Enter the Mariner (Kevin Costner, freshly hyped after his successes with Dances With Wolves and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves). A lone wanderer of the seas whose wits, resourcefulness, and ruthlessness molds him into a hardcore (and perhaps heartless) survivor. When a gang of brutal warriors called the Smokers attack an atoll, the Mariner reluctantly becomes the guardian of Helen (Jeanne Tripplehorn) and ten-year-old Enola (Tina Majorino), who has a clue to the location of the mythical dry land tattooed on her back. While the three sail off and endure various struggles, the Deacon (Dennis Hopper) plots to ambush the lot of them in a megalomaniac bid to find and conquer dry land for himself.
Chances are you may have heard of Waterworld through its reputation as a flop, thanks to its overblown budget (the highest ever at the time) and underwhelming box office numbers. Despite the bad press, the film's ambition is genuine and it shows. In the first act, we're thrust into a world brimming with details, thanks to its plethora of creditable-looking props (including a lot of awesome things recycled into scrappy devices and vehicles), patchwork costumes, and huge sets. During the atoll battle and the film's finale, the action is cranked up in a way that could only happen in the 90s: massive explosions, eye-popping stuntwork (which includes Costner being thrown into danger at times), quirky dialogue and one-liners, crude CGI and models, and carefully-staged scenes of peril. Adventure and action are plentiful, but the film's setting, world-building, and use of genre tropes make it a standout among post-apocalyptic sci-fi films.
There's little new ground broken in Waterworld's story. The Mariner is pretty much an aquatic variation on Mad Max, particularly in the way he's characterized as a lone drifter, survivor, and outsider. All the emotional heft of the story stems from his relationship with Helen and Enola, the dynamics of which mirror 1953's Shane. Only while Shane came down into the characters' world to fight evil then leave, the Mariner remains a constant and it's the other characters who intrude on his world, and upon doing so they learn various truths that bring them all closer. It is a nice turn as all the characters warm up to each other, inevitably leading to the Mariner growing a heart and risking everything to save Enola.
Unfortunately, I feel that something's missing in the middle--pacing tends to slow down drastically after the atoll battle, and although the film covers a lot of interesting ground, I'm not entirely sure the character changes come off as authentic enough. It's easy to see how the Mariner affects the people around him, but his change into a proper hero could have used more finesse (especially since so much screen-time is spent on him doing very anti-heroic things--why does Enola look up to him anyway?). The inauthenticity also extends to the costumes and make-up at times, which seems rather clean for the setting.
What really hurts the film is the change in direction, which apparently happened in mid-production. It feels like two different films slammed together--one a serious and gritty sci-fi drama, the other a campy, overblown action flick. The result: tonal inconsistencies, herky-jerky pacing, and occasional characters who come off as cartoonishly neurotic (especially the villain--Dennis Hopper really hams it up in all the same ways he did in Super Mario Bros and Speed, and even though it's all in good fun, he remains a shallow character with unreasonable motivations).
Despite all these gripes, I do value the film in its first and final acts. Really, the set-ups and payoffs are lined up pretty well and I feel like there's the foundation of a solid sci-fi epic buried beneath the cheese and excesses. And it's all brought to life vividly with its competent cinematography and impressive production value. The sound design brings a fair amount of punch to the soundtrack, while James Newton Howard's score nicely accentuates the style and spirit of the picture.
There are things to admonish about the film, but there are things to love as well, which includes the story and characters (even if they are ripped from other sources). The film is probably best remembered for its ambitious setpieces and vivid world-building. That alone makes it worth a rent.
On home video, you can find this movie in a few different versions. The theatrical cut runs about 135 minutes, which is pretty meaty as it is. There's also a three-hour made-for-TV cut, and the Ulysses Cut which has all of the same plus all the uncensored footage. The three-hour cuts are the kind where it's hard to tell what's really unnecessary and what isn't--the new scenes are that seamless, and offer a little more meat to the characters and background. None of it will fix the other issues, but if you're a fan the longer cuts are worth it.
3.5/5
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