Waterworld

REVIEW
Had Waterworld cost half its reported $175,000,000, it would have entertained the action crowd looking for a mindless, exciting summer film and probably no more word about it would have been said. However, that's not the case. Half-fish, half-human mutant Costner (blatantly based on Mel Gibson's loner Mad Max) becomes involved in tribal warfare on a water-logged planet, the effects of the polar icecaps melting. The set design and effects of Waterworld are impressive, but the haunting question remains: Are they worth the sum lavished upon it? Usually films shouldn't be judged by their budgets, but occasionally you just can't ignore it. Ultimately, this is a formulaic, over-produced adventure film that is fun for awhile but its controversy sinks in and weighs it down.