|
72 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Abyss - A true Science Fiction classic!, January 27, 2004
"The Abyss" is one of the most intriguing Sci-Fi/action movies to have ever been made. From the very beginning of this exceptional movie to the end, for the first time viewer or for those that have watched it many times, it is a highly inventive and an ultimately captivating movie. Although there have been many movies made about events under the surface of the ocean, few can match up to the intensity that "The Abyss" is laden with.One of the more intriguing aspects about the edition of "The Abyss" that I'm reviewing today or any other version that contains both the original theatrical release and the Special Edition with twenty eight minutes of additional footage is how the whole tone of the conclusion of the film changes between the two. This is not something that I wish to go in to in great detail; suffice it to say that the Special Edition gives a whole new meaning to this classic movie. From Ed Harris to Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio to Michael Biehn and all of the other marvelous actors that performed in this film, they all deserve high praise for their collective efforts in creating this Science Fiction classic. It isn't too often that Ed Harris or Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio gets the lead roles in films but in the case of "The Abyss," they both proved that they were quite ready for such roles. In 1984 first time director, James Cameron gave millions of movies fans just the first taste of his directing talents when he burst on the scene with "The Terminator" which started a run of extraordinarily successful movies culminating in "Titanic" which is one of the highest grossing films of all times. "The Abyss" was the third in this run of incredible movies and arguably the most intriguing of them all as the script, while being science fiction and adventure is "that much more" inventive than the rest of those films. In addition to James Cameron's exceptional talents on this film, the musical score by Alan Silvestri makes "The Abyss" that much better, greatly enhancing every scene! The Premise: Welcome to what appears to be the mid eighties or early nineties and we have an American nuclear submarine that is patrolling an abysmal trench in the Atlantic. Their tracking something that is going faster than anything they've ever seen before and suddenly they lose all power as the "thing" goes by; a minute or so later, all power is restored but it's too late, they slam right into the abysmal wall and the ship goes down, fortunately for them, they get a beacon off before the bridge is consumed by water... Some twenty odd miles away is a deep sea oil rig operation with a control ship on the surface and an underwater station at about fifteen hundred feet below the surface. The US Navy comes in and wishes to send a SEAL team down and use the station and the crew to find the sub... What follows from there is one of the most intriguing, captivating and enthralling Science Fiction films ever made that only gets better every time you see it and if you've never watched it before, you will most certainly be blown away by what director James Cameron created in this film! I highly recommend this film to any and all who are fans of Science Fiction or fans of very good dramatic films with a "splash" of Sci-Fi in them. {ssintrepid} Special Features: -Theatrical Version
-Special Edition with 28 minutes of additional footage.
-Audio Commentary for both versions.
-Collector's edition 12 page booklet.
-Bio's for all of the actors, director and several others.
-DVD-ROM content.
-60-minute documentary - "Under Pressure: Making the Abyss."
-James Cameron's complete screenplay.
-Multi-angles of pseudopod sequence.
-3 DVD-ROM games.
-Extensive storyboards and original concept art and more!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
 
|
|
|
|
DVD ~ Sigourney Weaver
DVD ~ Peter Weller
DVD ~ Bill Paxton
DVD ~ Arnold Schwarzenegger
DVD ~ Sigourney Weaver
on 
