Rating: 
Summary: DVD 5,Special Effects 5, Plot 4, Movie 2!!
Review: This movie starts off with an extremely fascinating plot: a vessel has been located 1000 feet down on the ocean floor; its very large - a fin alone is 100 feet tall; it has a perfect sphere inside. These items alone would give any competent film-maker the necessary material for a very good movie. Not-so the makers of Sphere. A great deal of the movie is spent dazzling the viewer with very good special-effects. An equal amount of time should have been spent including many of the dialogues, from Crichton's book, the crew has with the alien intelligence. As it is, the movie does drag. As compensation, of a sort, I did learn a lot about the toxic properties of marine life on the ocean floor, and thats worth something! The DVD picture is beautifully clear, and the 6 (uh...5.1) channels of digital sound will put your home-theater system, and your neighbors, through their paces. For a Science-fiction fanatic like myself it was okay. It should have been Great!! END
Rating: 
Summary: Worth Watching
Review: I was a little surprised by Jeff Shannon's trouncing of this movie above. Sphere is not a seamless yarn from stern to aft; but, other than Contact and Gattaca, it's perhaps the only sci-fi movie of recent vintage to have anything intelligent to say about anything. Though it has its moments, Sphere does not serve up the special effects smorgasbord we've been conditioned to expect from this genre. What it offers instead is an intelligent, suspenseful ride in the isolation of the ocean floor. There a team of very human scientists attempts to make sense of a series of dangerous and bazaar happenings following their contact with a sunken object of alien origin. Sphere has a bit of a who-done-it element and throws enough twists and turns at you to keep you guessing. The story could have benefited from some fleshing out in places. I suspect the book does a better job of this, as books usually do. The ending is more thought provoking than eye popping, although nothing too terribly profound. A few important questions are left unanswered. The acting, however, is solid overall, led by Dustin Hoffman's fine performance. Despite a few shortcomings, Sphere is an intelligent, well-paced thriller and creates a suspenseful atmosphere that carries you right up to the end. Worth watching.
Rating: 
Summary: Loved the book and the movie
Review: I think it can be pointless to compare the movie to the book, in all cases, because they're two different pieces of work. The movie is "based' off the book almost always; it isn't an exact representation, and how could it be? Reading a book is an entirely different experience than watching a movie. The book is amazing. So is the movie, in my opinion. I thought the cast and the acting was stellar, and I was always enthralled and caught in suspense. I think the ending is beautiful, not anticlimactic. Why does the ending of a science fiction thriller always have to be a huge climax? This is a unique ending that wraps everything up in a very simple way. This will always be one of my favorite movies.
Rating:
Summary: Big Budget, Bigger Stars, Biggest Disappointment
Review: OK, pretend that you want to make a movie just like "Event Horizon" except it takes place underwater. Oh wait, they did. It's called "Sphere". This is a very uninspired, unoriginal movie with lukewarm performances all around. Big name cast, big money production, big disappoint. Totally unnecessary film - you don't need to see this one. I suggest renting "Event Horizon" first. Pay attention to the dream manifestation sequences. Now watch "Sphere". Aren't these the same ideas just done in a new setting? Worth a rent maybe, but don't buy this.
Rating:
Summary: A solid sci-fi movie for people who think.
