Collier Jennings is a writer for Collider who focuses on science fiction, comics, and television. He also writes for AIPT Comics.
Michael Crichton is one of the few authors who's consistently seen his work adapted to the big screen. Sometimes, the results are great; Jurassic Park gave birth to a long-running movie franchise . Sometimes, they aren't: despite having the considerable talents of Richard Donner, Timeline turned out to be a major flop.
But one adaptation has flown under the radar: Sphere. Based on Crichton's 1987 novel, Sphere follows a group of scientists — Norman Goodman , Harry Adams , Beth Halperin and Ted Fielding — who discover a massive spacecraftt containing a shimmering golden sphere that resides at the bottom of the ocean. But as they investigate the spacecraft, they're drawn into a web of tragedy and madness, and director Barry Levinson crafted a compelling thriller that captured the essence of Crichton's novel. 'Sphere' Keeps Its Protagonists – and the Audience – Guessing Close From the minute the scientists descend into the deep, Sphere starts throwing a multitude of twists at the viewer. The aircraft that the scientists visit isn't actually alien in nature, but rather, it comes from the future. The sphere itself begins to grant psychic powers to the people who enter it, which results in their subconscious throwing all kinds of threats at their companions. When Harry enters the sphere, his deep-ridden fears give birth to colossal forms of sealife, including a giant squid that nearly wrecks the habitat the scientists are residing in. But the creepiest part comes when the sphere exhibits a form of artificial intelligence, which calls itself"Jerry." Jerry seems to be benevolent at first, but Goodman puts forward a chilling question:"What happens if Jerry gets mad?" Out of any other actor's mouth, it would sound ridiculous, but Hoffman delivers it with the perfect amount of gravity. In fact, Sphere wouldn't have been able to sell its twisty mystery without the involvement of Hoffman, Stone, and Jackson. All three actors perfectly capture the curiosity of a scientist in their respective performances, but also the paranoia that comes with being at the bottom of the sea, inches away from a mysterious piece of technology that they don't know anything about. This is especially prominent in the scene with the aforementioned giant squid: when Beth first encounters the squid, Stone's performance shifts from curiosity to terror, punctuated by Elliot Goldenthal's rising score. What really makes this scene terrifying is that the squid isn't completely seen. The protagonists, as well as the audience, only get brief glimpses of the beast. There's even a hint of Harry's budding psychic powers, as he's reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, a book that also features a massive squid. 'Sphere' Suffered From Behind-the-Scenes Drama Though Sphere's protagonists are beset by giant squids and alien technology, Barry Levinson had his own monster to battle: the post-production process. Due to its massive budget, Warner Bros. decided to push Sphere back from a Christmas release date so that the script could be revised. This led Levinson to shoot Wag the Dog, which also starred Hoffman, in the interim. But even when Levinson returned to Sphere, he had to deal with Warner Bros. ordering major re-shoots a month before its theatrical release. Related Paul McCartney and Isaac Asimov Once Tried To Make a Sci-Fi Movie Together, and It Would’ve Rocked No pun intended. Posts 1 The end result led to a critical drubbing — with Roger Ebert referring to it as a"watered-down take on the sci-fi classic Solaris" — and bombing at the box office. Ironically, one review of Sphere wound up influencing Levinson's next film. He reveals that he wrote and directed Liberty Heights when Entertainment Weekly's Lisa Schwatzbaum wrote a paragraph arguing that Norman Goodman was"the empathetic Jewish psychologist.""For days it troubled me. Negative reviews are part of filmmaking, but what did this comment mean?" Levinson said prior to Liberty Heights' release. HBO and Robert Downey Jr. Tried To Revive 'Sphere' as a TV Series Sphere may not have made an impact on the big screen, but it definitely made an impact on HBO. The network greenlit a TV series based on Sphere, which had some considerable talent behind the scenes. Not only did Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, who adapted Michael Crichton's film Westworld into a critically acclaimed TV series, board the project as producer, but Robert Downey Jr. and his wife Susan were also producers under their Team Downey banner. Though the Sphere series was greenlit in 2020, it seems that everyone involved has moved on to different projects: Nolan and Joy signed a deal with Amazon, leading to the debut of Fallout, while Downey is slated to portray Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday and its follow-up, Avengers: Secret Wars. Despite its box office bombing and critical panning, Sphere is still a solid sci-fi thriller. It had a cast that elevated the material, a solid premise, and even boasted Crichton as one of its producers - meaning that, unlike other adaptations, it hewed fairly close to the source material. It will also make viewers think twice before they head out into the ocean. Your Rating close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10 Your comment has not been saved Sphere PG-13 Sci-Fi Mystery Thriller Horror Release Date February 13, 1998 Director Barry Levinson Writers Stephen Hauser, Paul Attanasio, Michael Crichton Cast See All
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