Movie Defense Force: Waterworld

[Kenjitsuka]

Where were you last week?
Saw this when I was young, liked it.

So another movie that doesn't deserve the hate.
Made a pretty amusing Simpsons joke as well!

 

[RJ Dalton]

Of course, the benefit of hind-sight makes it obvious how this film got more shit than it deserved, but the added benefit of analysis also tells us that dumb action movies of the 90s were never very good. Although they were certainly less stupid than dumb action movies today, which take themselves way to fucking seriously.

 

[DTWolfwood]

Wait i didn't know waterworld was such a reviled movie that it needed to be defended. lol

 

[Casual Shinji]

I didn't realize the movie was so highly reviled.

Even highly reviled movies will ultimately be forgotten and get replaced by more current highly reviled movies.

OT: Even with all the giant bulky sets this movie couldn't keep itself upright. It was a big, hollow dud. It's occasionally amusing, but really not worth sitting through entirely. It's like Mad Max's little nephew splashing in the bathtub.

...Still better than John Carter and Brave though.

 

[SonOfMethuselah]

I'll echo a few other sentiments here, and say that, up until a couple years ago, I didn't realize that this was considered a 'bad' movie. Granted, I was only about three when it came out, so I'm not entirely sure of the story behind the movie, but I've seen it a couple of times - it was on TV last summer, as a matter of fact - and I thought it was an entertaining enough romp. I mean, yeah, it could certainly be considered a 'dumb action movie,' but if today's 'dumb action movies' tried to mix up the premise as much as some of the 'dumb action movies' of the 90's did, we'd be much better off for it.

 

[Tumedus]

Soooo were you gonna do David Lynch's Dune at some point? *my vote*

I was all ready to explain to you how Dune 1984 was really popular and thus didn't deserve to be here, but I looked around some aggregate sites and was surprised to see a lot of people don't like it. Silly people, of course, but people none the less. It's not reviled mind you, but certainly not as well liked as it deserves, imo.

On topic: First time I can say I pretty much agreed whole-heartedly with Jim. Waterworld is pretty dumb, but entertainingly so. The ending leaves a lot to be desired largely due to Costner directing those last bits and the falling out with primary director Reynolds. And I think that controversy adds to the disdain for the movie. But even with the bad ending, remove the one horrid scene where he bungie jumps the girl out of the water and it would have been passable.

 

[Daveman]

The Kevin Costner in post-apocalyptia thing works on me. I really like waterworld, and I really like The Postman, seriously check out my motto for on my profile page. They're such brilliant ideas in principal that even though the execution is a bit off, I can't help but love them.

 

[maninahat]

A movie is as good as its villain, and Hopper's villain is brilliant. Water World was always a lot of fun to watch, especially if, like me, you went 10 years with only the last hour of the movie to watch because you did a shitty job of taping it off of the tv. That lets you skip straight towards the cool action finale.

 

[Alandoril]

I liked the movie, if it's on tv I'll probably watch it.
But,
It had some massive plot holes.

Why do the people lock Kevin up for being a mutant?!
If the whole world is underwater wouldn't people with gills be like the best thing ever?!

Also, we're told that the little girl with the map on her back can't swim.
WHY CAN'T SHE SWIM!?
In this world swimming is more useful then walking. Why didn't someone teach her how to swim before?!
That's insane!
Also, like Jim mentioned, what's the use of the dirt?

Still, it's one of those "don't mind the details, just watch" movies, and they're awesome from time to time.

Well just like money in the real world, the dirt has no use...it's just a unit of representative value.

 

[Draconalis]

i dont think ive seen the movie since i was 9 or 10... i remember liking it... i will give this another watch

This is pretty much my take as well. I enjoyed it when I was young... and wonder how much I'd enjoy it now... I wager just as much.

 

[JarinArenos]

Preach it, Jim! This movie was one of my all-time favorite popcorn-action films, right up there with Independence Day.

Edit: 1, people fear things different from them. Mutants are different. I never even questioned this; it's human nature. Countless stories play this trope without batting an eye.

2, dirt is valuable because it's the only way to grow FOOD. No hydroponics.

3, girl not swimming... yeah, I got nothin'. Maybe too young? No wading pools to learn in safely.

 

[Rad Party God]

My favorite character in the movie was Kevin Costner's boat, damn that boat was awesome, sucked when it died. Waterworld is one of my dads favorite movies, I thought it was ok but he loves it.

