| Waterworld | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Kevin Reynolds |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Dean Semler |
| Edited by | Peter Boyle |
| Music by | James Newton Howard |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 135 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $172–175 million[2][3] |
| Box office | $264.2 million[3] |
Waterworld is a 1995 Americanpost-apocalypticaction film, directed byKevin Reynolds and co-written by Peter Rader andDavid Twohy. It was based on Rader's original 1986 screenplay and starsKevin Costner, who also produced it with Charles Gordon and John Davis. It was distributed byUniversal Pictures.
The setting of the film is in the distant future. Thepolar ice caps have completely melted, and the sea level has risen over 7,600 m (25,000 ft), covering nearly all of the land. The plot of the film centers on a namelessantihero, "The Mariner" (Costner), a drifter who sails the Earth in histrimaran.
Themost expensive film ever made at the time,Waterworld was released to mixed reviews from critics, who praised the futuristic setting and premise but criticized the execution, including the characterization and acting performances. The film also was unable to recoup its massive budget at the box office despite beingthe ninth highest-grossing film of 1995; however, the film did later become profitable owing to video and other post-cinema sales. The film was nominated for anAcademy Award in the categoryBest Sound at the68th Academy Awards.
The film's release was accompanied by anovelization,video games, and four themed attractions atUniversal Studios Hollywood,Universal Studios Singapore,Universal Studios Japan, andUniversal Studios Beijing calledWaterWorld.
In 2500,[4] sea level rises have put every continent on Earth underwater. The remains of human civilization live on makeshift floating communities built out of scavenged materials known asatolls, having long forgotten about living on land. Rumors of a "Dryland" still exist, but it is considered a myth by most.
The Mariner, a lone drifter, arrives at an atoll on histrimaran to tradedirt, a rare commodity, for supplies. When the locals see that the Mariner is a mutant, with gills and webbed feet, several accost him and he kills one in self-defense. As a result, the Mariner is sentenced to be drowned in a tank of organic sludge. While the Mariner is trapped in the tank, the atoll is attacked by the Smokers, a formidable pirate gang that has been systematically raiding and destroying atolls.
Helen, a strong-willed atoll resident, tries to escape on agas balloon dirigible with her young ward Enola and inventor Gregor. However, Gregor accidentally departs with only himself on board, stranding the two. She frees the Mariner on the condition he takes them with him. The Mariner skillfully fights his way out, damaging the Smokers' forces and causing an explosion that blinds its leader, Deacon, in one eye. The Mariner, Helen and Enola board the trimaran and escape. Following a brief skirmish with the Smoker's scoutseaplane, the trio encounters a drifter suffering fromcabin fever whom the Mariner kills after a trade gone awry, and a mutated shark the Mariner kills for food. Despite his initial reluctance and gruff attitude, the Mariner slowly warms up to his companions and has a bonding moment with Enola teaching her to swim.
After evading a trap set by the Smokers, the Mariner confronts Helen about their unusual persistence. She admits they are after Enola, for the supposed directions to Dryland tattooed on her back and demands to know where the Mariner collected his dirt. He takes her in ajury-riggeddiving bell and shows her the underwater remains ofDenver, Colorado and the soil on the ocean's floor, crushing her belief in Dryland. When they surface, the pair find that the Smokers have caught up. They capture Enola and try to kill Helen and the Mariner before the two dive underwater. The Smokers set the trimaran on fire and leave.
Sorting through the wreckage of his boat, the Mariner sees a collection ofNational Geographic magazines and compares their images to Enola's doodles, realizing she was drawing Dryland objects. Gregor, having spotted the smoke from his dirigible, finds Helen and the Mariner and takes them to a new makeshift atoll. The Mariner takes a captured Smoker'sjet ski to chase down the Smokers' base of operations, the remains of theExxon Valdez, where they manage to manufacture fuel, ammunition and cigarettes.