Review: First of all I think most critics have savagely attacked this movie unfairly. The movie is not your typical sci-fi movie in several regards. 1) It does not have a "special effects blowout" at the end, actually the movie doesn't even have a climax (do all movies have to have one?). I think this bothered a lot of folks. 2) It is not driven by special effects, the only effects are there to service the plot (I wish more movies could claim this). 3) It is a bit talky, but then Michael Crichton's stories always have a solid foundation in science, and usually have a diverse team of scientists to explore whatever phenomena the story is about, so of course these scientists are going to talk! In other words, it is mindful rather than mindless. 4) It is logically consistent. What I mean by this is that, since it is science FICTION, of course it is going to make stuff up that isn't real science. But is it consistent? That is, if you take the movie's premises about the spacecraft and the sphere to be true, does the rest of the movie make sense? I say yes. 5) Lastly, the movie has haunted-house elements, which bothered me at first until I realized, along with the characters (as the plot unfolded), what the nature of these elements were. Again, the movie was consistent. I saw this movie after a good friend recommended it, but knowing that it was trashed by most critics. So see it with an open mind, and you just may enjoy it for what it is, an atypical sci-fi movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Lots of potential stymied by an unfulfilling plot
Review: I really enjoyed the first two-thirds of this movie, but the plot ended up going in a really weird, awkward direction that culminated in a disappointing dead end of a conclusion. Worst of all, many questions are just never answered, and a little hocus pocus at the end only adds to the unfulfilling experience. I have to question a good bit of the science found in Sphere as well, but I'm willing to overlook that kind of thing if the story really delivers, and this story does not really deliver at all. The cast is an impressive one, the special effects are cool if not always ultra-realistic, and the movie does engender a feeling of wonder followed by an increasing sense of suspense throughout the first hour and forty five minutes or so, so it seems clear to me that the source of my dissatisfaction is the plot. Dr. Norman Johnson (Dustin Hoffman), a psychologist, thinks he is being taken to the site of a plane crash in order to work with the survivors of the trauma, but the truth of the matter, which he discovers only after his arrival, is that he is supposed to lead a science team beneath the ocean to study the submerged remains of a spaceship. His fellow scientists are a motley crew, all of them named with little forethought in a report Johnson wrote years earlier on the subject of hypothetical contact with alien creatures. His team consists of a mathematician (Samuel L. Jackson), an astrophysicist (Live Schreiber), a biologist (Sharon Stone), and a mysterious military type of team leader (Peter Coyote). I can't conceive of the government bringing together such a group of private citizens for such an unprecedented investigation, and I know the government would have found out that Stone's character was Johnson's former patient and mistress with a suicide attempt under her belt. In a matter of hours, the scientists are rushed through deep sea environment training and sent down to the bottom of the ocean. From their underwater habitat, they attempt to study the huge spacecraft stretched out before them. They find evidence that the spaceship is actually an American craft, even though it crashed over three hundred years ago. After finding a huge, deeply mysterious sphere on board the ship, the crew strikes up a strange communication with an unknown, Hal-like entity. Soon thereafter, their habitat comes under attack by a giant squid, jellyfish attack, and all sorts of emergencies arise that place scientist against scientist in a mental fight for survival. There is a lot of exciting action as events work themselves out toward a conclusion. The manifestations of the alien entity are given a pretty quirky explanation, and this becomes problematic as events race toward a final climax. That final climax is hardly a final climax at all, as suddenly the survivors adopt a completely new view of the sphere and of their incredible experiences at the bottom of the ocean. The movie moved along in fourth gear until the final few scenes, at which point somebody threw the whole thing into reverse; this does nothing and no one any good, especially we passengers who booked passage on the trip. The whole thing ended up being way too hokey for my tastes, with an ending that did not do justice to all of the work that led up to it.
Rating:
Summary: A lot better than I thought it would be...
Review: The OSSA discovers a spacecraft thought to be at least 300 years old at the bottom of the ocean. Immediately following the discovery, they decide to send a team down to the depths of the ocean to study the space craft. The following civilians are recruited: psychologist Dr. Norman Goodman (Dustin Hoffman), biochemist Dr. Beth Halperin (Sharon Stone), mathematician Dr. Harry Adams (Samuel L. Jackson), and astrophysicist Dr. Ted Fielding (Liev Schreiber). They are the best of best, smart and logical, and the perfect choice to learn more about the spacecraft. But even their intelligence may not be able to comprehend and understand the strange and terrifying events which start to take place after they discover a strange, golden, and perfect sphere on the craft. Things become worse as they are stranded at the bottom of the ocean without any means of escape. That's when they receive the first transmission... I had heard from my father and sister that "Sphere" was very good and extremely well made so I decided to first check out the reviews on it. I was a little surprised to see such mixed reviews, one half saying how horrible and cheesy it was, while another half was proclaiming how