Sphere (1998)

Directed by Barry Levinson. Starring Dustin Hoffman, Samuel L. Jackson, Sharon Stone, Peter Coyote, Liev Schreiber, Marga Gómez, Queen Latifah. [R]

In another sharp departure for director Levinson (see also his passion project, Toys), he tackles a wearisome science fiction saga based on a Michael Crichton novel. A team of scientists with diverse backgrounds are assembled for a top-secret mission to investigate an enormous alien spacecraft found a thousand feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean (or is it of alien origin?), containing a mysterious liquiform sphere that can’t be penetrated (or can it?). A potentially exciting premise with isolated moments of ominous portent is torpedoed by carbon copy concepts and aesthetics, a verbose script that chisels away at the profundity of the unexplainable, and a total lack of suspense and intellectual involvement. Frequently resembles far better genre efforts (The Abyss, Solaris, etc.), with a heavy-handed conceit that makes the final act a laughable bore where you can hardly believe the words coming out of anyone’s mouth. Look for an appearance from Huey Lewis (yes, that Huey Lewis).

31/100