Maybe the quality of the current crop of movies has made it look better, in hindsight?
Reviews were mixed to negative at the time, though have improved since. They had already worked together on Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves. Kevin Reynolds’ career was derailed by the original Waterworld and his relationship with Costner became strained. Like a soggy Mad Max, he aided a woman (Jeanne Tripplehorn) and a girl (Tina Majorino) seeking the legendary ‘dry land’. Kevin Costner played The Mariner, an underwater-breathing mutant with webbed feet who sailed a trimaran around this waterscape. Set after the polar ice caps have melted, an event that e were all told was imminent by Al Gore and friends back in the mid-1990s, humanity was reduced to a waterborne existence. 10 Cloverfield Lane and Predator: Skull director Dan Trachtenberg is on board to direct.
The series is planned as a continuation of the film, picking up with the same characters twenty years later. Original producers John Davis and John Fox have confirmed that they are working with Universal on a series sequel to the Kevin Costner post-apocalyptic movie. It turned a profit, despite the incredibly high (for 1995) cost of $175 million. Unfairly maligned as a flop, Waterworldwas actually moderately successful at the box office and then absolutely smashed it on video and home rental.