::READERS REVIEWS::

An interesting movie from an interested viewer - **take this in mind before viewing***

most of the reviews written are biased and can't be taken seriously. Does no one want to just take a movie by face value anymore?

Everyone has commentary on its content, how it was done, the ending, the action and fx during the crucial points.

This is how you need to watch this movie:

Go into it as you would view things when you are a child!! Don't expect anything except to have a good story told. Its in this way that you get a really great story from the movie.

I feel that when people say the ending is crap, well, they have a skewed sense of things. Thats basically been the same ending for the past 70 yrs from the original of the original books. Does everyone need a "kick in the face" type of ending. BAD GUY LOSES, GOOD GUY WINS. YESSSS!!!!!!!
I find it hilarious that people can't stand it if no one wins or the good guy dies or EVERYONE dies or if there is just the mystery left.

Does anything in life end so definitively??? the answer is mostly no, so in that case, why would movies always have to end with a definite conclusion!?
Just accept that the stars do a GREAT job interacting, don't be so harsh and judge the movie off of what seems to an INCREDIBLY narrow-minded perspective of action/sci-fi/fiction movies.

When you open up your imagination, stop caring about fx and needing an evil vs. good super ending of battle to the death with a definitive ending, thats when you realize this is an amazing movie.

it is a mystery movie, plain and simple, and if you can't handle mysteries, this is not a movie for you.

Sphere is FEAR! - Are you ever bothered when a person does not answer a question you ask? How about if they don't even acknowledge your existence like your presence is void? This feeling of which I meditate upon is exhibited by Dustin Hoffman's character in "Sphere" perfectly after his crew mates start going into "The Sphere" one after another. To truly enjoy this film, put yourself in the shoes of Dustin Hoffman, who is accompanied by other researchers but who is essentially alone once his compatriots are mentally transformed into simpler humans. The one crew member who has these effects down to a T is Samuel L. Jackson whose transformation is drastic from the well-mannered scientist to the overly happy crew member who almost becomes more of a liability than an asset to the crew. All the while monsters are aloof, striking at the crew in various awful ways. And if that's not great enough, just the idea of Queen Latiffa being killed by sea monsters just makes my funny bone tingle, hilarious. I say see this film, it is an enjoyable watch and certainly an eyebrow-raiser of the scientific sorts.

P.S.- Did anyone else really want to read 20,000 Leagues under the sea really badly after watching this film?

Sphere Blu-ray - Typical of old movies transferred to blu-ray, nothing better than DVD; I would say not to waste your money but I've noticed that some of the blu-ray versions are actually cheaper now than the DVD.

Very Entertaining! - This is a good movie, with a very good cast. I have seen this movie many times and I still enjoy it.
It raises the question, "What would humanity do with the ultimate power?"
The power to make all their dreams come true!!! I think that's obvious!!
Watch the movie, and see what you think!!

The only movie I've ever walked out of... - When this movie came out, several of my friends and I were anxious to see it. Big-name stars, lavish special effects, a Michael Crichton story...how could it possibly suck?

An hour into the movie, we all exchanged bored, please-God-make-it-stop glances, and in unison, we got up and left for the blessed relief of daylight. I never read the book, but a co-worker of mine says it was boring, too, which might account for the movie's meandering, non-sensical plot. I'm a big sci-fi fan with a pretty high tolerance for convoluted, hold-on-we're-getting-there storylines, but even I have my limits...what was the point? The dialogue was inane...I agree with the Amazon reviewer: everything felt rushed, like they filmed the rehearsals -- overly wordy lines, haltingly delivered, lacking any conviction or genuine emotion. To be fair, I didn't see the ending, so I can't really say it was the worst sci-fi movie I've ever seen. I will say it was the worst sci-fi movie I couldn't finish.

Decent Film Adaptation of a Solid Science Fiction Novel - Sphere comes from a long line of science fiction motion pictures from the late Michael Crichton's catalog of novels. And it makes sense too when you consider that his material was the inspiration behind the blockbuster Jurassic Park films, television series ER, and the Michael Douglas thriller Disclosure.

