Waterworld 1995
- Director: Kevin Reynolds
- Seen by this director: One Eight Seven, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves
- Based on the novel: no.
- Cast: Kevin Costner, Jeanne Trippelhorn, Dennis Hopper, Tina Majorino
- Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
- Kevin Costner – Molly’s Game, Man of Steel, Swing Vote, Rumour Has It, The Postman, A Perfect World, Bodyguard, JFK, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, Dances with Wolves, Field of Dreams, Bull Durham, Silverado, Stacy’s Knight
- Jeanne Trippelhorn – Sliding Doors, Reality Bites
- Dennis Hopper –
Swing Vote, Elegy, EDtv, Speed, True
Romance, Red Rock West, The Indian Runner, Rumble Fish, Apocalypse Now, Easy
Rider
- Tina Majorino – Veronica Mars, Napoleon Dynamite, Corrina Corrina
- Why? A classic of sorts
- Seen: 27 August 2021.
We
just got back from a short cruise up the east coast of Sweden. After pleasant
hours of gazing at the dramatic cliffs on one side and white-capped seas on the
other, this film felt like an appropriate choice. Besides, a good friend just
informed me that it’s one of his favourite films (hello, AA!)
There
is an unfortunate feeling of reality in the film as the climate change becomes
more and more evident today.
It’s
a shark eat shark world where scavengers and pirates steal from each other on
the endless ocean covering the planet after the ice caps and glaciers have
melted. The Dryland is a myth.
Mariner
(Costner) brings an invaluable jar of dirt to a floating village and the story
starts, developing into a chase for the Dryland. Mariner champions a little
girl with a map tattooed on her back, Elena (Majorino) and the woman who raised
her, Helen (Trippelhorn).
OK.
Here’s the problem. Everybody in Waterworld is understandably filthy, scruffy,
dressed in tatters. But Helen is beautiful, fresh-complexioned, pink-lipsticked
and clad in a low-cut bosomy shift. That’s really annoying. The bad guys, led
by Dennis Hopper in frenzied Dennis Hopper mode, are caricatures. All the men
have 5-day stubbles. Mariner is obnoxiously macho but of course he melts and
turns human because Elena is a tough and likeable kid (well played by Veronica
Mars’s friend the computer geek, just a few years younger).
The
film is deeply flawed.
How
can such a hugely flawed film be so hugely entertaining? I don’t know, but it
is. It’s impressive, exciting and visual and the story is great. The technical
effects are among the most innovative and enjoyable I’ve seen. It’s kind of
like Mad Max on water instead of the desert and without the dreadful Mel Gibson.
Costner is not the greatest actor in the world, but he does a good job here and
he’s not a religious fanatic (that I know of).
Anyway,
I enjoy the film tremendously.
4 * of 5
Hello, Ruby. Is it possible that we have enjoyed the same movie? And for largely the same reasons! I'd add two things. First, the movie doesn't take itself too seriously, a rare and precious quality. Second, Dennis Hopper's Deacon is a masterpiece of high camp; I have compared it with Jack Nicholson's Joker and I can't think of a greater compliment.
ReplyDeleteWill wonders never cease! And I agree too that Dennis Hopper is expertly being Dennis Hopper in the film, which I perhaps don't appreciate as much as you do but does not mar my enjoyment of the film.
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