Review of The Abyss (1989) by Drake M — 01 Apr 2010

James Cameron's "The Abyss - Special Edition" is a movie about a group of underwater oil drillers who are asked by the US Navy to rescue a downed submarine near their position. The events that follow dictate the struggles of the crew while the ship they're on begins to collapse around them, and their dealings with an unknown force in the water. For those familiar with Cameron's latest movie, this one follows a similar layout: it was very long, very exciting, had fantastic special effects, and was kind of preachy. Unfortunately, it never got anywhere near the amounts of excitement and publicity that Cameron's latest flick did = which is a shame, since it's another quality movie in his filmography.

For the first half, the focus was more on the atmosphere than the characters. The excitement of the quickly deteriorating ship distracted from the simple script that didn't feign intelligence with an abundance of scientific jargon. The ship was appropriately claustrophobic and realistic-looking, which contributed to the already fearful and anxious emotions of audience. In fact, so much work went into making the film look authentic that "The Abyss" set the record for having the largest underwater set ever. This shows throughout, and the many action sequences genuinely feel like they're taking place with submarines at the bottom of the ocean.

The latter half of the movie tended to center around the mental deterioration of the crew. Ed Harris and Mary E. Mastrantonio delivered surprisingly powerful performances as Bud and Lindsey Brigman. While their relationship began in a rather clichéd way, it quickly evolved into a more heartfelt onscreen connection that really bloomed in the last minutes of the movie. Other minor characters did well to develop a sense of hysteria in the crowded underwater vessel. Conversations between these characters after bouts of action did well to add sufficient time for the viewers to calm down, and it's because of this repetitive up/down pacing that the special edition could be three hours long without becoming boring. Overall, the acting ended up being better than one could have expected in what is essentially an action film.

The ending served as a vessel for Cameron's concerns about the environment, a theme he seems to like. Without seeming preachy or backhanded, the final scenes both added meaning to the movie and tacked on an unsurprising twist that felt natural, but different in tone from the rest of the movie. The climax and denouement made the movie take a turn for the sentimental, relying mainly on the emotional reactions of the crew to carry the action forward. Because of this, the pace changed significantly during the last thirty minutes of the movie. It became more of a heart-whrenching drama than a thriller.

Remaining both powerfully entertaining and fantastically executed throughout, "The Abyss" is a surprisingly under appreciated film in Cameron's library. Definitely worth a watch or two for both lovers of "Avatar" who want to see more of Cameron's work, and anyone looking for a great movie in general.