WATERWORLD DOESN'T FLOAT

Waterworld cost $175 M to produce ($235 M in total if you count marketing and distribution), and only raked in $88 M in The US and $176 M overseas. While a flop and generally disliked by most, the bare basic plot isn't bad. An Earth where melting ice caps (global warming?) has resulted in all land mass sinking below the ocean, with survivors living on the water on sailboats, watercraft, or makeshift floating colonies is actually a very interesting, creative set-up that has potential.  The Rube Goldberg-esque way the contraptions work in Waterworld is fun, and the Floating Atoll set piece is quite impressive and holds the best scenes in the entire film.

Dennis Hopper is clearly having a lot of fun as Deacon, and he is entertaining, though his villain isn't as menacing or threatening as he should be...He is cool and likable enough, though. Kevin Costner plays our "hero", The Mariner, who is a completely unlikable asshole who finally begins to soften somewhere in the third act (He's a dick for around 70 % of the film).  Jeanne Triplehorn and Tina Majorino are fine as our heroine and her "adopted" kid, respectively. It's not fun to watch The Mariner continually abuse them throughout the first two acts plus of the film.

Waterworld is not helped by the extensive production troubles it ran into behind the scenes. Kevin Reynolds (the director) and Kevin Costner clashed behind the scenes, leading to Reynolds quitting the project after filming (due also in part to creative differences with the producers and Universal) and Costner taking over directing duties during post. Besides throwing out certain scenes, Costner also hired James Newton Howard to re-score the film. There were last minute script re-writes (by Joss Whedon) as well. The film is disjointed, and doesn't always feel like it flows. Events happen with little to no explanation (like Deacon's ambush later on in the film), and the editing is chaotic, fast, frenetic, and confusing.

 Waterworld is a film that, by all means, should be a lot of fun. It's got a creative, interesting premise and work was clearly put into the action scenes...unfortunately, it's sunk by it's numerous production troubles and Kevin Costner's massive ego.

2 STARS

EDIT: I am happy to say that the fan cut (dubbed the Ulysses Cut) is significantly better. It doesn't necessarily fix all the film's problems, but it does flesh out the character of The Mariner (Kevin Costner) and, to a minor degree, the world the film is set in. This cut is 3 hours long (It restores 40 minutes of  the film. The Ulysses Cut finally turns Waterworld into the epic it so desperately deserved to be. 3 STARS