Does The Extended Waterworld “Ulysses Cut” Make It A Better Movie?

Waterworld is one of the most infamous blockbusters of all time, but does the fan edit “Ulysses Cut” transform it into a great movie? During the early 1990s, Kevin Costner was on a hot streak of movies that were huge hits and critically well-received. This includes Dances With Wolves – which he also directed – The Bodyguard and JFK. His movie star status took a blow with Waterworld, which is a Mad Max-esque tale about a future world covered almost entirely by water. The blockbuster was a pre-CG spectacle filled with incredible sets, elaborate action and epic vistas.

Word of Waterworld’s messy production was regularly in the news cycle, as issues with filming on the water and other logistic nightmares caused the budget to swell to $175 million. Costner clashed with director Kevin Reynolds too. Despite receiving largely bad reviews upon release, contrary to legend, the movie didn’t bomb. It turned a healthy profit for the studio internationally, although its reputation as a flop likely killed any chance of it becoming a franchise.

The theatrical cut of Kevin Costner’s Waterworld runs at 135 minutes, but a later ABC TV cut added another 40 minutes. They added a lot more depth (no pun intended) to the story and characters, and while it could be argued these additions slowed the pace, it did make the movie a more involving experience. Since it was edited for television, violence and bad language had to be trimmed, so fans decided to edit together a more complete version that was eventually dubbed “The Ulysses Cut.”

This merged the theatrical and TV edits, making the most complete and uncut version of Waterworld there is. This edit was passed along in fan circles for many years before the fabled “Ulysses Cut” got an official release as part of an Arrow Blu-ray special edition in 2019, which runs for 171 minutes. The question of if it elevates Waterworld to a great movie is a tricky one. Viewers have gradually come around to the charms of the original version, appreciating its ambitious scale, worldbuilding and Dennis Hopper’s delightfully manic villain performance.

While Waterworld still has a reputation as a bomb, it has slowly built a cult among those willing to give it a second look. “The Ulysses Cut” is more of it, greatly fleshing out how the world functions and restoring key deletions, like the land the survivors discover at the end being the summit of Mount Everest. It also remains something of a marvel for the sheer unlikeability of Kevin Costner’s Mariner, a loner who can breathe underwater thanks to gills in his neck. The character is only looking out for himself for the majority of the movie and treats his very reluctant passengers like the young girl Enola badly for the first half. He does redeem himself by the end, but it’s doubtful a studio would allow for such a miserable hero now.

Waterworld: The Ulysses Cut falls short of being a great movie, but it is a very entertaining one. It’s a steampunk western filled with imagination and creative lore. Those willing to ignore the movie’s unearned critical drubbing will find lots to dive into.

About The Author

Padraig Cotter
(3484 Articles Published)

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It’s pronounced Paw-rick, not Pad-raig. Now that’s out of the way, a brief introduction. Padraig has been writing about film online since 2012, when a friend asked if he’d like to contribute the occasional review or feature to their site.

A part-time hobby soon blossomed into a career when he discovered he really loved writing about movies, TV and video games – he even (arguably) had a little bit of talent for it. He has written words for Den of Geek, Collider, The Irish Times and Screen Rant over the years, and can discuss anything from the MCU – where Hawkeye is clearly the best character – to the most obscure cult b-movie gem, and his hot takes often require heat resistant gloves to handle.

He’s super modern too, so his favorite movies include Jaws, Die Hard, The Thing, Ghostbusters and Batman. He can be found as i_Padds on Twitter making bad puns.

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