Waterworld Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Waterworld Blu-ray Movie Review

Amazing production design and a basically sound storyline ultimately can't keep 'Waterworld' from drowning underneath the weight of its own flaws. Somewhere Al Gore is crying.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 22, 2009

Isn’t it interesting to look back and see how one film can so drastically alter a career trajectory? By 1995, when Waterworld hit metroplexes, Kevin Costner was arguably the biggest male movie star in the world. Yes, he had had a few misses or at least not-quite-hits. But he had starred in a remarkable string of smashes, including The Untouchables, Bull Durham, Field of Dreams and his multi-Oscar winner Dances With Wolves. Paired again with his Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves partner Kevin Reynolds (which may have been the “first clue” for the more prescient filmgoers out there), Costner’s starring and producing turn in Waterworld was supposed to be the surefire box office behemoth that year, in a film which melded a quasi-Mad Max ethos onto a somewhat ahead of its time ecological underpinning. But those in the know can tell you that while Hollywood may delight in crafting happy endings for its onscreen stories, frequently the “truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth” of the behind the scenes fracases that make up the literal nut and bolts of filmmaking is often the stuff of Greek tragedy. And in this regard, Waterworld is something of a legend. Costner’s career has never really totally rebounded after its release, despite some impressive portrayals in the intervening years.

Kevin Costner is all wet in 'Waterworld.'

And so it becomes more than a bit difficult to come to the film with an open mind. If you were around when the film was originally released, there’s virtually no way you could have missed the blistering press the film received pre-release, press that focused on its gargantuan budget (a budget which then ballooned to almost twice its original size, making it the most expensive film of its day), as well as the not exactly top secret tension between Costner and Reynolds, tension that ultimately resulted in Reynolds, depending on whom you believe, either quitting or being fired before the film wrapped, leaving Costner to pick up the pieces. When the film actually opened, it received its fair share of decent reviews (along with its fair share of brickbats), but the damage was already done in the public’s eye, at least stateside. Waterworld was damaged goods, and the United States boxoffice was meager (the film went on to rather respectable numbers worldwide and has always been a strong seller in its various home video incarnations).

Seeing the film now from a decade and a half later, Waterworld is neither as bad as a lot of its detractors claim, nor as good as its fiercest proponents continue to insist. This story of a nameless mariner (Costner), adrift in a world waterlogged by global warming and the resultant melting of the polar ice caps is aces in the production design and basic story elements departments. Production Designer Dennis Gassner and Art Director David Klassen do stellar work throughout Waterworld, populating the film with such great props as the incredible trimaran the mariner sails around the watery expanses. Reynolds (and/or Costner, since he evidently did direct large swaths of the film) crafts a totally believable post-apocalyptic world filled with rusted out “atolls” on which the hapless remnants of the human race attempt to live out their days, and also resolutely refuses to “gloss up” the proceedings, lending the entire enterprise a sort of gritty look that befits its subject matter. Costner himself has never been more athletic, leaping and jumping to and fro and bringing a visceral feel to his portrayal of The Loner as Everyman-Savior (that’s a lot of capitals, but it helps to convey how portentous Waterworld can be at times).

Also strong, if ridiculously over the top, is Dennis Hopper’s turn as the nefarious bad guy, The Deacon, the commander of the ruins of the Exxon Valdez (I kid you not), in one of the funnier, if simultaneously silly, cultural references Waterworld delights in. Another cultural icon, albeit a somewhat less oily one, The Wizard of Oz, also merits a passing visual nod in supporting character Gregor’s (the late, great Michael Jeter) hot air balloon, which provides at least two escapes during the film. While Jeanne Tripplehorn’s Helen is woefully underwritten, the actress brings a certain toughness mixed with tenderness that makes the character believable, as far as her minimal screen prospects go.

Where Waterworld goes awry is in too many dangling plot elements, including the silly tattoo-as-map trope that amazingly was part and parcel of another 1995 floperoo, Cutthroat Island. For a film whose rough cut evidently came in at around three hours, a lot has obviously been left on the editing room floor, giving Waterworld an at times haphazard, anecdotal feel that fails to establish any real connection with any of the supporting characters, let alone the Mariner, on whose broad shoulders any emotional resonance with the audience must fall. For all its sweep and epic ambitions, Waterworld is curiously uninvolving, somewhat akin to watching a mime depicting an action film rather than actually experiencing one. The extended director’s cut has never been officially released on home video (the television presentation which attempted to reproduce it, and which was later released on DVD as the putative extended cut, was itself heavily edited for language and content), though the film’s most ardent adherents insist it restores a lot of these missing elements and helps the film to cohere better as well as actually touch its audience with more than mere waterlogged bombast. Alas, that longer cut is nowhere to be found on this Blu-ray release, leaving me to wonder if Universal has simply decided Waterworld deserves to slowly sink in the Blu-ray marketplace.

Waterworld Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

While Waterworld offers some amazingly detailed and sharp shots throughout its VC-1 encoded image, I found the overall color rather anemic, though it probably accurately reproduces the source elements. You'll see that in the screenshots in this review, where fleshtones routinely are on the brown side and water color tends to be a sort of tepid gray rather than blue, and skies frequently a sort of wispy white color. The good news is there is next to no artifacting. Items like the closely woven nets which show up throughout the film resolve perfectly, with excellent fine line detail. Closeups are especially impressive throughout this presentation, with the crags of Costner's face fully on display. Grain is evident throughout the film, but is completely natural looking, actually helping the film to maintain its gritty post-apocalyptic presence.

Waterworld Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS HD-MA 5.1 mix is where this Blu-ray truly shines. This is a remarkably fluid (sorry, couldn't resist) soundtrack, completely immersive when it needs to be, and not only in the louder action-adventure segments. I was consistently impressed with surround channel utilization throughout the film, perhaps especially in the quieter moments. Long sequences out on the open water offer beautiful splashing effects mixed with ambient environmental effects like bird calls that make for a very enjoyable experience. Dialogue is smartly directional and always easy to hear. LFE utilization also has some great moments, including the roar of the jet-skis the "smokers" (bad guys) ride, not to mention one or two massive explosions which fire up the story.

Waterworld Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Fans of Waterworld are going to be very disappointed with this Blu-ray's absolute dearth of supplements. Wow! BD-Live, with the typical Universal non-existent content availale. And D Box availability if you're so equipped. Let's not forget Bookmarks! Universal really should have released this with seamless branching offering the theatrical and extended cuts. Then they'd have a release worth celebrating.

Waterworld Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Waterworld tries hard (perhaps too hard, frankly), and occasionally manages to catch enough of a breeze to carry it over its own pretensions to deliver on its action-adventure ambitions. Ultimately, though, I can't see rabid fans wanting to invest in this bare bones release, despite decent picture quality and excellent sound quality.