Waterworld is a weird movie. While, it is a weak film overall, at least it is different. There had never been anything like it and there probably won't be anything like it again, at least for quite a while. It’s not the worse film ever made as many would claim; however, it is rather silly. So what makes Waterworld weird and kind of silly is the way that the concept is expressed. The idea is that our current way of life has broken down as global warming melted the ice caps and put just about all land under water. In fact, dry land is now a myth. Gangs of thugs ride around on jet skies, which have somehow, remarkably stayed operational complete with repair parts and gas, go figure and fresh water is hard to come by. There are floating shanty style towns and, of course, everything and nearly everyone is barbaric.
In Waterworld's future, the polar caps have melted, flooding the earth. The few survivors lead a miserable life as they search for water, food, and the endless dream of dry land. Kevin Costner plays Mariner, a human that has managed to mutate to the point where he has gills and webbed feet. He trundles along on a gadget-filled boat that enables him to get out of any situation. His weapons are especially handy when the Smokies show up. These are the bad guys -- a group of biker-types that ride old jet-skis.
Costner opens the movie by urinating into a bottle, and then recycling it into drinking water. It's too bad that this is one of the very few details that shows how Waterworld's society survives. Supposedly everyone is suffering from starvation and dehydration, yet these people are in great shape, and have endless energy to fight with one another. The Smokies get lucky and headquarter themselves in an old oil tanker (named the Valdez) that still has gallons of fuel in its holds, allowing them to keep their Jet-Ski warriors mobile. They even have an old airplane that flies great. Even more amazing is all these things must run on crude oil.
Just when all hope looks to be lost, the Mariner and Nila are saved from the sinking compound by Ellen and her friends in a hot air balloon. After reading the map, they set sail in the balloon on a quest to find dry land. Many days go by and they are out of food and water when a pigeon flies up to their balloon and sits on the ledge. The Mariner seeing the bird looks over the edge of the balloon and sees the most beautiful sight he has ever encountered, land, rich with trees and fresh spring waterfalls. Thus ends their life on water and begins a new generation of land living individuals.
A tight squeeze into the PG-13 category, Waterworld contains full nudity from the back as a woman gives herself to Mariner, an attempted rape scene with limited nudity, and the suggestion of sexual relations with a very young girl. Continuous disturbances from the Smokies create one violent scene after the next: Eyes are popped out, people are burned to death, and many are shot. The language matches the rest of the movie, with many obscenities and sexual innuendos.
Waterworld could have been better with a more fully flushed out concept. Maybe showing the collapse of the old world would have helped orient people a bit more. The story is littered with large logic errors, that a careful, patient, well-thought out screenwriter would have nailed. No one is perfect and you can't catch everything, but some of Waterworld's errors were just too large to ignore.
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