October 23, 2009

I’m not a huge Kevin Costner fan but I do like a few of his movies, and two of my absolute favorites are Robin Hood and Waterworld. Critic and fans were quick to dismiss this high seas adventure when it debuted in 1995, but I saw it several times in theaters, own it on laserdisc, DVD, and now on stunning Blu-ray. I mean, what’s not to like? You have a post-apocalyptic thriller, even if it was polar ice caps melting and not nuclear war. You have pirates, you have the lone hero, you have rebels, and you have the sexy love interest.

Costner plays the quintessential loner, a nameless vagabond with a mutated ability to breathe underwater, a skill most useful considering the ice caps have melted and there isn’t a spec of dry land in sight. The Mariner parleys his skill into making a living by swimming down to the cities below the sea and recovering trinkets and even more precious dirt, that is as rare as fresh water, both of which are now used as currency.

We get some initial interactions with the Mariner and other wandering merchants as well as some exciting encounters with the “smokers”, the large pirate force named for the fact they used gas-powered vehicles like boats and jet skis. The smokers are perhaps some of the best villains of recent time, especially their leader, the Deacon played perfectly by Dennis Hopper.

The Mariner is conducting some trade business on an atoll, a virtual floating city, when his mutation is discovered and he is imprisoned and sentenced to death. Meanwhile the smokers decide to attack. Their spy in the atoll has discovered a little girl with a mysterious tattoo that may just be the map to fabled dry land. In one of the most explosive action scenes of the decade (so explosive they made an attraction out of it at Universal Studios theme park) the smokers attack, the Mariner escapes and takes the little girl and her guardian (Jeanne Tripplehorn) with him. This triggers the second act, which can be a bit slow at times, but no less humorous as the Mariner has to learn to live and make compromises with others on his rather small vessel. As expected, the smokers catch up to the Mariner, kidnap the girl, and force the Mariner to break his vow of “don’t get involved” and launch a major rescue attempt in an even larger action spectacle.

Filmmaking: 9
Waterworld is an excellent movie with a great story that manages to maintain your emotional investment with these characters who we know little or nothing about. We know nothing of the Mariner’s past, but we learn all we need to know from his actions and attitude. The only character with a true arc is the little girl who finally gets to go “home”. And then you have wonderfully original characters like the Deacon who light up the screen. The movie is quite long and can drag at times, but with two major action set pieces and some fantastic cinematography, Waterworld holds up amazing well.

Visuals: 9
Considering most of this movie is shot with nothing more than ocean and sky for a backdrop, there were some significant challenges in making it look interesting. The use of tightly framed shots affords us a great view of the detailed boat and the crew aboard. The level of detail is stunning from the unique fabrics and textures of the clothes to the hair and jewelry. Skin tones are flawless and you can practically see the cast getting tanner by the minute. The smokers are dirty and disgusting, giving off that Mad Max vibe, and the set construction for the atoll still boggles the mind. The 1080p presentation for the Blu-ray release is about as close to perfection as you can get with accurate colors, excellent contrast, solid blacks, and a natural film grain that adds to the atmosphere.

Sound: 9
For as good as Waterworld looks it sounds even better with a powerful DTS-HDS MA 5.1 surround mix that had my subwoofer humming with throaty smoker engines and shaking the walls with powerful explosions and the deafening machine gun attack on the atoll. There wasn’t a lot of opportunity for surround sound immersion, especially when most of the movie is taking place on a rather small boat, but when things did open up the sound designers were ready and made the most of each opportunity. Much like real world sailing, the movie actually achieved a bit of tranquility.

Value: 0
Please don’t confuse this score with me saying the movie has no value. This is merely a reflection of extended value after the feature film is over and this movie has nothing, zilch, nada. Okay, it has D-Box and BD-Live but who cares? With such a great movie there is so much to talk about and we get nothing.

Overall: 9.0
Waterworld is still one of my favorite Costner movies as well as one of my favorite action movies. It holds up remarkably well and as the threat of global warming continues to dominate our news, this movie could actually turn into a prophetic blueprint of a future society. This Blu-ray release offers stunning picture and sound; the best the film has ever seen, and for less than $20, it is an easy recommendation, even if we did get shafted on the bonus material.