tradition of the old Westerns and Mel Gibson’s Mad Max flicks, this film provides good escapist fun. Everyone behind the scenes did their part with aplomb, and the result is a feast for the eyes and ears.” Mick LaSalle, reviewing the film the week of its release on home video, argued that it did not deserve some of its more negative reviews, since ”despite its confused impulses and occasional slow spots, Waterworld... has an elusive, appealing spirit that holds up for more than two hours. It’s a genuine vault at greatness that misses the mark -- but survives.” He commented that while the film succeeds at its high ambitions for isolated moments, the clash between its earnest ambition and intrusive flashiness makes it generally fall short of its reach. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 47% based on 60 reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The site’s critics consensus reads: ”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.” Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 56 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating ”mixed or average reviews”. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of ”B” on an A+ to F scale. In a 2020 retrospective, Ben Child of The Guardian described it as ”a perfectly watchable sci-fi cult classic” that deserves reappraisal. He acknowledged that much of the plot was illogical and absurd and some of the action set-pieces ”preposterously ambitious”, but argued that both of them offer excitement and B-movie charm.

Episode Description

Waterworld is a 1995 American post-apocalyptic action film directed by Kevin Reynolds and co-written by Peter Rader and David Twohy. It was based on Rader's original 1986 screenplay and stars Kevin Costner, who also produced it with Charles Gordon and John Davis. It was distributed by Universal Pictures.

The setting of the film is in the distant future. The polar ice cap has completely melted, and the sea level has risen over 7,600 m (25,000 ft), covering nearly all of the land. The plot of the film centers on an otherwise nameless antihero, "The Mariner", a drifter who sails the Earth in his trimaran.

The most expensive film ever made at the time, Waterworld was released to mixed reviews, praising the futuristic setting and premise but criticizing the execution including the characterization and acting performances. The film also was unable to recoup its massive budget at the box office; however, the film did later become profitable due to video and other post-cinema sales. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Sound at the 68th Academy Awards.

The film's release was accompanied by a novelization, video game, and three themed attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Singapore, and Universal Studios Japan called Waterworld: A Live Sea War Spectacular, all of which are still running as of 2021.