SCE316@panam.BITNET (Steve Copold) (08/18/89)
THE ABYSS
A film review by Steve Copold
Copyright 1989 Steve Copold
A review of THE ABYSS that reaches beyond technical descriptions is, at
best, very difficult to depersonalize. This is a film that does not lend
itself to neutral feelings. THE ABYSS literally assaults the viewer's senses
within moments of the opening credits. The style of the film, now well
established by Gayle Ann Hurd and James Cameron in the earlier TERMINATOR and
ALIENS, is that of forcing the viewer into a participatory role. Only in a
very few shots is one allowed to sit back as an observer and watch the ongoing
scene. Rather, Cameron is relentless in making the camera maintain an active
role in the narrative.
This motion picture attains new heights (or depths) of cinematic
claustrophobia. The one film in memory that comes even close to THE ABYSS in
this area, is DAS BOOT with its hydraulically operated steadicam plunging
headlong through the narrow passage- way and water-tight doors of the German
U-Boat. In THE ABYSS, this is far surpassed as the camera doesn't limit its
high speed charges to straight lines, but runs around corners, ducking
bulkheads, power cables, and walls of rushing water. Most of the people
sitting near me in the theater were tightly gripping the armrests on their
seats and moving visibly in reaction to the events on screen.
The cinematography is simply astonishing. Underwater photography can
often be really distressing to watch. Often the view is muddled, the
voice-overs and foley work are guesses, and the lack of continuity between the
two is very disconcerting. There is none of this in THE ABYSS. Working in the
controlled environment of an abandoned nuclear power facility, Cameron was able
to maintain a near perfect balance of sight and sound. The specially made
diving gear always allows a full view of the actor's face, and built-in
microphones, provide a measure of realism that has never been seen before in an
underwater film. It takes awhile to realize that most of the brilliantly
conceived miniatures and matte paintings you're seeing are not miniatures and
paintings at all, but full-size set constructions. The few models and mattes
utilized in THE ABYSS are so clever in their construction and use, that it will
require some serious nit-picking to spot most of them. The special effects are
the best that Industrial Light & Magic has to offer.
The acting is top notch, with Ed Harris really coming into his own in the
lead. An interesting choice was that of ALIENS and TERMINATOR veteran, Michael
Biehn, as the "pressure psychotic" heavy. Aside from Harris, Biehn, and a few
others, the cast is pretty much made up of little known character actors. They
form a terrific ensemble, and are thoroughly convincing in their respective
roles. Chris Elliot, of the David Letterman Show (The Guy Under the Seats) has
a small role as a technician on the surface support vessel.
As disorienting as the relentless pace of the film is, the viewer never
has problem staying with the film's tightly woven narrative. This is due in
part to Cameron's direction, but equal credit must go to the intelligent
screenplay and "world-class" editing. Any entertainment that can achieve this
frenetic pace and still hold you for well over two hours is remarkable indeed.
One of the texts we use in a History & Significance of the Motion Picture
course states that, "To succeed in all respects, a film must tell a story, set
a mood, and entertain the audience." On this score THE ABYSS is right on
target. I cannot recall another film which more quickly, or effectively ,
suspends reality and draws you into the world on screen. As a film, THE ABYSS
gets four stars....as a roller coaster it gets five!
Steve Copold
SCE316@PANAM.BITNETleeper@mtgzx.att.com (Mark R. Leeper) (08/18/89)
THE ABYSS
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1989 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: A science fiction and adventure film
that just misses a +4 rating. Alistair-MacLean-type action
combines with 2001-type vision to make a whale of a film that
blows BATMAN right out of the water. Rating: high +3. If
only it had more interesting science fiction ideas.
[Note: THE ABYSS is a fairly long film at 140 minutes. Enough happens
that it would be impossible to say much about the film without revealing a
surprise or two. I will try to keep my comments general enough to avoid
marring the enjoyment, at least for some one who has seen other reviews--
still, I wouldn't want to read what follows before seeing the film.]
THE ABYSS has two kinds of scenes: exciting scenes where suspense is
building and exciting scenes where there is slam-bang action. And they must
have about equal screen time. As such, it may well out-Lucas the "Star
Wars" films. In style most of the film resembles less fantasy films than
films in the Alistair MacLean tradition. In fact, embedded in this long
film is really a normal-length MacLeanesque adventure that would not even be
science fiction. Not that MacLean adventures are not somewhat far-fetched
themselves. And like a MacLean film THE ABYSS is not above throwing in the
occasional far-fetched coincidence to keep the story going. But the pacing
and adventure-plotting are reminiscent of a film such as THE GUNS OF
NAVARONE or ICE STATION ZEBRA. The action is not even delayed for opening
credits; the film starts under a single opening title and we cut directly to
the action. The U. S. S. Montana, a nuclear submarine, has picked up
something unusual on sonar: a very fast-moving craft. They see it
accelerate to over 130 knots before the sub is physically grasped by
something. They are freed, but not in time to avoid piling into the edge of
the Cayman Trench. A team of civilian divers from a nearby oil driller is
brought in by the Navy to try to rescue any survivors. The chief diver is
Bud Brigman (played by Ed Harris), a strong-willed commander in the process
of divorcing the designer of the drilling facility, Lindsey Brigman (played
by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). The antagonistic couple, a team of four
Navy SEALS, and the divers go to the site of the downed sub. But there is
something else there, an apparent intelligence--perhaps alien, perhaps
indigenous--that is watching the mission with marked curiosity.
