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David McK (3425 KP) rated Waterworld (1995) in Movies

Jun 21, 2022  
Waterworld (1995)
Waterworld (1995)
1995 | Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi
5
6.0 (16 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
The movie that all-but-sank Kevin Costner's career
In the early to mid 90s, Kevin Costner was riding high in Hollywood.

Then he had the one-two misfore of this (at one point, the most expensive flop ever made, I believe) and 'The Postman'.

Both are set in a post-apocalyptic future: here, one where the world has flooded 'due to the melting of the ice shelves' (don't even), with 'dry land' now virtually a myth and where gangs of bikers roam the outlands on custom-built vehicles in search of fuel ...

Sorry, sorry, that's Mad Max.

But you can definitely see the similarities: swap the bikers for jet ski's, replace the loner character played by Mel Gibson for one played by with Kevin Costner and you're virtually there!

Add a bit of Dennis Hopper to completely ham it up, a soupcon of mystery around The Mariner and his mutation, and a search for the mysterious Dryland and there you have it ...

Not as bad as it's made out to be, but nor is it brilliant by any stretch of the imagination
  
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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Atlantis (Jack Howard, #1) in Books

Nov 8, 2019  
Atlantis (Jack Howard, #1)
Atlantis (Jack Howard, #1)
David Gibbins | 2005
5
5.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Books where Atlantis is assumed to have been fact are nothing new, and quite a few adventure thrillers use it as the springboard for their plots. This is hardly suprising as it is a widely known myth and a handy way of drawing the reader in.

This book takes a slightly different approach, at least initially. His archaologist hero Jack Howard finds out about an ancient text that sheds more light on the story of the sunken civilization. Gibbins then does a good job of deconstructing the myths using real evidence of Egyptian, Minoan and Greek archaeology and rebuilding into a hypothesis which leads Howard on a quest to discover the source of the myth. I really enjoyed this part of the book, the author's knowledge in this area shows in some deft explanations.

However once on the trail of Atlantis a villainous adversary appears and this is the point where the book struggles as it tries to marry an interesting and plausible story of historical investigation and a thriller. Unfortunately I didn't think this worked as the book couldn't work out what it was anymore and the change between styles was very uneaven. There is a particular segment where the heroes are being pursued into the inner sanctum of Atlantis with all haste - and then spend a long time investigating the wonders of the frescos and artefacts they find within.

To my mind Gibbins is a good writer when what he is writing about is the archaeology and historical references. This novel didn't need the added threat of the villain and it just cheapened the deal. It's not exactly a bad book, just a bit confused about its identity. Howard himself is also a confused character, being essentially a charismatic history buff he has no problem being a hard-nosed killer and also seems to shrug off potential danger to his friends and colleagues without a thought.

I read The Tiger Warrior a little while ago and enjoyed that more simply because that book concentrated on the history and the archaeology with the threats being realistic and relevant to the plot.

The unevenness in this work can perhaps be forgiven as a first novel. As the Tiger Warrior showed Gibbins does have the potential for a good book if the ingredients are right. Unfortunately this isn't it.