# Waterworld (1995) - Can Kevin Costner act?



## Red Queen (Jun 4, 2001)

*Can Kevin Costner act?*

Okay, I finally say this movie...despite my feelings for Kevin Costner as an actor (Not the best in the world by far), I liked this one fairly well until

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...the bungy-jumping, bad guys colliding, lame-o climactic fight.  <sigh>

I still think his best movie was Silverado...


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## tokyogirl (Jun 12, 2002)

i think the answer to your question is a big 'NO'.  i'm sorry but half of acting is facial expressions and the man has like 2.


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## ZachWZ (Nov 9, 2002)

He can act.  Though i do have to say he is a better directer.  Has his acting goes.  His best was done in the Postman and of course Dances with Wolves.  which he also directed.  About every problem people have with Waterworld is the script and plot.

ZachWZ


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## Tabitha (Nov 9, 2002)

He _was_ good in Dances with Wolves, and also in JFK and Thirteen Days.  But he was simply terrible in Robin Hood - although I am not sure how much my distaste for him in that role has to do with his half-assed english accent.

Not seen Waterworld though.


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## nic (Nov 9, 2002)

I was gonna type "I think he can act, it's just the movies he does are terrible". I did like _Robin Hood_ though.
Actually thinking about it, his acting was my least favourite part of the film. Morgan Freeman (Azeem), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (Marian), and Alan Rickman as the Sheriff of Nottingham were much better. (Especially Alan Rickman!)


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## Tabitha (Nov 9, 2002)

Well, please don't get me wrong - I love Robin Hood, I just thought, like you, he was the worst thing in it


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## tokyogirl (Nov 14, 2002)

i like when they made fun of him in robin hood: men in tights.....
Prince John: And why should the people listen to you? 
Robin Hood: Because, unlike some other Robin Hoods, I can speak with an English accent.


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## BAYLOR (Feb 16, 2016)

He's good director Dances with Wolves is a very good film ,  He;s a pretty decent actor .  He was just not convincing in the role of Robin Hood.    I did liked him Dances with Wolves and Field  of Dreams .   WaterWorld is a better film then people think. It's main problem was that can't get out from underneath the stigma of its cost overruns.


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## Jaxx (Feb 20, 2016)

I think he's a good actor, I feel, as some actors tend to do when they have a little success, he got caught up in his own self importance. Actors when caught up in this positive tilt think they have all the answers. Spoiling films with interference or making outright bad decisions. Waterworld was one such.

Vin Diesel derailed his career and had to go back to basics to get his career on track, trying to get to involved in the mechanics of projects he was involved with and not letting the creatives do what they do best.

Edward Norton is one of my favourites but he's renowned for making life difficult with his own ideas and interfering with direction, I believe this went some way to the brilliant recast of Mark Ruffalo as Hulk.

Actors - KNOW YOUR PLACE! 

Films I enjoy Kevin Costner, not mentioned above; Untouchables, Bull Durham, Mr Brooks and Company Men (Understated support character. I'd been made redundant at the time so felt their pain.)

Guilty pleasures: The Bodyguard (Great dating movie) and childhood dewy eyed memories of Prince of Thieves!


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## svalbard (Feb 20, 2016)

I also think he is a good actor. Some of my favourite movies feature him.

*Open Range
Wyatt Earp
A Perfect World
Thirteen Days
Mr Brooks
Dances with Wolves
Tin Cup
The Untouchables
*
Most actors would kill to have that kind of backlog on their resume.


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## Grimward (Feb 20, 2016)

While I kind of liked Waterworld when it came out, subsequent viewings rendered it less and less enjoyable.  With regard to Costner, I also like him in other movies (his *Draft Day* and *Man of Steel* roles were reasonably well painted, in my humble opinion), but he never does anything to distinguish himself from a watery amphibian clone of Mel Gibson's Mad Max character (at least from the 1st two Mad Max movies).  Want to see *McFarland, USA*, though, as I hear he was pretty good in that one.


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## BAYLOR (Feb 21, 2016)

Grimward said:


> While I kind of liked Waterworld when it came out, subsequent viewings rendered it less and less enjoyable.  With regard to Costner, I also like him in other movies (his *Draft Day* and *Man of Steel* roles were reasonably well painted, in my humble opinion), but he never does anything to distinguish himself from a watery amphibian clone of Mel Gibson's Mad Max character (at least from the 1st two Mad Max movies).  Want to see *McFarland, USA*, though, as I hear he was pretty good in that one.




Waterworld for all of it's controversies, Is a a decent film.


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## kythe (Feb 21, 2016)

I've always had a soft spot for Waterworld.  It has is cheesy parts, but overall I think well done.  It portrays a unique setting for a post-apocalyptic story.


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## BAYLOR (Mar 22, 2016)

I think at some point Water World will become a science fiction Classic.  It has it's flaws but , It has  an interesting story concept.  A drown world due to global warming and climate change and how people survive in such a place . I should think that is resonate even today , with film goers.


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## Andersson (Mar 28, 2016)

kythe said:


> I've always had a soft spot for Waterworld.  It has is cheesy parts, but overall I think well done.  It portrays a unique setting for a post-apocalyptic story.





BAYLOR said:


> I think at some point Water World will become a science fiction Classic.  It has it's flaws but , It has  an interesting story concept.  A drown world due to global warming and climate change and how people survive in such a place . I should think that is resonate even today , with film goers.



I agree completely, the setting is great and really makes the movie worth watching. I also love Prince of Thieves but it's probably because I was an easily influenced teenager when these movies came out.


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## BAYLOR (May 7, 2016)

Andersson said:


> I agree completely, the setting is great and really makes the movie worth watching. I also love Prince of Thieves but it's probably because I was an easily influenced teenager when these movies came out.




I just couldn't by him in the role of Robin Hood.


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## cyprus7 (May 8, 2016)

The Waterworld attraction at Universal Studios theme park in Japan is a lot of fun.

The post apocalyptic world of the movie has lots of remake potential based on current climate change projections... Meltwater world, No Waterworld etc


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## Michael M (May 8, 2016)

I agree that Waterworld was a decent film, but the budget costs meant it was going to take a pounding from the critics. 

I am surprised no one has mentioned Man of Steel. I thought he gave a wonderful performance. He was only there for a few minutes of screen time, but he was a more telling presence than Russell Crowe (and I like Russell Crowe)


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## Adam Stubbings (May 9, 2016)

Red Queen said:


> *Can Kevin Costner act?*
> 
> Okay, I finally say this movie...despite my feelings for Kevin Costner as an actor (Not the best in the world by far), I liked this one fairly well until
> 
> ...


 

he was best in man of steel, his old weathered face showed a full range of emotions as he struggled with parenting a son who has the capacity to end the world.

Also liked him in three days to kill, albeit the film was dreadful.

Waterworld is much bigger than Kevin Costner though and he kind of just sails (no pun intended) through it with a blank expression, although he is part fish, so maybe thats what he was aiming for.


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## the_evil_ted (May 9, 2016)

I always thought he was born to play JFK, he was that guy! Then he was just that guy, acting in most of his other films. 

Field of Dreams hasn't been mentioned, that's probably one of his better performances. I've not seen Postman, but I do love Avatar, woops, Dances with Wolves - and the Bodyguard is definitely a guilty pleasure.

He did a lot of his own stunts, especially at the beginning of his career. He was a good choice for Man of Steel, despite the stupid manner in which he died (I thought the fact that Clark couldn't save his father is far more powerful). 

Given the problems with Waterworld's production, I wouldn't be surprised that his blank expression was his exasperation of having to work on the film...


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