Sphere (DVD 1998)

I liked this movie as much as I liked the book. It has a great cast and Micheal Crichton’s intelligent plot works was well on the big screen. I loved the novel ending, differing slightly from the book, but I thought that it was beautifully done and gave the story a new dimension.

A strong Hollywood cast star in this above average sci-fi yarn. (Dustin Hoffman, Samuel L Jackson, Sharon Stone). Something lies at the bottom of the ocean and the US government get their best boffins on the case to discover what it is and where it came from. With a solid plot and good acting, it proves itself to be better than the stereotypical childish effects films. Director Barry Levinson provides great visuals that make the spooky underwater environment come alive. The film is a psycological mystery thriller that keeps you guessing to the very end. It has good dialogue and is more concerned with characters and their development than with cool looking ways of killing them off. Based on Michael Crichton's book.

Read the book first, liked it a lot, saw the film and was pleasantly surprised that the good old US of A hadn't gone overboard with blowing things up. As a sci-fi fan, I get fed up of fast paced in your face shoot em ups, this film, in my thoughts, was a;pt more subtle. Anyway gotta go, things to do.

TTFN.....John W

In the middle of the South Pacific, a thousand feet below the surface of the water, a huge vessel rests on the ocean floor. Rushed to the scene is a group of American scientists who descend to the depths of the sea to investigate this astonishing discovery. What they find defies their imaginations and mocks their attempts at logical explanation. It is a massive spaceship, undamaged from it's fall from the sky-and at least three hundred years old.