Deacon's advisors struggle to decipher the tattoo. To keep his followers' minds off their dwindling resources, he bluffs that he has decoded the map on Enola's back and orders them back to their stations to row. The Mariner infiltrates the "'Dez" and confronts the Deacon, threatening to ignite the oil reserves in the hold unless Enola is returned. The Deacon calls the Mariner's bluff, knowing that it would destroy the ship, but to his shock, the Mariner drops aflare into the oil reservoir. The ship is engulfed in flames, and begins to sink. The Mariner rescues Enola, escaping via a rope from Gregor's balloon with Helen and the Atoll Enforcer aboard. The Deacon fires on the balloon, shaking Enola into the ocean. As the Deacon and some of his men converge on her, the Mariner makes an impromptubungee jump from the balloon to grab Enola before the Deacon and his men collide on their jet-skis, inducing an explosion that kills the three.
Gregor later identifies Enola's tattoo as coordinates with reversed directions. Following the map, the balloon party discover Dryland, covered with vegetation and wildlife. They also find a hut with the remains of Enola's parents. The Mariner, feeling that he does not belong on Dryland, takes an old woodencatamaran from the island and departs, as Helen and Enola bid him farewell.
The extended edition, dubbed the "Ulysses Cut", has a runtime of 171 minutes and features scenes fleshing out the characters and settings. It identifies the Dryland asMount Everest, and ends with Helen giving the Mariner the nameUlysses.
Writer Peter Rader came up with the idea forWaterworld during a conversation withBrad Krevoy where they discussed creating aMad Max rip-off.[5][6] Rader wrote the initial script in 1986 but kept it shelved until 1989. Rader citedMad Max as a direct inspiration for the film, while also citing variousOld Testament stories and the story ofHelen of Troy (with the main female character being named Helen in a direct reference). It is also widely believed that inspiration was taken fromFreakwave byPeter Milligan andBrendan McCarthy, a "Mad Max goes surfing"comic strip first published byPacific Comics inVanguard Illustrated #1–3 (November 1983 – March 1984), and continued byEclipse Comics inStrange Days #1–3 (November 1984 – April 1985). McCarthy himself had unsuccessfully tried to sellFreakwave as a movie in the early 1980s; he would go on to co-writeMad Max: Fury Road (2015).[7][6]
After several rewrites,Kevin Costner andKevin Reynolds joined theWaterworld production team in 1992.[8] The film marked the fourth collaboration between Costner and Reynolds, who had previously worked together onFandango (1985),Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), andRapa-Nui (1994), the latter of which Costner co-produced but did not star in.[9]Waterworld was co-written byDavid Twohy, who citedMad Max 2: The Road Warrior as a major inspiration. Both films employedDean Semler as director of photography.
During production, the film was plagued by a series of cost overruns and production setbacks.[9] Universal initially authorized a budget of $100 million,[note 1] which by mid-1994 had swollen to $135 million, with final costs reaching an estimated $175 million, arecord sum for a film production at the time.[9] Filming took place in a large artificial seawater enclosure similar to that used in the filmTitanic two years later; it was located in thePacific Ocean off the west coast ofHawaii Island. The final scene was filmed inWaipiʻo Valley on Hawaii Island, also referred to as The Valley of Kings. Additional filming took place inLos Angeles,Huntington Beach, andSanta Catalina Island inCalifornia. Before filming began,Steven Spielberg had warned Costner and Reynolds not to film on open water owing to his own production difficulties withJaws.[11] The production was hampered by difficulties in obtaining otherwise simple shots due to poor weather, safety concerns, and the camera crew being pushed out of position by waves.[12] One of the floating sets sank in heavy seas, and had to be repaired.[note 2] Eventually the production had to be extended by nearly three months, from 96 days to over 150. The state of Hawaii had more than $35 million added to its economy as a result of the colossal film production.[14]
The production featured different types ofpersonal watercraft, especiallyKawasaki jet skis. Kevin Costner was on the set for 157 days, working six days a week.[15] At one point, he nearly died when he got caught in a squall while tied to the mast of his trimaran.[16] Professional surferLaird Hamilton was Kevin Costner'sstunt double for many water scenes. Hamilton commuted to the set via jet ski.
