The Abyss is a movie that I watch every year or two and I always say just about the same thing. It is mostly so good that it is angering that it misses being a full on masterpiece because of a storyline that belonged in a different movie.
The movie takes place in a deep water oil rig run by Bud, played by Ed Harris. A nuclear submarine sinks unexpectedly in the Caribbean and the Navy asks the oil rig company for assistance in diving to the wreck and search for survivors. Bud's estranged wife Lindsey played beautifully by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as the designer of the oil rig. She descends to the rogue along with a team of Navy SEALS commanded by Coffey, played by Michael Biehn. The workers on the rig are played well by the cast and make up a tight knit group. The center of the movie is the love/hate dynamic between Bud and Linsdey. They are both very stubborn people who love each other but just don't get along. The SEALS take the Bud and his team to the submarine to supposedly look for survivors. The dive becomes dangerous when one of the oil riggers sees a bright light and panics. The unexpectplained light is assumed to be a Russian weapon of some kind by Coffey, who is now suffering from high pressure nervous syndrome and tells his superiors that he thinks the unexplained phenomenon is the enemy. The go back to the sub to retrieve a nuclear warhead and arm it to destroy the supposed threat. The movievtgen goes from a really great, intense undersea action movie to a science fiction fantasy. The things that are appearing are extra terrestrials. One of them is seen by Lindsay. No one believes her until what seems to be a surveillance device appears and moves around the rig. Of course, Coffey is now psychotic and determined to set off the warhead. The movie then becomes a sort of Close Encounters story with the Bud, Lindsey and the oil team fighting Coffey before he sets of the nuke. In classic Cameron style this movie to this day is visually stunning. It was a groundbreaking use of CGI in 1989 when it came out. The effects still hold up, the extra terrestrials and their ships are beautifully realized. The action is as good as anything James Cameron has ever done. The problem is the final act. The movie is so good for so long and builds to an ending that should be awe inspiring but it really isn't. The main performances are so good and we care about these characters and what they're going through that the ending just doesn't pay off the way it should. James Cameron borrows from Spielberg here and it just doesn't have the impact it should. He also uses this movie to bring in an obvious but not very effective environmental message.
As good as the special effects are, the human element is much more involving. Imagine that? Most of the time in Hollywood blockbusters, especially these days it's the other way around.
This movie is really good, in fact great at times. It needed a better ending.
Grade: A-
The movie takes place in a deep water oil rig run by Bud, played by Ed Harris. A nuclear submarine sinks unexpectedly in the Caribbean and the Navy asks the oil rig company for assistance in diving to the wreck and search for survivors. Bud's estranged wife Lindsey played beautifully by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as the designer of the oil rig. She descends to the rogue along with a team of Navy SEALS commanded by Coffey, played by Michael Biehn. The workers on the rig are played well by the cast and make up a tight knit group. The center of the movie is the love/hate dynamic between Bud and Linsdey. They are both very stubborn people who love each other but just don't get along. The SEALS take the Bud and his team to the submarine to supposedly look for survivors. The dive becomes dangerous when one of the oil riggers sees a bright light and panics. The unexpectplained light is assumed to be a Russian weapon of some kind by Coffey, who is now suffering from high pressure nervous syndrome and tells his superiors that he thinks the unexplained phenomenon is the enemy. The go back to the sub to retrieve a nuclear warhead and arm it to destroy the supposed threat. The movievtgen goes from a really great, intense undersea action movie to a science fiction fantasy. The things that are appearing are extra terrestrials. One of them is seen by Lindsay. No one believes her until what seems to be a surveillance device appears and moves around the rig. Of course, Coffey is now psychotic and determined to set off the warhead. The movie then becomes a sort of Close Encounters story with the Bud, Lindsey and the oil team fighting Coffey before he sets of the nuke. In classic Cameron style this movie to this day is visually stunning. It was a groundbreaking use of CGI in 1989 when it came out. The effects still hold up, the extra terrestrials and their ships are beautifully realized. The action is as good as anything James Cameron has ever done. The problem is the final act. The movie is so good for so long and builds to an ending that should be awe inspiring but it really isn't. The main performances are so good and we care about these characters and what they're going through that the ending just doesn't pay off the way it should. James Cameron borrows from Spielberg here and it just doesn't have the impact it should. He also uses this movie to bring in an obvious but not very effective environmental message.
As good as the special effects are, the human element is much more involving. Imagine that? Most of the time in Hollywood blockbusters, especially these days it's the other way around.
This movie is really good, in fact great at times. It needed a better ending.
Grade: A-