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The Abyss (1989)
Review by Earl
Green
A U.S. Navy nuclear sub, following an unusual sonar echo deep in the
Atlantic, suffers an unexplained power loss that leaves it powerless to
avoid a collision with the wall of a sub-oceanic trench. The sub plummets
into depths it was never meant to descend, takes on water, and the crew is
killed. The Navy commandeers a deep-ocean oil exploration rig operated by
Benthic Oil, trying to beat a hurricane to the coordinates of the downed
sub. Ed "Bud" Brigman, in charge of the Deep Core underwater platform, is
less than thrilled when he learns that he and his crew will be taking orders
from the Navy for a rescue operation, but he's even less pleased when his
ex-wife Lindsey joins the Navy SEALs who are paying a visit to Deep Core.
The cocksure leader of the SEALs, Lt. Coffey, suffers from high-pressure
nervousness syndrome as a result of the dive to reach Deep Core, and slowly
loses control, growing violent and paranoid. Upon reaching the submarine,
Coffey finally reveals that the vessel was carrying hundreds of megatons of
nuclear weapons, giving Deep Core's divers cause for concern - especially
when they find that something other than the dead crew inhabits this part of
the ocean. Another power loss occurs, and one of Bud's crew sees something
so startling that it renders him comatose. Lindsey also sees something, but
she is unable to describe or explain it.
Unknown to Deep Core's divers, Coffey has been ordered to recover one of
the sub's nuclear warheads, believing that whatever the diving team saw must
have been a Soviet submarine. On the surface, international tensions are
reaching a boiling point as Soviet and American military forces brave the
hurricane to form a line of scrimmage that could explode into World War III.
And worse yet, the huge crane which connects Benthic Explorer to Deep Core
is torn away from the Explorer and crashes down into the 20,000 foot deep
trench, dragging Deep Core right along with it. The platform comes to a
shattering stop on a ledge halfway down the trench, out of contact with the
surface, short on oxygen and power, and with no hope of rescue. The
increasingly delusional Coffey intends to use his salvaged nuclear warhead
to attack whatever has been causing the power losses.
When the unknown force proves itself fully capable of boarding Deep Core
without harming any of the crew, they begin to wonder which is the greatest
threat - an unknown life form buried in the depths of the Atlantic, or the
human impulse for violent acts against anything or anyone unfamiliar?
I still think that James Cameron has yet to top The Abyss. I mean,
sure, the guy did Titanic, Aliens, and both Terminator movies, but this is
the Cameron film I have always enjoyed the most. One must admit, the mere
fact that The Abyss was made at all, with at least two thirds of the movie
shot underwater, is an incredible technical feat - much more impressive, in
my book, than reconstructing an ocean liner with CGI. I can't even begin to
imagine how dangerous it was to shoot in such an environment, even if it was
nothing more than a large water tank. But this movie isn't all about
special effects and underwater photography. The script is very well
written, and even the studio-bound scenes are tense and well-shot. And for
what it's worth, the effects are indeed awesome, including some of the
earliest good CGI work of a translucent water-based extension of the
undersea creatures.
The Abyss was also my introduction to the outstanding Ed Harris, who also
starred in The Right Stuff, Apollo 13, and The Truman Show. Michael Biehn,
though he hams it up a little bit too much for my tastes, follows up
admirably on his string of rugged hero roles with a wild and scary portrayal
of one demented son of a bitch. Though a little stiff at the beginning of
the movie, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio positively carries the entire movie
on her shoulders toward the end.
The Abyss is a much better movie than
Twister, but like Twister, it
benefits greatly from the skills of the supporting cast. All of these
characters have quirks, and they come across as absolutely real, even the
guy with the pet rat. Where Harris, Mastrantonio and Biehn sometimes seem
to be playing stock characters, the supporting cast keeps The Abyss from
slipping into the depths of clichè by adding much-needed color commentary
to the proceedings. And when one character wears an Arkansas Razorbacks
cap, and another wears a Green Bay Packers jacket, this is a movie than can
appeal to me no matter where I happen to be living at the time!
If there's any one thing for which I fault The Abyss, it's the occasional
bit of preachiness that Cameron slips in. I'm usually a pacificst myself,
but there are a few moments - namely the fabricated man-on-the-street news
interviews seen about halfway through the movie - that are too obvious, too
didactic for my tastes.
In case you haven't guessed, I didn't review the theatrical cut of The
Abyss, but the extended home video edition (which has also shown up often in
a slightly abridged version on the Sci-Fi Channel - bless their hearts, in
widescreen, even!). I strongly recommend you seek out the widescreen home
video version with added footage - far superior to the original theatrical
cut, but also far longer, approaching three hours. But those three hours
will be well-spent - this is an amazing movie.
- screenplay by James Cameron
- directed by James Cameron
- music by Alan Silvestri
additional music by Robert Garrett
- Cast:
Ed Harris (Ed Brigman), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (Lindsey Brigman),
Michael Biehn (Lt. Coffey), Leo Burmester (Catfish De Vries), Todd Graff
(Alan "Hippy" Carnes), John Bedford Lloyd (Jammer Willis), J.C. Quinn
("Sonny" Dawson), Kimberly (Lisa "One Night" Standing), Captain Kidd Brewer
Jr. (Lew Finler), George Robert Klek (Wihite), Christopher Murphy
(Schoenick), Adam Nelson (Ensign Monk), Richard Walock (Dwight Perry),
Jimmie Ray Weeks (Leland McBride), J. Kenneth Campbell (DeMarco), Ken
Jenkins (Gerard Kirkhill), Chris Elliott (Bendix), Peter Ratray (Captain),
Michael Beach (Barnes), Brad Sullivan (Executive), Frank Lloyd (Navigator),
Phillip Darlington (Crew Member), Joseph Nemec III (Crew Member), Joe Farago
(Anchorman), William Wisher (Bill Tyler), Marcus Mukai (Anchorman #2), Wendy
Gordon (Anchorwoman), Paul Cross (Young woman), Thomas Duffy (Construction
worker), Chris Anastasio (Truck driver), Emily Yancy (Woman reporter),
Michael Chapman (Dr. Berg), Tom Isbell (Wave reporter), Super Sea Rover (Big
Geek), Mini Rover Mark II (Little Geek)
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