Back home

Sphere

1735 votes

Producing House

A spacecraft is discovered on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, presumed to be at least 300 years old and of alien origin. A crack team of scientists and experts is assembled and taken to the Habitat, a state-of-the-art underwater living environment, to investigate.

movie

Status: Released

Released Date: 1998-02-13

Runtime: 134 mins

Director: Barry Levinson

Spoken language: English

Genres: Science Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

Original title: Sphere

Production Companies: Warner Bros. Pictures, Punch Productions, Baltimore Pictures, Constant c Productions

Production Countries: United States of America

Reviews

W

Wuchak
**_The power to actualize your thoughts and fears_** A huge spacecraft at the bottom of the Pacific ocean with a strange, humming sphere found inside. A team of scientists are sent down to investigate – a psychologist (Dustin Hoffman), a mathematician (Samuel L. Jackson), a biochemist (Sharon Stone) and an astrophysicist (Liev Schreiber). Two notable characters at the station on the ocean floor are played by Peter Coyote and Queen Latifah. Mystery and (some) horror ensue. Based on Michael Crichton's 1987 novel, "Sphere" (1998) intermixes elements of other scif-fi flicks, like "Forbidden Planet," "Solaris," "Alien," "Galaxy of Terror" and "The Abyss." Like those movies, the plot involves a small group of people who are isolated from society and encounter the unknown. The theme is the actualization of one's thoughts and fears and the potential for good or, more likely, bad that comes with it. Are we mature enough as a species to handle such power? Of course, we already have this power, just not to the degree depicted in the story (seemingly). Anything important that we do, whether productive or destructive, is formulated within first and then manifests without, like a song or a book or a loving relationship. If we truly knew the power at our disposal we'd hardly be able to sleep at night we'd be so excited! The first hour or so is quite good because the film definitely makes you feel like you're at the bottom of the ocean. The mystery is engaging and the actors formidable. Unfortunately, some parts of the second half don't work so well, which destroys the illusion of the movie. As far as the ending goes, it features tricky material that's not easy to pull off. The fact that it's somewhat successful is largely due to having great actors. Despite the murkiness of parts of the second half, the theme is great. This isn't a slasher film in space, like "Alien," and refuses exploitive thrills, like "Galaxy of Terror." Rather, it shoots for well-acted drama and thought-provoking ideas. However, there are some harrowing aspects, like the jelly fish sequence. While many lambaste "Sphere," it wasn't the box office dog you might think in light of the bad press. It made $37 million (in 1998 dollars) in the USA alone, which is hardly a clunker. The problem was that it cost over twice that to make. It runs 2 hours, 14 minutes. GRADE: B- QUESTIONS ON THE THEME (***Don't read further unless you've seen the film***) Why is it that the dark side of the human subconscious is empowered by the alien technology/entity? Why not the positive side? The four scientists (and the others) strike me as quality souls who pretty much have it together. While not perfect human specimens, they're strong people who have their phobias and destructive emotions under control. So why aren't their GOOD, PRODUCTIVE thoughts/desires manifested rather than the bad? I could see if the story took place in a prison and the characters were pieces of sheet, but that's not the case. Also, who or what does the sphere represent? The Fountain of Life (Psalm 36:9)?
2024-11-09

K

Kamurai
Great watch, would watch again, and do recommend. I feel like I have a thing for the isolationism of deep sea bases. "Bioshock", "Deep Blue Sea", "The Meg", "Underwater", "The Abyss": just the idea of being far away from any help in the most dangerous living conditions possible on the planet. Add in a mysteriously time traveling alien sphere and let bake in the survival situation where people are losing their minds and things keep manifesting into existence. It's a little insane, but it has a quality cast, plot, and some great action for all the characters being a bunch of nerds.
2021-06-30

J

JPV852
Interesting idea but poorly executed and overly long. Acting was okay but nobody really stood out. At least some of the effects weren't too bad for 1998. I actually back in the day read the novel but don't remember anything from it, just know this adaptation was pretty different. **2.5/5**
2020-07-20

Recommendations

Ejecta
1.9

Ejecta

2014-09-24

Two men witness an unexplainable event in the sky as a historic solar storm approaches, and they try

The Cosmic Eye
2.9

The Cosmic Eye

1986-06-06

Earth is visited by a race of aliens, who issue an ultimatum: either peace or complete destruction.

The 39 Steps
3.7

The 39 Steps

1935-06-06

Richard Hanney has a rude awakening when a glamorous female spy falls into his bed - with a knife in

The Silence of the Lambs
4.2

The Silence of the Lambs

1991-02-14

Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to int

Terminator 2: Judgment Day
4.1

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

1991-07-03

Ten years after the events of the original, a reprogrammed T-800 is sent back in time to protect you

Strange Days
3.5

Strange Days

1995-10-13

Former policeman Lenny Nero has moved into a more lucrative trade: the illegal sale of virtual reali

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
3.1

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

2003-07-02

It's been 10 years since John Connor saved Earth from Judgment Day, and he's now living under the ra

Swimming Pool
3.2

Swimming Pool

2003-05-21

A British crime novelist travels to her publisher's upmarket summer house in Southern France to seek

Mystic River
3.9

Mystic River

2003-10-08

The lives of three men who were childhood friends are shattered when one of them suffers a family tr

Alien
4.1

Alien

1979-05-25

During its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a di

AVP: Alien vs. Predator
3

AVP: Alien vs. Predator

2004-08-12

When scientists discover something near Antarctica that appears to be a buried Pyramid, they send a

Die Hard 2
3.5

Die Hard 2

1990-07-03

One year after his heroics in Los Angeles, John McClane is an off-duty cop who is the wrong guy in t

Secret Window
3.3

Secret Window

2004-03-12

Mort Rainey, a writer just emerging from a painful divorce with his ex-wife, is stalked at his remot

Primal Fear
3.8

Primal Fear

1996-03-06

Defense attorney Martin Vail takes on jobs for money and prestige rather than any sense of the great

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
3.4

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

1989-02-17

Bill and Ted are high school buddies starting a band. They are also about to fail their history clas

Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
3.1

Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey

1991-07-19

Amiable slackers Bill and Ted are once again roped into a fantastical adventure when De Nomolos, a v

The Hunt for Red October
3.7

The Hunt for Red October

1990-03-02

A new technologically-superior Soviet nuclear sub, the Red October, is heading for the U.S. coast un

Escape from the Planet of the Apes
3.2

Escape from the Planet of the Apes

1971-05-20

The world is shocked by the appearance of three talking chimpanzees, who arrived mysteriously in a s

Misery
3.9

Misery

1990-11-30

After an accident, acclaimed novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by a nurse who claims to be his bigges

Copycat
3.3

Copycat

1995-10-27

An agoraphobic psychologist and a female detective must work together to take down a serial killer w