Leviathan (1989) ***
I thought that upon revisiting Leviathan (1989) it might be better than I remembered, but it's still a bit mediocre. I don't know if director George P. Cosmatos is to blame, because the pedigree of this film is so impressive (actors Peter Weller, Richard Crenna, Daniel Stern, and Ernie Hudson; composer Jerry Goldsmith; production designer Ron Cobb; special effects designers Stan Winston, Tom Woodruff Jr., and Alec Gillis) that's it's puzzling why it didn't turn out better.
The production values are high and some of the effects are quite good, but the movie is never exciting. I think part of it is because Leviathan is too much like Alien (1979) (review) and The Thing (1982) (review) and part of it is because the stock characters never rise above tropes. The action in the finale is not shot particularly well either (which is odd because, comparatively, Cosmatos' Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) and Cobra (1986) (review) feature great action) and there's some sloppy editing in that section. Additionally, the main creature itself—barely glimpsed (probably for a reason)—is underwhelming.
Still, Leviathan is an entertaining monster flick and the ending (complete with a Jaws (1975) (review) one-liner rip-off) is a trip. Of course, the picture is also notable for being one of three underwater sci-fi movies released in 1989—Sean S. Cunningham's DeepStar Six in January, followed by Leviathan in March, and James Cameron's blockbuster The Abyss in August.
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