It was YEARS after the movie came out, and years after I first watched it, that I realized that people didn't like Waterworld. When I heard it lost money, even then I never figured that it was widely disliked. I always figured it was a sort of cult classic, even comparable to Mad Max, just a bad business decision. It was hardley a classy, challenging tale, but it was very fun, and the setting was great.
To this day, whenever the idea of something being a myth comes up, it will immediately be compared to dry land.