But there is no depth, none at all and what we get is basically an action story, a quest where a loner finds himself in the company of a woman and girl trying to find dry land whilst also protecting them from a bunch of bad guys called 'smokers'.
The way "Waterworld" goes about setting up the story makes you think that maybe the movie will have some depth, some environmental message as it takes us to the future where the ice-caps have melted and dry land is a thing of legend. But with a group of bad guys lead by the evil Deacon ( Dennis Hopper - Speed) also wanting to find dry land, the Mariner must protect his passengers at all costs. But everyone lives in the hope that dry land will be discovered and a Mariner ( Kevin Costner - The War) finds himself in the thick of the search when he takes on two passengers called Helen ( Jeanne Tripplehorn - Basic Instinct) and Enola ( Tina Majorino - Andre) who may have the key to discovering dry land. Those who have survived either try to live on floating fortresses or sail the seas alone looking for buried goods which they can use to barter for goods. Sometime in the future the polar ice caps have melted leaving the world one big ocean. But when you accept that there is no depth or deeper meaning "Waterworld" ends up entertaining. As such technically "Waterworld" is a bad movie because the storyline ends up being pointless, the dialogue often corny and seems to go nowhere for long lengths of time.
Instead "Waterworld" is a theme park ride of action and comedy, a big budget one at that which only works if you ignore the storyline and just be entertained by the various action scenes and the comedy of Dennis Hopper as a bad guy. The storyline may be about the future where the ice-caps have melted and the search for dry land preoccupies everyone but it has absolutely no depth. "Waterworld" sounds like a name for a theme park where you go purely for fun and excitement which is in fact the best way to watch "Waterworld".