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Sphere

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Sphere (1998)

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Reviews Counted:48

Fresh:6

Rotten:42

Average Rating:4/10

Consensus: Sphere features an A-level cast working with B-grade material, with a story seen previously in superior science-fiction films.

Runtime: 2 hrs 32 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Synopsis: When psychologist Norman Goodman (Dustin Hoffman) wrote a report for the government on how to deal with extraterrestrial life forces, he didn't expect his recommendations to be used. Now that a... When psychologist Norman Goodman (Dustin Hoffman) wrote a report for the government on how to deal with extraterrestrial life forces, he didn't expect his recommendations to be used. Now that a secret government agency is investigating what may be an alien spaceship that has been discovered partially buried on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, Norman finds that the plan he outlined is being put into effect and that the team he named in his report has been assembled. In addition to Norman, there is Harry Adams (Samuel L. Jackson), a mathematician; Ted Fielding (Liev Schreiber), a physicist; and Beth Halperin (Sharon Stone), a biochemist and Norman's old flame. Led by the secretive Barnes (Peter Coyote), the foursome undergoes a crash course in diving and living under the sea in a naval habitat and begins investigating the mysterious vessel, discovering a huge glowing sphere made of an unidentifiable substance with a shimmering, almost liquidlike surface. As the investigation continues, a series of strange, horrific events leads the team of scientists to doubt each other's sanity and motives. The film is based on the best-selling novel by Michael Crichton. [More]

Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, Samuel L. Jackson, Peter Coyote

Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, Samuel L. Jackson, Peter Coyote, Liev Schreiber, Queen Latifah, Marga Gomez, Huey Lewis, Michael Keys Hall, Bernard Hocke, James Pickens

Director: Barry Levinson

Director: Barry Levinson
Producer: Barry Levinson, Michael Crichton, Andrew Wald
Story: Michael Crichton
Screenwriter: Kurt Wimmer, Stephen Hauser, Paul Attanasio
Composer: Elliot Goldenthal

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jul 14, 1998

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Sphere

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21 - 40 (sorted by date)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 >> >|
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
01/01/00
E! Online

No review available.

comment Comment
01/01/00
USA Today

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bill Chambers
Bill Chambers
Film Freak Central

Sphere tries hard to be an intelligent genre piece, but a weak and convoluted storyline only leads to a disappointing experience.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Sphere winds up just a load of balls.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Charles Taylor
Charles Taylor
Salon.com

This journey is a road to nowhere.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
01/01/00
Chris Grunden
Chris Grunden
Film Journal International

Director Barry Levinson still has his strong visual sense -- both the infinite water and ultimate confinement are effectively creepy -- but the story starts dragging about halfway through.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia City Paper | comment Comment
01/01/00
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
Philadelphia City Paper

There are some things that humankind is just better off not knowing about.

Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
David Denby
David Denby
New York Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It is an annoying and distracting movie, where the actors lose all of their prospect for existing, and the story loses all faith in the material and gives up just as it seems to begin.

Full Review Source: Cinemaphile.org | comment Comment
01/01/00
David Keyes
David Keyes
Cinemaphile.org

A run-of-the-mill fantasy, competently produced but disappointingly familiar.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
01/01/00
David Sterritt
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor

Making yet again the mistake that more is more, director Barry Levinson piles on the concepts with such increasing rapidity that clarity takes a back seat to spectacle, and believability is stretched to the breaking point.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
01/01/00
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

Despite being blue bloods of filmmaking, Levinson and his stars are relative novices in the special-effects world of science fiction.

Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Somewhere out there, maybe there's a small cadre of film-goers who will appreciate Sphere's dubious charms, but I'm not among them.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It takes every trick in the book of undersea filmmaking to try to make Sphere interesting to the mainstream.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Brundage
James Brundage
Filmcritic.com

Sphere starts off as The Abyss, then turns into Event Horizon and finally turns out to be Forbidden Planet and Solaris.

Full Review Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page | comment Comment
01/01/00
James O'Ehley
James O'Ehley
Sci-Fi Movie Page

While this is no quick-witted treat on a par with Mr. Levinson's Wag the Dog, it's a solid thriller with showy scientific overtones.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Decent performances and an abundance of good ideas and effects but there is definitely a lack of pace to the dramatic tension and you may find yourself just not caring.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeff Dawson
Jeff Dawson
Empire Magazine

Michael Crichton, author of Sphere, co-produced the messy, convoluted version of his best seller, which starts out promisingly enough but soon gets bogged down with bad exposition and cliched dialogue.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Cool premise and eerie buildup from the first hour, ultimately downshifts into an unsatisfying film that drags long past its bedtime, and turns into a gobbledygook of psychological head games and illusions.

Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | comment Comment
01/01/00
JoBlo
JoBlo
JoBlo's Movie Emporium
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
01/01/00
Joe Baltake
Joe Baltake
Sacramento Bee
 
 
21 - 40 (sorted by date)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for Sphere

November 05, 2008: Michael Crichton Passes Away (1942-2008)
Best-selling author, screenwriter, and director Michael Crichton has passed away at the age of 66. The medical doctor-turned-filmmaker was best known for writing... More...

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