Mark Isham's score, which was not recorded for approximately 25 percent of the film and had only demos completed, was reportedly rejected by Costner because it was "too ethnic and bleak", contrasting with the film's futuristic and adventurous tone; Isham offered to try again but was not given the chance.[17]James Newton Howard was brought in to write the new score.Joss Whedon flew out to the set to dolast minute script rewrites and later described it as "seven weeks of hell"; the work boiled down to editing in Costner's ideas without alteration.[18][19]
Inspired by racing trimarans built by Jeanneau Advanced Technologies' multi-hull division, Lagoon, a custom 60 foot (18 m) yacht was designed byMarc 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 30knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) in September of that year.[20] The transforming version was initially a raft with athree-bladed egg-beater windmill. When certain levers were triggered, the windmill blades flattened, and a hidden mast is raised to full racing height. A boom previously hidden in the hull emerged, and two sails were automatically unfurled. Once the transformation was complete, this version could actually sail, though not as well as the dedicated racer.[20] The transforming version is in private hands inSan Diego, California.[20] For many years, the racing version was kept on a lake atUniversal Studios Florida,[20] before being restored for use as a racing trimaran namedLoe Real, which was, as of 2012, being offered for sale in San Diego.[21]
Kevin Reynolds quit the film before its release, owing to heated battles with Costner over his creative decisions.[5][22] Reynolds still received full credit as director.[23] Despite their reported clashes, the director and star reunited almost two decades later for theHistory ChannelminiseriesHatfields & McCoys.
Waterworld's reported budget was $172 million, and a total outlay of $235 million once marketing and distribution costs are factored in.[2] Because of the runaway costs of the production, some critics dubbed it "Fishtar"[24] and "Kevin's Gate",[25] alluding to the flopsIshtar andHeaven's Gate.
The film debuted at the box office at No. 1.[26][27] For its first weekend,Waterworld collected a total of $21.6 million.[28] At the end of its run, the film grossed $88 million at the North American box office, and $176 million overseas, for a worldwide total of $264 million.[3]
Taking into account the percentage of box office gross that theaters retain, which is generally up to half,Waterworld is considered a box office disappointment.[2] After factoring in home video sales and TV broadcast rights among other revenue streams, it eventually became profitable.[29][30]
Contemporary reviews for the film were mixed.Roger Ebert gaveWaterworld 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."[31]Owen Gleiberman gave it a B inEntertainment Weekly. He commented that while its massive budget had paid off by genuinely creating the sensation of a world built on water, the film generally came off as a second-rate rip-off ofThe Road Warrior (Mad Max 2), with weaker, slower-paced action sequences and less startling villains. He praised Costner's performance, but found the film's environmental message pretentious.[32]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 savesWaterworld. In the tradition of the old Westerns andMel Gibson'sMad 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."[33]Mick LaSalle, reviewing the film the week of its release on home video, argued that it did not deserve some of its more negative reviews, since "despite its confused impulses and occasional slow spots,Waterworld... has an elusive, appealing spirit that holds up for more than two hours. It's a genuine vault at greatness that misses the mark – but survives." He commented that while the film succeeds at its high ambitions for isolated moments, the clash between its earnest ambition and intrusive flashiness makes it generally fall short of its reach.[34]
OnRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 60% based on 136 reviews. The site's critics consensus reads: "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."[35]Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 56 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[36] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[37]
In a 2020 retrospective, Ben Child ofThe Guardian described it as "a perfectly watchable sci-fi cult classic" that deserves reappraisal. He acknowledged that much of the plot was illogical and absurd and some of the action set-pieces "preposterously ambitious", but argued that both of them offer excitement and B-movie charm.[38]
Kevin Costner said he's very fond of the film: "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."[39] Dennis Hopper also enjoyed it, saying "I thoughtWaterworld 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."[40] In retrospect, Director Kevin Reynolds said: "My own personal take on the picture is that I don't think it's any better, any worse than most summer blockbusters, it's somewhere in the middle. I think yeah, it's certainly got its faults, but I think, you know, on another level I think it works quite well compared to some of the other big films. But by the end, people…they wanted it to be a disaster."[41]
| Award | Subject | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards[42] | Best Sound | Steve Maslow,Gregg Landaker andKeith A. Wester | Nominated |
| British Academy Film Awards[43] | Best Special Visual Effects | Michael J. McAlister, Brad Kuehn, Robert Spurlock and Martin Bresin | Nominated |
| Golden Raspberry Awards[44] | Worst Picture | Charles Gordon,John Davis, andKevin Costner | Nominated |
| Worst Director | Kevin Reynolds | Nominated | |
| Worst Actor | Kevin Costner | Nominated | |
| Worst Supporting Actor | Dennis Hopper | Won | |
| Saturn Awards[45][46] | Best Science Fiction Film | Nominated | |
| Best Costume | John Bloomfield | Nominated | |
| Best DVD or Blu-ray Special Edition Release | Won |
Waterworld was released onVHS andLaserDisc on January 23, 1996.[47] On September 9, 1997, it debuted on aTHX certified widescreen VHS release.[48] The film was then released onDVD on December 9, 1997, onBlu-ray on October 20, 2009,[49] and on4K Blu-ray on July 9, 2019.[50]
A novelization was written byMax Allan Collins and published by Arrow Books. It goes into greater detail regarding the world of the film.
