January 26th, 1996
Web posted at: 10:40 p.m. EST
From Entertainment Correspondent Dennis Michael
HOLLYWOOD (CNN) -- Hype and publicity didn't help this week's movies become megahits. "Waterworld" is the Kevin Costner epic that cost over 100 million dollars to make. The big bucks lavished on this movie did bring some really gigantic aquatic action sequences, and some really lovely explosions. But in the end, it's just basically your middlebrow science fiction action flick -- kind of "Dune" in reverse.
Kevin Costner as the mysterious Mariner doesn't quite come across as the strong silent, tortured hero. Even the script is more often silly than it is stirring. Nevertheless, it's not the disaster everyone predicted when the numbers started going through the roof. In fact, lovers of a big, splashy shoot-em-up movies will enjoy most everything except the rather dry ending.
Another film that fizzled quickly at the box office is "Jade" starring David Caruso. The movie is basically another piece of desire and deception from the word processor of Joe Esterhaus, who brought us "Showgirls" very recently as well. There's lots of posing, crashes and atmosphere, but much movie.
See you at the rental counter.
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