cinemajesty
Movie Review: "Sphere" (1998)Based on the 1987 novel by Michael Crichton (1942-2008), director Barry Levinson encounters new grounds with this underwater science-fiction drama, working with collaborated-before actor Dustin Hoffman, who performs undermined and coldly the character of psychologist Dr. Norman Goodman together with character supporting cast members Sharon Stone as zoologist Dr. Beth Halperin, Samuel L. Jackson and Peter Coyote as submarine captain going down as scientific team to the grounds of the deep blue sea, where a mystical golden "Sphere" hidden in a coral-overgrown spaceship, giving anyone, who witnesses its existence the power of foreclosure and putting thoughts into reality due to metaphysical mind-binding.The result of this unless beyond-belief promising motion picture of 80 Million Dollar production value, open for Warner Bros. Studio distribution set for December 1997, which had been pulled to be Mid-February 1998, turns into full-bodied character development by neglecting cinematography as sound design and an hammering score of Elliot Goldenthal, which leads to a mixture of enormous scene potential in character conflicts, which stay behind full-frontal expectations and even the occasional suspense catharsis, when one Samuel L. Jackson's character interpretation of mathematician Dr. Harry Adams, enchanted by the "Sphere", envisions parts of Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" in order to endanger remaining crew members outside the underwater station.The editorial by Stu Linder (1931-2006) comes along fairly, but uninspired with its 120plus minutes final cut. The director as the editor treats the adapted screenplay by Kurt Wimmer as psychological claustrophobic chamber play, without risking the scope nor boldness in action of competitive productions as the major focused and character-confronting piece of cinema "The Abyss" (1989) directed by James Cameron and even the more trivial horror-oriented science-fiction movie "Event Horizon" (1997) directed by Paul W.S. Anderson.© 2017 Felix Alexander Dausend (Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC)
ergine
The first 30 minutes create an enticing premise for a great sci-fi story. After that it just becomes a mess with very little logic. It is just a cheap thriller and the potential of the cast is never met.Even though it tries to be philosophical and psychological with echoes of other id-machine classics, it is sadly void of any real psychological meta-space.
Razvan Rogoz
It borrows heavily from Solaris (the book, not the movie). The entire logic of the movie is based on it but it falls flat in some places. The problem is that while the idea is intriguing, the exposition is plain boring and the pacing is far better in the first half than in the second one.There are a few plot twists, however, all the end, you are left with a "is this all there is?" feeling. Plus, while Solaris raised philosophical questions about the nature of existence and the limits of logic, not to mention have some really disturbing and intense scenes, this falls flat. I've watched the movie for the first half on my iPad but then, I've simply left it in the background and did something else. This is one of those movies with a great potential but dumbed down so it can be a summer blockbuster. Plus, the characters are 2D archetypes. You have the serious US Navy Captain that is always all business and too cool for school. You have the care free lady genius that is a bit crazy compared to the rest. You have the highly intelligent but insecure genius. You have the an afro- American dude that is considered a prodigy yet acts like he wants to win a popularity award. Therefore, a contrast is created. The idea is good and the inspiration is clear. It could have been a lot more. But it is dumbed down to the level that I'd rather watch Man in Black than this. You don't get a smart setup and give it a stupid execution. If you want a simplistic movie, go with a simple plot. Don't go all metaphysical and then break it up with the execution.
SnoopyStyle
Four specialists are brought together to investigate something on the ocean bottom. Dr. Norman Goodman (Dustin Hoffman) is the psychotherapist. Dr. Beth Halperin (Sharone Stone) is the marine biologist. Dr. Harry Adams (Samuel L. Jackson) is the mathematician. Dr. Ted Fielding (Liev Schreiber) is the astrophysicist. Captain Harold C. Barnes (Peter Coyote) tells the team of a possible spacecraft that crash landed 300 years ago. They discover a perfect liquid sphere in a ship possibly build by humans in the future. Along with sailor Fletcher (Queen Latifah) among others, the group is stranded on the bottom of the ocean.It's too slow and too long. The action has no thrills. The horror elements are lackluster. The cast may be superior but their work here is mediocre. The only good scene is Jackson fake out the Alien chocking scene. The rest is a long meandering sci-fi adventure without much adventure. A tighter story could elevate the tension and make this exciting.
AD