A sequel comic book four-issue mini-series entitledWaterworld: Children of Leviathan, drawn by Kevin Kobasic,[51] was released byAcclaim Comics in 1997. Kevin Costner did not permit his likeness to be used for the comics, so the Mariner looks different. The story reveals some of the Mariner's back-story as he gathers clues about where he came from and why he is different. The comic expands on the possible cause of the melting of the polar ice caps and worldwide flood, and introduces a new villain, "Leviathan", who supplied the Deacon's Smoker organization. The comic hints at the possibility that the Mariner's mutation may not be caused by evolution but by genetic engineering and that his origins may be linked to those of the "Sea Eater", the sea monster seen during the fishing scene in the film.
Video games based on the film were released for theSuper NES,Game Boy,Virtual Boy, andPC. AGenesis version was only released on theSega Channel. ASega Saturn version of the game was also planned, and development was completed, but it was cancelled prior to release. The Super NES and Game Boy releases were only available in the United Kingdom and Australia. While the Super NES and Virtual Boy versions were released byOcean Software, the PC version was released byInterplay. TheVirtual Boy version of the game was the only movie licensed game for the system. Minigames based on the stage show appear inUniversal Studios Theme Parks Adventure forGameCube andWelcome to Universal Studios Japan forPlayStation 2.
In the 1997 episode ofThe Simpsons titledThe Springfield Files,Milhouse Van Houten is seen playing a fictional video game calledKevin Costner's Waterworld. After depositing 40 quarters (US$10), the character takes two steps before a game over screen appears and a voice (implied to be Costner) says "Game over, please deposit forty quarters." In 2022, a developer using the handle "Macaw45" made a full-length video game adaptation of the fictional game, which involves the player fighting characters such as the Nord and Deacon, and inserting 40 quarters into the arcade machine each time the player dies.[52]
The film was released as apinball machine[53] in 1995 by Gottlieb Amusements (later Premier, both now defunct).
There are attractions atUniversal Studios Hollywood,Universal Studios Japan,Universal Studios Singapore, andUniversal Studios Beijing based on the film. The show's plot takes place after the film, as Helen returns to the Atoll with proof of Dryland, only to find herself followed by the Deacon, who survived the events of the film. The Mariner arrives after him, defeats the Deacon and takes Helen back to Dryland. When Universal Studios Japan first began hosting a seasonalOne Piece themed show on its Waterworld stage in 2007, it took the form of a full crossover with Deacon teaming up with Buggy the Clown to battle the Straw Hat Pirates.
In July 2021, it was announcedUniversal Content Productions was in early development on a follow-up TV series to be directed byDan Trachtenberg.[54] In June 2025, Trachtenberg stated that the previous announcement was "premature" and no work had actually been done on the series.[55]
Report: The movie's most expensive set, the $4 million, 126-ton atoll, sank during production - Actually it was the smaller "slave colony" set and, Gordon says, the bulk of the shooting already had been completed, and most of the crew had returned to L.A.
Directed by Kevin Reynolds
