I think that my opinion has a lot to do with the fact that I really like Kevin Costner and think he is one of the best actors of my lifetime. When Waterworld was released a lot of people jumped the gun to say that it was a terrible movie and that it was money wasted.
I'm not saying this is a cinematic masterpiece or anything but I think it gets a lot more hate than it deserves.
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at just under $200 million in production costs, this was the most expensive movie ever made when it was made in 1995 and when you watch it, it is easy to understand how it cost so much to make.
How can you possibly make a film that takes place almost entirely in the ocean while concealing the fact that obviously the participants, crew, and even caterers had to be near land in order to make it happen at all.
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I don't know if this was anyone's professional opinion but a big part of the thing about this film that made me feel a bit "meh" about it was that it was essentially The Road Warrior but without a road. There are tons of plot-holes such as the fact that fuel seems to be readily available as are a lot of other things that would necessitate access to land in order to acquire such as the much sought after cigarettes that are featured throughout the film.
The stunts are absurd, the main baddie in the film whose motives for being a baddie are also quite unclear and of course there is the question of the young girl who has a massive tattoo on her back that indicates where the land is yet somehow this ends up being a rather minor aspect of the film since they kind of just stumble on the land in the end anyway.
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Hopper won a Razzie for "worst supporting actor" for his role as Deacon
Dennis Hopper is a good actor, I don't think most people would argue with this idea, but his performance as "Deacon" wasn't his fault, it was just a really stupid character to begin with. He was just evil for the sake of being evil. Also, the fact that his fortress was the Exxon Valdez is suppose to be shocking i guess but it was more of a "who gives a shit" moment when it is finally revealed. Plus the fact that his ship and his entire army were so easily dispatched was really dumb.
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So everything I have said so far would indicate that I hate this film but I actually do not. I have seen in many times and I would gladly do so again because the scenery is pretty damn awesome and the scenes on the open sea where "The Mariner" (Costner) is solo driving his boat were a massive accomplishment given the time period.
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You don't watch Waterworld for an amazing story because there really isn't one there. The entire story is actually extremely dumb. However, it is entertaining and what do we watch movies for in the first place?
The action, while stupid for the most part, goes from start to finish in the film and I suppose this is an "it is what it is" film and honestly, it was kind of a first phase in what is basically all films that we see these days. 200 million isn't even considered a big budget these days and when a film is made, I don't think that the story really plays much into whether or not studios decide to make a film. I think what does go into a film is "can we get the Chinese to watch it" and "can we sell merch afterwards." This is the reason why almost everything is a superhero film these days.
Waterworld was a collassal failure domestically (meaning in the USA) but then later broke even once it was realized that Asian nations will watch basically anything that has huge amounts of money behind it. It is easy to understand why because while Japanese, Chinese, and Korean films are at the top of my lists of best of all time, they very rarely have even 20 million at their disposal.
If you haven't seen Waterworld I suggest you do so because guys, it was 1995 and computers were still pretty damn basic back then - even the really expensive ones. Therefore, a lot of the special effects look extremely fake by today's standards and that is part of the fun.
I highly suggest that you go and check this one out. It is currently available in some regions on Netflix and of course it is available to anyone that has some idea how to use torrents any time they want it.
I wasn't aware that this movie was considered a flop, I have been watching it since I was a kid (which could impair my judgement) and I absolutely loved this film!
I might have to write my own review for this now lol
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until it hit the international markets it looked as though it was going to lose a ton of money. It worked out in the end but it was pretty scary for them at the start because a movie of this magnitude had never been attempted before.
Write your own review! I'd like to see it!
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Old but cool
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Images are underwhelming but I will watch this film. Thank you.
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