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Waterworld: crap/ not crap

Well?

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    25
T & P

T & P

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I’m not saying it’s a great film, but I don’t think it is crap either- yet I reckon it was forever stigmatised by the publicity about it going massively over budget.

At the time it was very big news- I can’t think of many other films that had so many newspaper column inches devoted to it well before it was released, and for matters unrelated to its merits as a film. It kind of became a laughing stock, which seems a bit of an overblown reaction when seen nowadays. But then I guess it really cost a lot of money at the end, even by today’s standards.

Anyways, most definitely not crap in my book.
 
Shippou-Sensei said:
......yes?

It is crap. The plot is crap and the acting is not great.

Also the land was not destroyed by rising oceans but by Dennis hopper chewing the scenery.


But yet...

The scope. The sets. The practical effects.
The ability to watch and laugh.
Click to expand...
See, that’s it. A lot of sci-fi or dystopian future films have plenty of plot holes. But I still enjoy this film more than, say, Avatar, and the silliness more than makes up for its failings.

Hell, I love Total Recall but objectively speaking it has loads of plot holes and cheesy cliché scenes.
 
T & P said:
See, that’s it. A lot of sci-fi or dystopian future films have plenty of plot holes. But I still enjoy this film more than, say, Avatar, and the silliness more than makes up for its failings.
Click to expand...
Why not compare it to the Mad Max movies of which it is an obvious rip off ? One problem I have with Waterworld is that considering it was the most expensive film made up to that point, the money simply isn't up on the screen. Most of the money was spent due to Kevin Costner's out of control ego.
 
I think his taciturn nature and ear-gills add gravitas in contrast to Hoppers balls out smoking-is-cool baddie
 
Crappish definitely, It was made when Costner was at the height of his box office value and they clearly thought that just having his name there would make people flock to see it (and I admit I was conned) but clearly little of the vast budget went on a decent script
 
Watched it last year... Was It on at Xmas or something?
Iirc basically no CGI, serious amount of work gone into all the sets etc, love the practical effects. Dennis Hopper bits are fun.
Some cringey bits but overall not crap.

I remember pissing myself through The Postman though, curious if it's as bad as I thought it was then
 
Reno said:
Why not compare it to the Mad Max movies of which it is an obvious rip off ? One problem I have with Waterworld is that considering it was the most expensive film made up to that point, the money simply isn't up on the screen. Most of the money was spent due to Kevin Costner's out of control ego.
Click to expand...
Curious about your last sentence. Surely the massive overbudget wasn’t just to Kevin Costner’s pay demands. Any other way he caused it to spiral out of control so much?
 
T & P said:
Curious about your last sentence. Surely the massive overbudget wasn’t just to Kevin Costner’s pay demands. Any other way he caused it to spiral out of control so much?
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It wasn't just Costners pay, it was him wrestling creative control from the director, demanding changes late in production which cost a lot of money and eventually it lost the production its director. The film is considered one of the most troubled of production, much of it down to Coster's demands and it ended his run as a box office draw. That wasn't just down to the film flopping Costner had just become too much of a liability. There also were problems due to shooting on sea being expensive and one of the major sets sank and had to be rebuilt.
 
T & P said:
See, that’s it. A lot of sci-fi or dystopian future films have plenty of plot holes. But I still enjoy this film more than, say, Avatar, and the silliness more than makes up for its failings.

Hell, I love Total Recall but objectively speaking it has loads of plot holes and cheesy cliché scenes.
Click to expand...
There are plot holes and then there is crap.

Ask someone to tell you the plot of total recall and you will hear something that sounds like a compelling and interesting story.

Try to explain what the plot of waterworld is and you will get fuck all.
 
Shippou-Sensei said:
There are plot holes and then there is crap.

Ask someone to tell you the plot of total recall and you will hear something that sounds like a compelling and interesting story.

Try to explain what the plot of waterworld is and you will get fuck all.
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No much different at all from the basic plot of Mad Max. I don’t think the plot was the source of the problems for this film fwiw.
 
T & P said:
Curious about your last sentence. Surely the massive overbudget wasn’t just to Kevin Costner’s pay demands. Any other way he caused it to spiral out of control so much?
Click to expand...

I thought it largely came down to the underestimated cost of the island they built. Might not have been a viable option to just do something else. As a film, I think it’s just about ok for what it is.

I think maybe it knocked Total Recall off the top spot for biggest budget ever. That’s a film where watching it now you might not think all the money made it to screen (though it’s an enjoyable romp imo).

I do think it’s surprising that 28 days later and The Matrix had near-identical budgets.
 
Have not seen it since my 20s but I remember quite enjoying it. Pretty good for something that's supposed to be a stinker. Mad Max 3 on water.
Probably wouldn't be all nostalgic if I saw it again. I expect it hasn't dated well as it didn't even date well at the time.
 
A post-climate dystopian world set at sea, is a good idea. It was just poorly executed with comical baddies, and questionable child acting.

I often return to it, always hoping it’s better than I remember. It’s not. In and of itself, it isn’t terrible, but doesn’t come close to the vision of the recent Mad Max.
 
It's kinda enjoyable. I feel for some of the people involved, because it could have been so much more, but it's still worth a watch. Maybe it's the pacing or something that makes it work for me? It's certainly not Costner - he makes me want to fall asleep and I never understood how he had a career.

8ball said:
I thought it largely came down to the underestimated cost of the island they built. Might not have been a viable option to just do something else. As a film, I think it’s just about ok for what it is.

I think maybe it knocked Total Recall off the top spot for biggest budget ever. That’s a film where watching it now you might not think all the money made it to screen (though it’s an enjoyable romp imo).

I do think it’s surprising that 28 days later and The Matrix had near-identical budgets.
Click to expand...

:hmm: 28 Days Later had a budget of $8million. The Matrix had a budget of $63million.
 
I really wanted to like it and told myself it was a good adventure film, but even then deep down I knew it was rubbish.
 
8ball said:
I think maybe it knocked Total Recall off the top spot for biggest budget ever. That’s a film where watching it now you might not think all the money made it to screen (though it’s an enjoyable romp imo).
Click to expand...
The effects in total recall are amazing.

www.fxguide.com

Recalling Total Recall

To celebrate 25 years since Total Recall, we talk to members of the Oscar-winning vfx team: Eric Brevig, Alex Funke and Tim McGovern.
www.fxguide.com www.fxguide.com

(Alex Funke also did the miniatures for the LOTR films)
 
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