wonderful, exciting, and worth watching it was. So what else was I to do but see for myself what "Sphere" is like? Which I did and I thought it was an excellent film. I myself have never read Michael Crichton's novel "Sphere" (I guess that's next) so I cannot say whether the movie is true to the book or whether the book was better than the movie or vice versa. But I myself found the story very intriguing, from the mysterious origin of the spacecraft and the sphere to the events which take place in the crew's habitat. The plot was both original yet familiar, the familiar parts being one of the complaints of some watchers. "Sphere" had elements of many such science fiction/thrillers, most especially the dynamic film "Alien". Which is not all that bad. The conclusion, when the main characters finally solve the mystery was just so incredible! The ending was a bit disappointing for me since it felt like the movie was a bit cut short. I wish the end was maybe 5 to 10 minutes longer, either lengthening the middle or adding more at the end. But on the whole the movie storyline was very satisfying. As for the acting I didn't have many complaints. Dustin Hoffman is the perfect psychologist as he tries to think, reason, and solve the mysterious events. He certainly looks very terrified throughout the movie! Sharon Stone is also pretty good though some people have been saying her acting was terrible. Samuel L. Jackson is incredible as his role of the mathematician. Each and every character's reaction to all the events is acted out terrifically, making you all the more NOT want to be in their shoes! But the way the movie draws you into the story is what really makes the movie entertainingly fun to watch. Well, I wouldn't really associate the word 'fun' with "Sphere". "Sphere" is very well directed, and I meant it when I wrote down that you will get drawn into the movie. The suspense isn't generated by lots of action, it's the tension you get since "Sphere" is just so psychologically terrifying! The directing was simply fantastic, around the last half of the movie making you wonder who is to be trusted, and who not to be trusted. Put it all together, "Sphere" is an exciting and suspenseful film and I enjoyed it very much. If you're convinced that "Sphere" sounds like something fun to watch, go for it! But if you're still contemplating whether or not it's any good, rent it out once since you'll never know if you'll like it if you never see it. Be warned though, the movie is PG-13 rated for some profanity, scary images, and some violence. "Sphere" is not for the weak-hearted. And whatever you do...! Don't have any nightmares... (wink!)
Rating:
Summary: A great movie, supported by a great cast!
Review: Sphere is wonderful movie. It has a great cast including Dustin Hoffman, Samuel L. Jackson, and Sharon Stone. Also features good performances by Liev Schrieber and Peter Coyote. Sphere tells the story of a spacecraft which was found crashed into the Pacific Ocean. Yet its discovered that it crashed there 300 years ago. A team is sent down below the depths of the ocean to investigate. I wish I knew why people bash this movie so badly. Sure the book may have been better, but the movie is still really good and for some reason I still watch over and over. The acting, story, and special effects are superb. Fans of Hoffman must see this. The dvd is pretty good, it features and interesting commentary by Jackson and Hoffman. Rated PG-13 for violence and profanity.
Rating:
Summary: Sphere (1998)
Review: Director: Barry Levinson
Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Samuel L. Jackson, Sharon Stone, Liev Schrieber.
Running Time: 144 minutes.
Rated PG-13 for violence and language. The success of Michael Crichton's "Jurassic Park", "The Lost World", "Congo" (well, not so much), and his "E.R." television series caused Hollywood studio executives to swallow up any undisturbed pieces of his work that had not yet been brought to the big screen. Enter : "Sphere", featuring an all-star cast, a top-notch drama director, and a self-destructing story line that eventually ruins a beautifully made, well-acted science fiction romp. When a three-century old space vessel is found at the bottom of the ocean, the government sends its most intelligent, qualified individuals to study the vessel in order to determine why it is at the bottom of the body of water and what happened to it. Dustin Hoffman (a psychologist), Samuel L. Jackson (a mathematician), and Sharon Stone (a biochemist) star as they individuals who investigate the mysterious ship. They discover a strange, otherworldly Sphere in the center of the craft, not knowing its purpose or what it does. What they later find out is that the Sphere can alter their thoughts, perceptions, and desires, manipulating their every move. The team turns against themselves and the abandoned ship becomes the stage for deception, mystique, and terror. The first half of "Sphere" is superb, as Levinson unravels the plot swiftly and latches onto the audience using his marvelously constructed cast; however, the second half of the film lags and the final payoff is neither powerful or suspenseful. The entire cast gives fine performances, the special effects are quite good, but overall this adaptation of the popular Crichton novel does not live up to the hype. Not a complete disappointment; should have been a much more enchanting, enjoyable suspense sci-fi thriller.
Rating:
Summary: Big Budget, Bigger Stars, Biggest Disappointment
Review: OK, pretend that you want to make a movie just like "Event Horizon" except it takes place underwater. Oh wait, they did. It's called "Sphere". This is a very uninspired, unoriginal movie with lukewarm performances all around. Big name cast, big money production, big disappoint. Totally unnecessary film - you don't need to see this one. I suggest renting "Event Horizon" first. Pay attention to the dream manifestation sequences. Now watch "Sphere". Aren't these the same ideas just done in a new setting? Worth a rent maybe, but don't buy this.
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