Waterworld
Waterworld is a 1995 American post-apocalyptic action film directed by Kevin Reynolds and co-written by Peter Rader and David Twohy. It was based on Rader's original 1986 screenplay and stars Kevin Costner, who also produced it with Charles Gordon and John Davis. It was distributed by Universal Pictures.
The setting of the film is in the distant future. The polar ice cap has completely melted, and the sea level has risen over, covering nearly all of the land. The plot of the film centers on an otherwise nameless antihero, "The Mariner", a drifter who sails the Earth in his trimaran.
The most expensive film ever made at the time, Waterworld was released to mixed reviews, praising the futuristic setting and premise but criticizing the characterization and acting performances. The film also was unable to recoup its massive budget at the box office; however, the film did later become profitable due to video and other post-cinema sales. The film was also nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Sound at the 68th Academy Awards.
The film's release was accompanied by a novelization, video game, and three themed attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Singapore, and Universal Studios Japan called , all of which are still running as of 2020.
Plot
In 2500, as a result of the sea levels rising over 7,600 metres, every continent on Earth is now underwater. The remains of human civilization live on ramshackle floating communities known as atolls, having long forgotten about living on land. People believe that there is a mythological "Dryland" somewhere in the endless ocean.The Mariner, a lone drifter, arrives on his trimaran to trade dirt, a rare commodity, for other supplies. The atoll's residents see that the Mariner is a mutant with gills and webbed feet and decide to drown him in the atoll's recycling pit, a kind of liquid compost facility. Just then, the atoll is attacked by the Smokers, a gang of pirates seeking a girl named Enola who, according to their leader the Deacon, has a map to Dryland tattooed on her back. Enola's guardian Helen attempts to escape with Enola on a gas balloon with Gregor, an inventor, but the balloon is released too early. Helen instead frees the Mariner and insists that he take the two of them with him.
The three escape to open sea aboard the trimaran. They are pursued by the Smokers; they escape, but Helen's naïve actions result in damage to the Mariner's boat. He angrily cuts her hair, and then Enola's. Helen explains that she believes humans once lived on land and demands to know where the Mariner collected his dirt. He provides her with a diving bell and dives with her underwater, showing the remains of a city and the dirt on the ocean's floor, affirming Helen's belief. When they surface, they find that the Smokers have caught up to them, threatening to kill them if they do not reveal Enola, who is hiding aboard the boat. The Smokers abduct Enola and try to kill Helen and the Mariner. The Mariner takes Helen, and they dive underwater to avoid capture, with the gilled Mariner helping Helen breathe. When they surface, they find that his boat has been destroyed. Gregor manages to catch up to and rescue them, and he takes them to a new makeshift atoll inhabited by the survivors of the first attack.
The Mariner takes a captured Smoker's jet ski to chase down the Deacon aboard the hulk of the Exxon Valdez. With most of the Smokers below deck to row the tanker, the Mariner confronts the Deacon, threatening to ignite the reserves of oil still on the tanker unless he returns Enola. The Deacon calls the Mariner's bluff, knowing that would destroy the ship, but, to his surprise, the Mariner drops a flare into the oil. The ship's lower decks are engulfed in fire, and the ship starts to sink. The Mariner rescues Enola and escapes via a rope from Gregor's balloon with Helen and the Atoll Enforcer aboard. As the Mariner brings Enola to Helen, the Deacon manages to grab the rope to escape the sinking ship. He is kicked off into the water, but climbs aboard a jet ski. He fires upon the balloon, shaking Enola from the balloon and into the ocean. As The Deacon and some of his men converge on Enola to capture her, the Mariner makes an impromptu bungee jump from the balloon to grab Enola right before the Deacon and his men collide and die in the explosion.
Sometime later, Gregor has been able to identify the tattoo on Enola's back as coordinates with reversed directions. Following the map, Gregor, the Mariner, the Atoll Enforcer, Helen, and Enola discover Dryland, the top of Mount Everest, filled with vegetation and wildlife. They also find a crude hut with the remains of Enola's parents. Realizing he does not belong on Dryland, the Mariner decides that he cannot stay as the sea calls to him. He takes a wooden sailboat and departs as Helen and Enola bid him farewell.
Cast
Production
Writer Peter Rader came up with the idea for Waterworld during a conversation with Brad Krevoy where they discussed creating a Mad Max rip-off. Rader wrote the initial script in 1986 but kept it shelved until 1989. Rader cited Mad Max as a direct inspiration for the film, while also citing various Old Testament stories and the story of Helen of Troy. After several rewrites, Kevin Costner and Kevin Reynolds joined the project in 1992.The film marked the fourth collaboration between Costner and Reynolds, who had previously worked together on Fandango, , and Rapa Nui, the latter of which Costner co-produced but did not star in. Waterworld was co-written by David Twohy, who cited Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior as a major inspiration. Both films employed Dean Semler as director of photography.
