An all-star cast is tasked with investigating what appears to be an alien space craft on the ocean's bottom. This is not your ordinary man meets alien type of movie. In fact the "alien" is never really well established. The movie, while it has a sci-fi background is more of a psychological mystery. If your science fiction expectation for aliens and gadgets are not too high, this is an enjoyable film, a more cerebral science fiction.

There are no creepy aliens, no f-bombs, no sex, no nudity.

Psychiatrist Dr Norman Goodman (Dustin Hoffman) once wrote a manual on what to do with an encounter with an unknown life form for the government.

When the authorities find something alien, the military bring in Dr Goodman along with biochemist Dr Elizabeth Halperin (Sharon Stone) mathematician Dr Harry Adams (Samuel L Jackson) and astrophysicist Dr Ted Fielding (Liev Schreiber.) They are to investigate a spacecraft that landed in the pacific ocean almost 300 years ago.

The scientists go deep below the ocean and are astonished to find that the spacecraft is from Earth but from the future that somehow travelled back to the past. Inside the ship is a sphere and some kind of sentient entity which manifests people's fears that threatens to destroy them.

There is some pedigree in this adaptation of a Michael Crichton novel. The film is directed by Oscar winner, Barry Levinson. The problem is that apart from being overlong and dull. The film does not do much with its interesting premise. The film kills of its characters one by one, starting with a black character. We get people having terrifying visions and not realising what is real and what is not, but the film just falls apart and wastes its cast.

A largely disappointing thriller adapted from a book by Michael Crichton, which is both overlong and boring at times, although not totally without merit. The film starts off well with the initial underwater exploration of the alien craft, and the sphere itself, a most impressive creation. Sadly after this set-up, it seems that nobody really knew where to go, so instead it becomes standard run-of-the-mill fare with the members of the undersea station getting bumped off one by one (although the varied deaths, including jellyfish attack, fire, etc. are impressive and well-staged). The confusing storyline involves the alien sphere channelling people's unconscious thoughts and fears and bringing them to life, thus turning everybody on each other and killing themselves. It sounds more exciting than it is.

The big budget is impressive, both in the underwater visuals and special effects, which are limited and kept to a minimum rather than over the top as per usual. The photography is interesting, the sets varied, and the action, when it occurs, is accompanied by an old-fashioned music score which adds to the excitement. Sadly, for the most part the film just sort of meanders on with not much occurring and nobody getting any closer to discovering the truth.

Dustin Hoffman is good, as expected, as the lead, although his heart doesn't seem to be in it. Sharon Stone is merely adequate as the female crew member, sometimes embarrassing when she supposedly loses it. Samuel L. Jackson is once again excellent as the first crew member to go inside the sphere, who may or may not be a villain; his edgy turn is one of the film's highlights. Liev Schreiber is a pretty ineffectual although likable scientist who doesn't seem to figure much. Peter Coyote has a minor role as an official who gets trapped in a closing door and cut in two (like in DEEP STAR SIX). Rapper Queen Latifah is unnoticeable in a very minor bit part as a technician.

There are some effective scares, like the arrival of the giant squid, plus the genuinely scary attacks by water snakes which lunge at the camera. Also some nice touches, like the book that Jackson reads that's blank after page 87 (probably the cleverest bit of the film). Sadly the long-expected ending is rushed and a disappointment, relying on that old, old cliché of a bomb timer ticking down as the participants rush to escape, and culminating in a huge explosion that looks nice but seems to be a weak way of tying up all the loose ends. Although SPHERE has its moments, it's undoubtedly a bad film, a flop that had people staying away from the cinema in droves. I would recommend it only to the most dedicated sci-fi fan who might get a few thrills from it and doesn't mind wasting a couple of hours in the process.