Review - WaterWorld (1995)

        Hey guys, Chuck here. And, I recently was in Los Angeles, where I visited the world famous Universal Studios park. And, of course, while I was there, I got to see the iconic water stunt show themed to the movie WaterWorld. So, I thought it'd be neat to talk about the actual movie. With that in mind, here's my review of the Universal Pictures film WaterWorld, directed by Kevin Reynolds, and starring Kevin Costner, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Dennis Hopper, Michael Jeter, Jack Black, Gerard Murphy, Kim Coates, and Tina Majorino. 

       So, the movie is set in the far future, where the polar ice caps melted, flooding the Earth, and leaving all of the major continents underwater. In this new world, known as WaterWorld, people live on floating metal communities called Atolls, or sail the waves as Drifters. A few believe in a mythical place called "Dryland," but others dismiss it as a mere legend. 

       Our main protagonist is a Drifter known as the Mariner. Mariner is a mutant, an evolved being with gills behind his ears, and webbed feet. This makes him able to traverse through water with ease. However, some people, especially in the Atolls, are fearful of mutants like Mariner, and we see this when he goes to an Atoll, where he pawns off some dirt for supplies. This particular Atoll is home to a woman named Helen, who looks after a girl named Enola, who is highly covered for the tattoo on her back. Yeah, the tattoo on Enola's back is said to point the way to Dryland, and Helen's friend Gregor makes every effort to translate. Unfortunately, a gang known as the Smokers are after Enola as well. Smokers are pirates who utilize jet skis, powered boats, and a seaplane, and they travel on a massive oil tanker. Their leader, the Deacon, believes it's his destiny to claim Dryland for himself. As for why they're called Smokers? Well, they're covered in grease and smoke a shitload of cigarettes. Yeah...

         So, the Smokers attack the Atoll, Gregor ends up flying away in his dirigible, and Mariner gets both Helen and Enola out in his trimaran. The rest of the movie sees Mariner forming bonds with both Helen and Enola, and showing Helen what was once the city of Denver, which is deep underwater. Deacon, who lost an eye while fighting Mariner in the Atoll, grows more and more relentless, even sending his seaplane after Mariner, all to get his clutches on Enola. Eventually, the Smokers do abduct Enola, leaving Mariner and Helen on a trashed trimaran. Luckily, Gregor returns, and he gets the two airborne, along with a few other Atollers left adrift. Mariner then goes on a rescue job to save Enola from the Smokers, even blowing up the oil tanker with a road flare. Deacon and his Smokers take off on jet skis, knock Enola from the dirigible, Mariner uses a bungee to save her, and the bad guys crash into each other. 

       Using the tattoo on Enola's back, Gregor makes way for Dryland, which turns out to be the peak of Mount Everest. And, I have to admit that it makes sense that the peak of Mount Everest would have survived and become liveable, as the sea levels would rise, thus the elevation of Everest would be lower with the rising of the sea levels. Anyway, Gregor, Enola, and the Atollers find peace in Dryland, but Mariner is still a seafarer, and he leaves on an old wooden catamaran, bidding farewell to both Helen and Enola. 

     Okay, so WaterWorld has a decent story, and a cool visual design. But, it took itself a bit too seriously for what the concept was. And, it's pretty much Mad Max on the ocean. No, seriously, WaterWorld is Mad Max on the ocean. And, I'm not saying that as a negative. I'm simply pointing out that it follows a similar concept of a post-apocalyptic world where humans adapted to a new environment. But, instead of a desert, it's the ocean. Instead of crazy cars, they have boats and jet skis. Instead of warlords of the wasteland, there's pirates. You get the idea. 

      The performances were also a bit all over the place. Kevin Costner as the Mariner, while not a bad protagonist, just came off as a bit flat. Also, while the WaterWorld stunt show would clarify this a bit more, the movie doesn't make it clear if Helen is a romantic interest to the Mariner or not. But, I will give a few props to Jeanne Tripplehorn for her performance as Helen. Tina Majorino, who was really young at the time, gave a pretty good performance as Enola, and is one of the few child actor performances that is fairly decent. But, the big standout is Dennis Hopper as the Deacon. He really hams it up as this crazy villain, and is among my favorite roles of his aside from the unnamed photojournalist in Apocalypse Now. And, I had fun seeing Jack Black as the seaplane pilot. 

        The boat designs, as well as the look of the Atoll, was also a major standout. I like the idea of a floating city made of scrap pieces of sheet metal. It adds to the post-apocalyptic feeling of this oceanic world, and the many individuals we see there are a very colorful bunch. As for the boat designs, and jet ski designs, they're pretty cool looking. They definitely feel like the kind of vehicles people would use to traverse the vast oceans of this new world. I, especially, enjoyed the design of the Mariner's trimaran. And, yes, it's a trimaran, not a catamaran. It has three rigs, not two. Even some of the sea life that evolved for new world, while not rendered particularly well, did have some neat designs. 

         Overall, while certainly middling in terms of plot and performance, WaterWorld was a lot of fun for its visual look and action scenes. I think that Universal made a mistake by going after the director/actor duo of Kevin Reynolds and Kevin Costner, who had a very successful outing together making Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. This just didn't work out the same, and pretty much soured their working relationship for a while. But, they luckily reunited for the television miniseries Hatfields & McCoys. As for WaterWorld? I don't think I can fully recommend it for its plot, but certainly for its visual look. I'm giving the movie WaterWorld a rating of 3.5/5. 

       This is Chuck signing off, guys, and I'll see you guys next time. By the way, I HIGHLY recommend checking out the WaterWorld stunt show at Universal Studios Hollywood. It's completely awesome.