Review of The Abyss (1989) by Elaine M — 25 Jun 2009

James Cameron's underwater sci-fi epic 'The Abyss' ties a rather tiresome love story together with an explosively exciting deep sea alien adventure that more than compensates with fancy performances from Ed Harris, Michael Biehn, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and some typically overwhelming Cameron-style visuals.

Anyone who claims the aliens were unnecessary or not a big enough part of the story just doesn't understand the point of the film- the subtle introduction of the fantastical elements to the plot just makes the movie more realistic and the ending even more astounding.

Sure, the romance is seriously lame in parts, but it's totally worth it just to hear Harris scream 'God-dammit you bitch, you never backed away from anything in your life' and slap his wife across the face.

..although I think we can all agree Miss Pretention should have stayed the fuck dead so we wouldn't have had to listen to her repulsively vomitous speech in the following scene. Whatever, great film from one of the most refined sci-fi writers/directors living or dead, that is however understandably forgettable when put up against 'T2' and 'Aliens'.

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