I remember watching in the 90's a documentary about how Waterworld was made and I remember them saying something along those lines about the boat, wanting it to be a character on it's own.

OT: Well, I remember watching it eons ago, but I really don't remember anything specific about this movie. Maybe it's a solid movie, but still pretty forgettable.

 

[Darks63]

I've never understood why this movie was so maligned over the years; I always enjoyed it as a unique take on a post-apocalyptic setting, though a bit alarmist about the whole global warming thing (but again, that's a criticism that has nothing to do with the movie itself). I recently acquired minecraft and one of the flat world presets is waterworld (too bad it starts you at the bottom of the ocean so on survivor you simply drown).

I am glad to see so many other people enjoyed that movie as well. Now we just need one featuring Speed Racer.

The main reason which Jim briefly spoke about was the expense in making vs the money it made and it was a expensive movie for its time and it bombed pretty big.

 

[Skops]

I didn't know Waterworld was seen as a bad movie, it's one of my dad's favorite movies..

 

[Callate]

I didn't hate the movie when it came out, but "great" is a bit of a stretch. The lead role begs for someone we can like and admire even when he's behaving like a misanthrope, and Costner just doesn't have the range or the inherent charisma to pull that off. Don't get me wrong, I thought he was great in Dances With Wolves or even The Postman. I just think someone else could have made the stuff that wasn't dealing with over-the-top Dennis Hopper far more watchable.

(...Come to think of it, the entire heroic trio is kind of a blank, isn't it...?)

 

[Jonathan Kershaw]

"...a rock solid premise."

Excuse me? Even if both polar ice caps and the Greenland ice sheet were to completely fucking melt there'd still be a shitload of dry land. It'd still be a calamity to be sure, but dry land would still be in sufficient quantity that it wouldn't be regarded as a myth by most of the general population.

That being said, I did like Waterworld for the most part. I agree that it did have a well-executed aesthetic and Dennis Hopper was the real stand-out. I think the reason it had so much scorn piled upon it is because it had ridiculously unrealistic expectations heaped upon it. People came in expecting the next big blockbuster, what they got was a distinctly average action romp which probably didn't justify its lavish price tag. The press surrounding its troubled production probably didn't help matters either.

A "solid" premise isn't the same as a scientifically accurate premise. It's a scifi movie. The premise doesn't have to be plausible, just interesting and fertile for storytelling.

 

[Kahani]

Pretty much my thoughts exactly. Was it silly? Yes. Did any of it really make the slightest bit of sense? Hell no. Was it fun? Absolutely.

"...a rock solid premise."

Excuse me? Even if both polar ice caps and the Greenland ice sheet were to completely fucking melt there'd still be a shitload of dry land. It'd still be a calamity to be sure, but dry land would still be in sufficient quantity that it wouldn't be regarded as a myth by most of the general population.

The premise was simply "There's lots of water". Why that is or whether it's actually possible really isn't important.

As for dry land being regarded as a myth by most people, the intersting thing is that we're not ever actually told that, we're just left to assume it. All we see of the world is one tiny bit of ocean with a very small settlement plus a couple of nearby boats, and then at the end some land of unknown size. The Earth doesn't actually need to be drowned at all, this particular small group simply hasn't travelled far enough to notice that most of it's still there. This is supported by the fact that the little girl has clearly had contact with land before, and that the land they find looks like regular land with a rich biosphere rather than just being small islands where mountain peaks break the surface. Looked at this way, it's not just a good enough premise for a silly action film, it's actually reasonably plausible. After all, we have plenty of examples of cultures that didn't know much about the world outside their borders, this is just the slightly damp post-apocalyptic version.

 

[Sheo_Dagana]

Water World kind of reminds me of any episode of Doctor Who - extremely fun, but you have to suspend your belief a little in order to fully enjoy it. Sometimes, you just have to watch a movie for the fun of it, but we all know people have differing notions about what 'fun' is.

 

[Mosstromo]

You've embarked on a journey over very choppy waters trying to defend this sinker, my dear floatational Sir Sterling.
But I love you no less for trying.
You are the man and I still "Thank Him for Jim" on a biweekly basis.

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

I can barely remember anything of Waterworld except not understanding why so many hated it. Maybe it was just unmemorable for such a memorable premise.

Now, I can't wait for Jim to do Star Trek V.