This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 11th, 2007 at 8:51 am and is filed under A, Action, Drama, Science Fiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn, Leo Burmester, Todd Graff, John Bedford, Kimberly Scott.
The Abyss is an original and impressive action/adventure movie by a big budget master, James Cameron, who also wrote the screenplay. There is a strong cast playing well developed characters, and an outstanding story that offers excitement, suspense and wonder. The production values are spectacular. It probably would have benefited from a sharper editing knife, but this only seems to take effect on subsequent viewings and as for the science and believability, well, did I mention the outstanding story?
Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio play Virgil and Lindsay Brigman, a separated couple leading commercial divers working on an underwater work site, who find themselves asked to help in a rescue/salvage mission of a mysteriously sunken submarine. A small band of Navy Seals, led by Lt. Coffey (Michael Biehn) are sent to guide them, but things get a lot more tricky when a hurricane and an accident sink their underwater base, cut them off from contact and give them a limited time to find a solution or die. That’s still not all their problems, though! Other issues soon arise, as well…
The making of this ambitious movie was riddled with problems and the strain led to a breakdown for Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. The results are pleasing for armchair spectators, though. The Abyss is James Cameron’s most underrated work and I hesitate to make comparisons to other films out of fear of ruining the many surprises that this feature packs. If you have seen it, then you don’t need me to tell you what its like. If you haven’t, then its an excellent Friday night choice. Stick with the theatrical version. Its more than long enough. The extended version is wayyyy too long, and really detracts from the impact of the original.