During production, the film was plagued by a series of cost overruns and production setbacks. Universal initially authorized a budget of $100 million, which by mid-1994 had swollen to $135 million, with final costs reaching an estimated $175 million, a record sum for a film production at the time. Filming took place in a large artificial seawater enclosure similar to that used in the film Titanic two years later; it was located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hawaii. The final scene was filmed in Waipio Valley on the Big Island, also referred to as The Valley of Kings. The production was hampered by the collapse of the multimillion-dollar set during a hurricane. Additional filming took place in Los Angeles, Huntington Beach, and Santa Catalina Island, and the Channel Islands of California. Before filming began, Steven Spielberg had warned Costner and Reynolds not to film on open water owing to his own production difficulties with Jaws.
The production featured different types of personal watercraft, especially Kawasaki jet skis. Kevin Costner was on the set for 157 days, working 6 days a week. At one point, he nearly died when he got caught in a squall while tied to the mast of his trimaran. Professional surfer Laird Hamilton was Kevin Costner's stunt double for many water scenes. Hamilton commuted to the set via jet ski.
Mark Isham's score, which was not recorded and only demos were completed for approximately 25% of the film, was reportedly rejected by Costner because it was "too ethnic and bleak", contrasting the film's futuristic and adventurous tone; Isham offered to try again but was not given the chance. James Newton Howard was brought in to write the new score. Joss Whedon flew out to the set to do last minute script rewrites and later described it as "seven weeks of hell"; the work boiled down to editing in Costner's ideas without alteration.
The state of Hawaii had more than $35 million added to its economy as a result of the colossal film production. Despite their reported clashes, the director and star reunited almost two decades later for the History Channel miniseries Hatfields & McCoys.
.
Inspired by racing trimarans built by Jeanneau Advanced Technologies' multi-hull division Lagoon, a custom yacht was designed by Marc Van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot-Prevost and built in France by Lagoon. Two versions were built, a relatively standard racing trimaran for distance shots, and an effects-laden transforming trimaran for closeup shots. The first trimaran was launched on 2 April 1994, and surpassed in September of that year. The transforming version was first seen in the film as a sort of raft with a three-bladed egg-beater windmill. When needed, levers could be triggered that would flatten the windmill blades while raising a hidden mast to full racing height. A boom emerged, previously hidden in the hull, and the two sails were automatically unfurled. Once the transformation was complete, this version could actually sail, although not as well as the dedicated racer. The transforming version is in private hands in San Diego, California. For many years, the racing version was kept in a lake at Universal Studios Florida, before being restored for use as a racing trimaran named Loe Real, which was being offered for sale in San Diego.
Kevin Reynolds quit the film before its release due to heated battles with Costner over his creative decisions. Reynolds still received full credit as director.
Release
Box office
Due to the runaway costs of the production and its expensive price tag, some critics dubbed it "Fishtar" and "Kevin's Gate", alluding to the flops Ishtar and Heaven's Gate, although the film debuted at the box office at #1. With a budget of $172 million, the film grossed $88 million at the North American box office. The film did better overseas, with $176 million at the foreign box office, for a worldwide total of $264 million. However, even though this figure surpasses the total costs spent by the studio, it does not take into account the percentage of box office gross that theaters retain, which is generally up to half; but after factoring in home video sales and TV broadcast rights among other revenue streams, Waterworld eventually became profitable.Critical reception
Contemporary reviews for the film were mixed. Roger Ebert gave Waterworld 2.5 stars out of 4 and said: "The cost controversy aside, Waterworld is a decent futuristic action picture with some great sets, some intriguing ideas, and a few images that will stay with me. It could have been more, it could have been better, and it could have made me care about the characters. It's one of those marginal pictures you're not unhappy to have seen, but can't quite recommend."James Berardinelli of Reelviews Movie Reviews was one of the film's few supporters, calling it "one of Hollywood's most lavish features to date". He wrote: "Although the storyline isn't all that invigorating, the action is, and that's what saves Waterworld. In the tradition of the old Westerns and Mel Gibson's Mad Max flicks, this film provides good escapist fun. Everyone behind the scenes did their part with aplomb, and the result is a feast for the eyes and ears."
Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 46% based on reviews from 59 critics, with an average rating of 5.2/10. The site's critical consensus is: "Though it suffered from toxic buzz at the time of its release, Waterworld is ultimately an ambitious misfire: an extravagant sci-fi flick with some decent moments and a lot of silly ones." Metacritic gives the film a score of 56/100, based on reviews from 17 critics, in the range of "mixed or average reviews".
In the intervening years, the film has been reappraised with a more positive outlook. The Guardian has described it as "a perfectly watchable sci-fi cult classic" that deserves reappraisal.
Cast reception
Kevin Costner said he's very fond of the movie: "It stands up as a really exotic, cool movie. I mean, it was flawed — for sure. But, overall, it’s a very inventive, cool movie. It’s pretty robust."Dennis Hopper also really enjoyed the movie: "I thought Waterworld got a bad name for itself in the United States, but it did really well in Europe and Asia. I think the studio sort of shot themselves in the foot by announcing it was so over budget, blah blah blah, it's going to be a failure… All this came out before we released it in the States. But I enjoyed it."