I can't really call this movie anything besides a post apocalyptic action adventure movie even though it is billed as science fiction. I have heard this movie referred to as Mad Max on the ocean, and to an extent that is fair. The question is whats wrong with Mad Max on the ocean? The movies have a similar setting in that they both take place in an essentially broken world.
Waterworld is set in a future where the earths surface is seemingly covered with water. The main character Mariner, played by Kevin Costner, is a drifter traveling the world on his boat. Mariner is very well adapted to the waterworld having a set of supplementary gills, but this causes problems whenever he meets with other people.
The story picks up when Mariner docks with an "Atoll" which in the film is a floating artificial island. He runs into trouble when the locals discover that he is a mutant and has gills. He is saved by the shopkeeper Helen who needs his help to try and find the home of her adopted daughter Enola who has an enigmatic tattoo that ends up being directions to dry land. The complication of the story is that Mariner and his friends aren't the only ones interested in finding dry land. The local pirates called smokers, who got the name because of the smoke that comes from their motorized boats, also want Enola so that they can use her to find dry land, and use it as a pirate base.
This story is an adventure tale of a drifter who can't trust anyone learning to make friends and ultimately finding the key to save humanity. If you don't look to hard at the setting it is a very good story, and yes it is a bit like Mad Max on the ocean, but that's ok.
I own this movie on disk and you can pick it up that way at www.amazon.com, or watch it on amazon instant streaming as either a rental or purchase.
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