Waterworld (1995)
Waterworld is a 1995 American post-apocalyptic action film directed by Kevin Reynolds and co-written by Peter Rader and David Twohy. It was based on Rader’s original 1986 screenplay and stars Kevin Costner, who also produced it with Charles Gordon and John Davis. It was distributed by Universal Pictures. The setting of the film is in the distant future. The polar ice cap has completely melted, and the sea level has risen over 7,600 m (25,000 ft), covering nearly all of the land. The plot of the film centers on an otherwise nameless antihero, “The Mariner”, a drifter who sails the Earth in his trimaran. The most expensive film ever made at the time, Waterworld was released to mixed reviews from critics, who praised the futuristic setting and premise,
but criticized the execution including the characterization and acting performances. The film also was unable to recoup its massive budget at the box office despite being one of the highest grossing films of 1995; however, the film did later become profitable owing to video and other post-cinema sales. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Sound at the 68th Academy Awards.
The film’s release was accompanied by a novelization, video game, and four themed attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Singapore, Universal Studios Japan, and Universal Studios Beijing called Waterworld: A Live Sea War Spectacular, all of which are still running as of 2022.
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Plot.
In 2500, as a result of the sea levels rising over 7,600 metres (24,900 ft), every continent on Earth is now underwater. The remains of human civilization live on rugged, floating communities known as atolls, having long forgotten about living on land. It is believed that a mythological “Dryland” exists somewhere in the endless ocean. The Mariner, a lone drifter, arrives at an atoll on his trimaran to trade dirt, a rare commodity, for other supplies. When the atoll’s residents see that the Mariner is a mutant, with gills and webbed feet, they decide to “recycle” him by drowning him in a pit of organic sludge. Suddenly, the atoll is attacked by the Smokers, a gang of pirates seeking a girl named Enola. According to their leader, the Deacon, Enola has a map to Dryland tattooed on her back. Enola’s guardian Helen attempts to escape with Enola on a gas balloon dirigible created by Gregor,
an inventor, but the balloon is released early by mistake. Helen quickly frees the Mariner and insists that he take the two of them with him.
The three escape to the open sea aboard the trimaran, pursued by the Smokers. Helen’s escape results in damage to the Mariner’s boat, and he angrily refuses to take her to Dryland. He then cuts her hair and then Enola’s and decides to take them anyway. During their quest to find Dryland, many other events happen to the crew, such as a drifter approaching them and being killed by the Mariner after a trade, coming across a trap by the Smokers, finding a large mutated shark, and discovering Enola’s drawings of various Dryland objects that the Mariner recognizes from National Geographic magazines.
