Waterworld

Play trailer

Waterworld

PG-13

1995

2h 16m

Sci-Fi

Action

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

60%

Tomatometer

136 Reviews

44%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

After the melting of the polar ice caps, most of the globe is underwater. Some humans have survived, and even fewer still, notably the Mariner (Kevin Costner), have adapted to the ocean by developing gills. A loner by nature, the Mariner reluctantly befriends Helen (Jeanne Tripplehorn) and her young companion, Enola (Tina Majorino), as they escape from a hostile artificial island. Soon the sinister Smokers are pursuing them in the belief that Enola holds the key to finding the mythical Dryland.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Though it suffered from toxic buzz at the time of its release, Waterworld is ultimately an ambitious misfire: an extravagant sci-fi flick with some decent moments and a lot of silly ones.

Read Critics Reviews

David Hunter

The Hollywood Reporter

Jul 28

The many visual effects are more than adequate to distract one from the film’s numerous plot holes, incongruities and unrealized possibilities.

Go to Full Review

Craig MacInnis

Toronto Star

Jul 28

2/4

Far from being the magnificent bomb many had predicted, Waterworld is worse. It's mediocre, and that just won't do.

Go to Full Review

Rob Lowing

Sydney Morning Herald

Jul 28

2.5/4

You can't dismiss the film's ambitions, Sci-fi movie fans especially will be impressed by its grungy recreation of life where, as inhabitants constantly note, "nothing is free in Waterworld."

Go to Full Review

Alan Jones

Radio Times

Dec 17

4/5

The film offers plenty of comic-book heroics and explosive stunts, and Costner gives one of his finest performances as the half man/half fish whose steely character holds this full-blooded epic adventure together.

Go to Full Review

Simon Brew

Den of Geek

Jul 28

3/5

I like Waterworld. Always did, and continue to do so. It’s no classic, it’s horribly derivative of the Mad Max saga at times, but I always warmed to the sheer scale of it.

Go to Full Review

Chris Ward

Flickering Myth

Jul 28

It really isn’t as terrible as its reputation makes it out to be if you approach it with the mindset of it not being the ultra-serious drama piece that Kevin Costner seems to think he is in and take it for the silly nonsense that it actually is.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Dixie M.

@DMDarne123 Mar 15

I have to say this movie is not that bad I actually enjoyed it to be honest. 8/10

See more

Terry W

@RT71008939 Mar 4

Not understanding the hate. It's a great movie. Mad Max but in the ocean!

See more

Corey C

@Battaglia173 Feb 28

My beef isn’t with the bloated budget, but the paper-thin plot. Why didn’t they just copy the map on the little girl’s back? Why did they need her at all? Everyone lost memory, even oral history, of dryland existing, yet all their boats that were clearly built on dryland with materials couldn’t have been more than a generation old. A mutation in humans, like that of friggin GILLS, would take at least 20-30 milllllion years. If humans reached Easter Island 500 years ago, they would have also found the scrap of land that was empty when Costner & crew eventually arrive. The plot holes are as ubiquitous as the water in this world. Even in a movie like Avatar, there are explanations. It’s an unapologetic fantasy that makes sense within the Avatar "world". In Back to the Future, a time machine is possible because of a "flux capacitor". The audience is willing to suspend belief if the story is consistent within its own invented reality. Just a terrible horrible awful script.

See more

Al T.

@twcom Feb 23

Moody hero. Super villain. Beautiful damsel.

See more

Ry N

@RyGuy Jan 28

The ice caps have melted creating a Waterworld with an amphibious Kevin Costner searching for Dryland using a tattooed map on a girl's back. I enjoyed the Mad Max-esque world they depicted filled with Drifters and Smokers.

See more

Karen W.

@RT97118607 Jan 25

Love it’s a cult classic

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Kevin Reynolds

Director

Kevin Costner

Mariner

Dennis Hopper

Deacon

Jeanne Tripplehorn

Helen

Tina Majorino

Enola

Michael Jeter

Old Gregor

Waterworld: Official Clip - Death From Above

3:00

Waterworld: Official Clip - New Eye

0:58

Waterworld: Official Clip - Atoll Escape

3:00

Waterworld: Official Clip - Attack on the Atoll

2:58

Waterworld: Official Clip - The Mariner Is Freed

2:59

Waterworld: Official Clip - The Bargain

2:32

Waterworld: Official Clip - Sentenced to Be Recycled

2:20

Waterworld: Official Clip - Revenge at Sea

2:54

Waterworld: Official Clip - Catch of the Day

1:42

Waterworld: Official Clip - He's a Mutant!

2:05

View more videos

I, Robot

57%

70%

I, Robot

Watchlist

TRAILER

for I, Robot

Godzilla

20%

28%

Godzilla

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Godzilla

Aeon Flux

9%

39%

Aeon Flux

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Aeon Flux

Ultraviolet

9%

30%

Ultraviolet

Watchlist

Next

28%

53%

Next

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Next

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

After the melting of the polar ice caps, most of the globe is underwater. Some humans have survived, and even fewer still, notably the Mariner (Kevin Costner), have adapted to the ocean by developing gills. A loner by nature, the Mariner reluctantly befriends Helen (Jeanne Tripplehorn) and her young companion, Enola (Tina Majorino), as they escape from a hostile artificial island. Soon the sinister Smokers are pursuing them in the belief that Enola holds the key to finding the mythical Dryland.

Director: Kevin Reynolds
Producer: Charles Gordon, John Davis, Kevin Costner
Screenwriter: Jonathan Levine, Peter Rader, David Twohy
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Gordon Company, Davis Entertainment, Universal Pictures
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 28, 1995, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 5, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $88.2M
Runtime: 2h 16m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

Most Popular at Home Now