90s Sci-Fi Box Office Flop Is Finally Getting The Recognition It Deserves
Throughout Hollywood history, while everyone is fascinated by those massive blockbusters that make eye-popping amounts of money, every generation also has box office bombs that are just, if not more, impressive than the success stories. Every generation has one, from Heaven’s Gate to Borderlands, Cutthroat Island to John Carter, but few have achieved the legendary status of Kevin Costner’s Waterworld. Unlike most of the other bombs in history, Costner’s post-apocalypse sci-fi action film was being torn apart in trade magazines for months before it was released.
Honestly, I think Waterworld was set up to fail, and the movie doesn’t deserve the horrible reputation it has been saddled with for decades.
A Very Wet Future
Waterworld takes place in a future where the ice caps have melted and flooded the planet, leaving humanity to try and survive on floating villages or massive ships. Kevin Costner plays The Mariner, a mutant who can breathe underwater, opposite Dennis Hopper’s Deacon, a psychotic tyrant trying to acquire the map to Dry Land, which happens to be tattooed on a little girl. It’s a simple plot, and every character has a rough outline of a personality, but it’s an action movie, first and foremost, with wild, practical stunts.
The Most Expensive Movie Ever Made (At The Time)
The nature of Waterworld’s apocalypse contributed to the astronomical production costs, which, at the time (early-90s), made it the most expensive movie ever made. That budget? $175 million, or roughly half of Fast X and $75 million less than the live-action The Little Mermaid, and even adjusting for inflation, it comes out to $306 million, still below Avengers: Endgame. You’re starting to see why time has been kind to this film, but unlike most modern movies with disgustingly high budgets, you can see all $175 million right there on screen.
Done With Practical Effects And Real Sets
Waterworld was filmed in massive pools, and the majority of the stunts were all done with practical effects, earning it the nickname “Mad Max with water.” The most extensive use of CGI was adding cables to the scenes with the seaplanes. Going back now and watching the film, it’s actually really impressive what they pulled off with practical effects, and that alone makes the movie worth revisiting in this era of CGI being used for everything from digitally altering a Jonah Hill kiss to entire characters in Marvel movies.
A Stupid Fun Action Movie
Kevin Costner, in an interview with the Huffington Post while promoting Man of Steel, admitted the movie isn’t perfect; again, there’s almost no plot to talk about, but it’s a fun Summer blockbuster. If Universal hadn’t been so public about the massive production costs and how the shoot went from 90 days to over 150 thanks to major storms destroying the floating sets, then maybe the public wouldn’t have been waiting for it to fail.
On Its Way To Cult Classic Status
REVIEW SCORE
As it is, Waterworld was not only the top-grossing movie on its opening weekend, but the film also turned a profit once home video sales were taken into account, and it became the basis for a stunt show at Universal Studios. For a mindless Summer blockbuster, it’s not nearly as horrible as Independence Day: Resurgence, Borderlands, or one of its 90s contemporaries, Cutthroat Island.
If you’ve enjoyed any of the Mad Max films, Waterworld is especially worth checking out today. In fact, the worst part of the film now is that it’s only available to stream through video on demand. You can purchase or rent Kevin Costner’s underrated sci-fi film on Amazon Prime Video, YouTube TV, and AppleTV.
