The Abyss: Special Edition

Yes, yes, I am going to write about The Abyss: Special Edition, so if you have not seen it yet, I will tell you right of the bat to go rent it now! Fraught with indecision, I finally flipped my mental coin and let fate tell me which review to write. It might be better to list both movies, but the Special Edition is so much better. Why? Well read on, or stop here and rent it yourself.

Director/Writer James Cameron had a dream...well, an idea. There are plenty of details on the DVD, so let me just say that he had a curiosity about the depths of the ocean and the emotions linked with it. He took the idea of a submersible drilling platform, and threw in a strong cast; including a seven million gallon tank of water. 40% of the movie is filmed under water, in the largest under water set ever built. This movie is a feat! Truly, the effects are astounding, and the movie is categorized as Sci-Fi, but Cameron has done his usual best and made the movie/dialogue/characters first rate. Close your eyes, and you may just as well be watching The Grapes of Wrath .

So, just how does it go, you ask? It runs long, which is why there was a theatrical version. The shorter version always left me asking, "What?" and, "Why?" The Special Edition is revealing, to say the least. Without the 'Under Water Friends', the movie would have been fine, and shorter, but I assume that Cameron wanted a little something more in the pot. And what a wonderful stew it is! The principal stars are Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Michael Biehn, and a very collaborative supporting cast. If anything, casting was perfect, and perhaps an award should be given out for such talent. What would have the movie been like with the venerable Sam Neill playing Harris' Brigman? We shall never know...

The Set Up: A submersible drilling rig is called upon to rescue possible survivors of a sunk United States submarine. To the outside workd, it is unknown what cause the sub to go down, but as you will see, or have seen, the plot twist in Cameron's screenplay puts its strangle hold on the plot. Tensions run high while a hurricane and nuclear war approach. Things do not get any better when the Navy SEALS come aboard, with a slight thorn in the side of Ed Harris when his wife, played exceptionally well by Mastrantonio strolls aboard. They are seperated, so there is the built in hostiliy. And the SEALS have their own agenda, of course, making the government and military a typical threat.

Cinematography - Acting -

Rate - [Cinematography: 4
Screenplay: 3
Acting: 4
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Overall: 3.7]
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