On July 28, 1995, Waterworld, the Kevin Costner-led sci-fi blockbuster, set sail. I was too young to see it when it first came out and by the time that I started watching older movies the few things I heard about Waterworld was generally how bad it was and that Costner’s hero had webbed feet. So, as the movie’s 30th anniversary is upon us — and it’s streaming on Peacock in the US — I decided to finally give Waterworld a watch and see if what I’ve heard about it… holds water (sorry, couldn’t resist). FYI, I’ll be getting into some Waterworld SPOILERS below.
Waterworld, directed by Kevin Reynolds (who also directed Costner’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves) from a script by Peter Rader and David Twohy, is set in a future where the polar ice caps have melted and covered the Earth in water. Costner plays a drifter simply known as the Mariner, a mutant with webbed feet, gills and a dislike of normal humans. However, he ends up having to protect a woman, Helen (Jeanne Tripplehorn), and young girl, Enola (Tina Majorino), as they are being pursued by a maniacal Dennis Hopper (his character is named Deacon in the movie, but I just kept referring to him as Dennis Hopper) as the girl holds the secret to finding dry land.