Of course fans of MC's novels are aware of the strange reality that not all of his books translate to film so smoothly. Among the sinkers; Congo, The 13th Warrior (Eater's of the Dead), and the disastrous Timeline. Keeping this in mind, it is always a wise idea to approach MC-based films with a bit of skepticism. Fortunately Sphere leans closer to the Jurassic Park side of solid science fiction filmmaking, if even not a perfect translation of all of the potential contained within the book of the same name.

Sphere tells the tale of a team of various scientists and scholars sent in to investigate a massive 300-year-old alien spacecraft discovered resting on the ocean floor. Pacing is quite brisk and, like the book, wastes little time in getting the proverbial wheels turning on the intrigue-portion of the prose (which really is both incarnations of this work's primary hook).

Set mainly in a claustrophobic underwater habit, Sphere manages to pack a whole lot of Hollywood heavy hitters into a confined area: Dustin Hoffman, Samuel L. Jackson, Sharon Stone, Liev Schreiber and the slightly miscast Queen Latifah to mention a few.

Trying to review this picture as an action-adventure wouldn't come close to doing it the justice viewing it as a psychological thriller would and I was acutely aware of this reality going into the film as a longtime fan of the novel. In that regard it delivers, in fact I was actually surprised at how faithful the first ¾ of the movie are to the book- nearly scene for scene! Director Barry Levinson does a very admirable job of creating and capturing a suspenseful mood that inspires as much awe and wonder as it does fear or terror.

Considering that 1998 is what we now consider the very earliest stages of Hollywood's collective paradigm shift from practical effects to computer generated imaging, the film deserves credit for imagery that still holds up incredibly well even by today's standards. While in no danger of being called flashy or heavily visually effected, the film certainly relies more heavily on interesting storytelling than it does eye candy.

What about that story, you wonder? Well it does play with some pretty cool concepts: Time travel, alien intelligence, mental projection, black holes, and the primitive nature of the human condition. And like all Crichton works, it does so with frighteningly realistic scientific backing.

However, all is not perfect in the film translation, namely the conclusion of all things. Not that it is fundamentally flawed beyond enjoyment, but rather it feels a little bit rushed (a feeling confirmed by filmmakers in documentaries about the project). As it stands it works, albeit with a bit of post-viewing discussion necessary about the whys and hows surrounding the final few sequences. Things certainly could have been explained better in my opinion, however, especially considering the amount of time spent and depth established in the characters leading up to the all-important ending. The novel manages to outshine the motion picture in this regard thanks to a slightly clearer explanation of the plot's closing stages.

I'm big on comparing films like this to other contemporary works, if for nothing else to provide a bit of a framework for potential viewers to draw from when considering purchasing, watching, or even just renting the film in question. That said, Sphere would likely appeal to fans of James Cameron's The Abyss, or perhaps even space-set science fiction pictures such as Event Horizon, Sunshine, or Supernova.

Calling it a masterpiece may be a bit too generous with praise but at the same time I find very little about this film that I would personally attempt to correct or improve upon were it mine to tweak (save a bit more precise ending). In all, solid science fiction that, thanks to discount bins everywhere can be had for next to nothing. The DVD even contains a nice chunk of special features including a featurette with the special effects guys and a full-length audio commentary with actors Samuel L. Jackson and a mumbling Dustin Hoffman. Just be forewarned, I was unable to access the menu to view such goodies on my DVD player except by having fast forwarded through the end credits- Points off for the DVD authoring, sure, but no sense missing out on an otherwise solid piece of sci-fi over that.

Your mind is your world - The Sphere, written by Michael Crichton, is another of his masterly explorations into the mysterious realms of reality.

The movie, "The Sphere" invites us into Crichton's world and we see that the Sphere, the principle character in the film, although unmovable, has the power to unlock the unconscious fears and thoughts of the inhabitants of the undersea lab peopled by various scientists and their assistants sent to investigate the Sphere.

What follows isn't real, yet it is to the people experiencing it. The world They live in and perceive is built by their perceptions, both conscious and unconscious. When the unconscious is opened without warning it be very frightening. The movie show this to good effect in my opinion. The finale is when the survivors join minds and literally "forget" what has happened, thus releasing them from the Sphere's influence, and with that release the Sphere goes...home, I guess. My compliments to all the actors in the film they made it very believable. And kudos to the author, wherever you may be. We are left with the challenging question, "What world have we built for ourselves in our own minds?"

Old Timer