Review of The Abyss (1989) by Kat K — 09 Dec 2009

The Abyss: A suffocating suspenseful underwater voyage that is both beautiful and mysterious 8.9/10.

James Cameron's 1989 long and traumatic underwater sci-fi is often disregarded by critics, and currently holds an unimpressive average score of 6.9/10 on RT. The tumultuous film endured one of the most troubled shoots in motion picture history, and Cameron's restored three hour version is an absolute classic and a sight to behold, finely gluing together this sprawling original mess into a more coherent and claustrophobic film. The acting on display here is mezmerisingly under-stated, and one of my favourite scenes in film is here. Having just endured a clash and crash with a rogue Navy SEAL ( a self harming Michael Biehn) in her submersible and seen some aliens down under on the ocean floor, it clearly hadn't been a very good day for Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. With a rapidly flooding craft and only one suit already worn by Harris, Mary's survival lays in the hands of fate when she is forced to drown in the hopes of resuscitation later. It's a powerful evocative and brilliantly acted scene, as Lindsey (Mastrantonio) tries to fight her impulses against the fluid that is flooding her lungs while her husband Bud (Harris) can only watch on. In the cramped high tense surroundings Cameron created and a brilliantly assembled suspenseful score by Alan Silverstri (when Bud has to tow his beau back to the deck) a highly emotional and believable performance is manufactured (I suggest you watch the scene on Youtube if the entire feature is not to your liking.)Overall James Camerons most interesting and mysterious film as well as his most under-rated suffers from its tedious epic scale and some trite dialogue sequences. Having said that, tension is built up well in some breathtakingly beautiful set peices and some fabulous film photography. The film still remains the largest underwater set ever made and I doubt that will ever be broken. The film reflects its location. It's dark, moody and creepy at times and the special effects for 1989 hold up better than most films do today. The water tentacle snaking its way around the rig remains jaw-dropping and pioneering in the CGI debacle though decidedly weird. Cameron doesn't do things by half but the half shoddy ending on the theatrical version spoil this film which is littered with some iconic moments in film. Having seen the extended verison with an ultimately more impressive and fitting ending The Abyss just eclipses T2 in my own personal taste as Cameron's second best feature. Will it become an even bigger cult film? That remains to be seen. A film of this magnitude always has something new and fresh about it on multiple viewings. A winner through and through!

Rated (15).

Total Running Time: 171 Minutes.

Final Score: 89/100.