Sphère

I need to start off by saying Sphere ranks as one of my top favorites among Michael Crichton's novels.

As a kid, I vaguely remembered glimpsing Sphere (1998), but for some reason I hadn't (re)watched it until now. I'm convinced that if I had watched the whole thing back then, I'd felt far more nostalgia for it.

The book laid out a quasi 'foolproof' formula for a hit movie: gather a small group of intellectuels, isolate 'em from the outside world, add some mystery and the unknown, and voilá! Sound familiar? Despite this, the filmmakers couldn't quite crack the code for this one.

While the first act showed some promise, later acts felt rushed and ultimately fell apart, failing to capture the impact of the book, especially the end. Perhaps those story changes were as helpful as a screen door on a submarine.

Regarding the casting: Hoffman was a great choice for Norman, and Schreiber was fine as Ted. Well, Jackson is like the 'wildcard' of actors, he can work with anyone and anything, so that's that.

However, whenever Stone was on screen, I couldn't help but wonder who could portray Beth instead of her. In my mind, I envisioned actress like Amy Brenneman from Heat, or rather Kim Dickens from Mercury Rising, or even Radha Mitchell from Pitch Black --someone with a bit of edge, yet still lively and likable. Unlike Stone, who seemed devious from the get-go. While she really excelled in Basic Instinct with such mannerisms, here she seemed miscast.

Visually, some aspects still hold up. Though initially disappointed by certain missing elements, maybe it's for the best.

As for recommendations, it's probably a once-in-a-lifetime watch (even as a devoted Crichton fan, once in total is enough for now).

I rate it a weak 6/10.

PS: I'd recommend opting for the book instead, or for the audiobook (with a sample by Scott Brick, sounds nice).

It is 2017 and I'm still discovering movies from the 90's that are worth a peek.

The government has discovered a space craft buried beneath some coral in the Pacific Ocean. The government concludes that this must be an opportunity at alien contact so they grab a team of scientists to make the first contact. Within the crashed vessel they find a shimmering sphere. A few of the scientist decide to enter it and then things get weird.

I liked the cast: Sharon Stone, Samuel L. Jackson, Dustin Hoffman, Liev Schrieber, Queen Latifah et al. The setting was very claustrophobic as they spent the majority of the movie 1000 feet beneath the surface surrounded by water. Once people started being killed by odd creatures it was race to figure out what or who was causing this before they all perished.

This movie was really about man's inability to handle alien gifts/technology. That's a lesson we've learned many times over. The movie got a bit confusing towards the end as they tried to solve the mystery of who/what was the cause of the death and destruction. I felt there were a lot of holes in the movie and it left me a bit unfulfilled.

A spaceship is discovered under three hundred years' worth of coral growth at the bottom of the ocean.

Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 12% based on 50 reviews, with the critical consensus that "Sphere features an A-level cast working with B-grade material, with a story seen previously in superior science-fiction films." Indeed, one wonders what Sharon Stone and Dustin Hoffman were doing in this. Hoffman, of course, was brought on by the director, his friend Barry Levinson. But Stone should have had better projects.

Some aspects of this are interesting, and even though it was a flop at the time, I could see people today (2015) going back and really giving it a second chance. It has not become a better film with age, but it has something to say about science fiction films of the 1990s. (Most, it seems, were dystopian, so this is something of a fresh change.)

Fantastic performances from some true talent. Wonderful direction from a great artist. Some well executed sequences of horror and suspense. An interesting first-act. Wonderful music and design. And a fairly good piece of source material in the form of a Michael Crichton novel.

I just don't get how "Sphere" wasn't a wonderful film!

You can feel so much potential in that opening half-hour. And there are so many good elements at play. But it just sort-of falls apart at times. It feels unfinished. (A sentiment also echoed by one of its stars, Dustin Hoffman.) It feels like it could use some tightening in some spots, some additional scenes in other places, some more work with the pacing and maybe a re-shoot or two. Then it could be a great, wonderful film. As it is now, it's merely "ok."

When a team consisting of a psychologist, mathematician, biologist and an astrophysicist are sent 1,000 feet below the surface of the ocean to investigate what could be an crashed alien spaceship, things take a bizarre turn when two revelations are unveiled. First, the ship might actually be human in origin, and second... a mysterious spherical object is found in storage on the ship, and it's influence could lead to the brink of disaster.

The performances are almost universally incredible in this film. Featuring the aforementioned Dustin Hoffman, we are also treated to the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Sharon Stone, Liev Schreiber, Queen Latifah and Peter Coyote. And all are able to make a good impact, even when the script and storyline don't give them too much development as characters. The talent elevates the experience.

Director Barry Levinson does some incredible work here as well. Levinson (responsible for some great films) really treats the audience with a combination of intimacy and spectacle from scene to scene. His sense of storytelling, like the acting, elevates the entire feature. (Particularly admirable are some great scenes of horror and suspense. Levinson makes some interesting choices as to what he chooses to show and what he chooses to hide.)

And many other aspects of the production are equally high in quality. Elliot Goldenthal's score is magnificent and haunting. The cinematography of Adam Greenberg is perfect and gives a great aesthetic. Visual and practical effects are almost uniformly excellent. (Save for one or two "gory" effects that don't quite work.) Everything here just seems to work.

The problem, as said above, is that the film sadly doesn't feel finished. And I can't place my finger on any specific aspect of it that fails. It just needs... more work. Some parts of the film feel overlong and in need of trimming. Other parts are abrupt and feel like scenes and shots are missing. Some moments feel contrived and out of context. The pacing is all over the map. And it betrays everything that works so well. It's just a bit too sloppy in its current form.

I honestly think that if the film was given another month or so of time for post-production and editing (and maybe a week or two of re-shoots), it would have been infinitely better. Heck, it might have even been great.

But as is, the film's troubled storytelling and inconsistent pacing all but ruin the experience. Although I will contend that there is enough good here to make "Sphere" worth checking out. Even if only once for the sake of curiosity.

I give it about an average 6 out of 10. I'd say check it out if you see it on cable or available to rent. You just might like it.

Most times when a novel is made into a film, you can follow the story without having to read the book. Sphere has a very strange and complex story. If you haven't read the book first, the movie will be hard to follow.

The movie follows the book pretty closely. Barry Levinson directs his 2nd Crichton adaptation, following Disclosure. There is a terrific superstar cast. Dustin Hoffman is a legend and has made several great movies with Levinson. Samuel L. Jackson, always fun to watch, is one of the top actors of today. The sexy Sharon Stone here continues to prove how good of an actress she is.

Sphere is a very strange, but entertaining movie. I do reccomend reading the book beforehand, though.