Review of Waterworld (1995) by Ann L — 28 Jan 2010

WATERWORLD.

This science fiction action/adventure film is much better the second time around just as some critics have suggested. Special effects and stunt work are top-notch. The sets are highly imaginative and the casting is great. Kevin Costner is excellent in the leading role of the film?s main character The Mariner, a mutant being of high intelligence and strong independent spirit, part human, part ocean creature, who must keep all his wits about him to survive in a savagely competitive futuristic world where Earth?s polar ice caps have melted and water covers much of the surface. He becomes involved with a group of humans who have banded together in a desperate search for a legendary place called ?Dryland,? rumored to still exist somewhere on the planet.

Dennis Hopper was positively villainous as his ruthless and conniving arch nemesis, supreme leader of a rival bunch of people after the same piece of real estate, who are ready to do anything necessary to get there first and claim it for themselves. Jeannie Tripplehorn and Tina Majorino were also very credible. It?s an interesting and entertaining film.

Some critics have noted similarity of the protagonist and the world depicted in this story with the main character and the world of Mel Gibson's Mad Max Trilogy, but I don?t think so unless in a superficial sense. It seems to me that both stories and portrayals are different enough to distinguish Waterworld as a classic film in its very own right.