The script of THE ABYSS shows definite James Cameron touches.
Cameron's films usually feature strong, intelligent, self-reliant women and
never more so than in THE ABYSS with its character of Lindsey Brigman. The
dialog is crisp, but also very humanizing. As usual, Cameron's heroes are
common, blue-collar types.
One of the virtues of a good science fiction film can be to make
technology comprehensible. THE ABYSS uses state-of-the-art technology--such
as recently developed breathable fluid that will allow exploration of
greater depths. It also required new technology to be developed simply to
allow the film to be made. In this category are diving masks designed to
let the camera see who is behind the mask, but which coincidentally also
allow a much wider field of vision for the divers than previously available.
Like BATMAN, this film also had a large budget and was kept very much
under wraps until its release. BATMAN turned out to be a film that was
visually fascinating, but which short-changed the story elements. THE ABYSS
is rumored to have a pricetag of $43 million and, unlike in BATMAN, there
are no big-name stars to soak up large pieces of the budget--or rather there
is one, but it is the Atlantic Ocean, and shooting underwater made the film
much more complex to produce.
As with any major film that has been kept under wraps, THE ABYSS has
generated a certain amount of rumor. One rumor on the positive side is that
Hugo-winning science fiction author Orson Scott Card participated strongly
in the scripting. He supposedly was on the set to ask the actors, "Ignoring
the script, what would you do in this plot situation?" The next morning the
revised script would have the character doing just what the actor wanted.
And Card would add his own science fiction influence so that it is at least
claimed that THE ABYSS ranks with THINGS TO COME and 2001 for the degree of
participation of a science fiction author in determining plot. A second and
more negative rumor is that the life form was much better explained in the
pre-release (and in Card's novelization) but that the film was cut by 25
minutes, down to 140, to make it more marketable. In the cut the real logic
of what is happening was considered to be the dispensable portion. (This is
strongly rumored to be what happened to the film HIGHLANDER, also from
Twentieth Century Fox.) Cameron denies that any logic was cut from the film
and says instead that where Card's book varies, it is purely Card's
invention.
But even as it stands, THE ABYSS is one of the best science fiction
film ever made. This remains true in spite of a rather superficial
treatment of the some of the science fiction elements. It is very much a
2001 with all the slowish parts replaced by a good fast-paced adventure
film. It is entertaining, educational, and exciting, and has compelling
(albeit manipulative at times) drama. All it lacks is a sufficiently
engaging concept. Perhaps that was left on the cutting room floor, perhaps
not. I would give it a high +3 on the -4 to +4 scale. It could not do much
better than that.
Mark R. Leeper
att!mtgzx!leeper
leeper@mtgzx.att.comjsd@gaffa.mit.edu (Jon Drukman) (08/18/89)
THE ABYSS
A film review by Jon Drukman
Copyright 1989 Jon Drukman
Director James Cameron has a big reputation to live up to, having helmed
action classics like THE TERMINATOR and ALIENS and fans of his early works will
certainly go to see THE ABYSS expecting something special. Fortunately,
they'll get something close to a masterpiece, certainly not the "instant
classic" that the newspaper headlines blare at us, but a good entertaining
movie, nonetheless.
The plot isn't super-relevant, as Cameron's eye is tilted more towards
creating a sombre atmosphere, and characterizations. One unusual thing about
the film is the way it opens: you see the logo THE ABYSS with the tail on the
"y" hanging down, the camera zooms into the "y" and WHAM! the film starts -- no
credits, no nothing. This was a very effective technique, because you find
yourself plunged into Cameron's vision instantly and totally.
The underwater scenes are beautifully shot, and they practically steal the
film away, much the way the gorgeous sets and camerawork stole the show from
the lame script of BATMAN. The characters, which Cameron has confessed to
making his number one priority in the film, seem a bit flat when confronted
with the billions of dollars of technology surrounding them, although Ed Harris
delivers a highly competent performance. Michael Biehn did a commendable job
at portraying a psycho military officer without any of the usual Hollywood
"over the edge" cliches. His performance was a masterwork of restraint, if
anything. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, on the other hand, was annoying from
frame one, although this might be considered a success as her character was
supposed to be a "cast-iron bitch." Her softening at the end was predictable
and not very well executed.
In fact, the ending of the film in general was not very well executed.
Certainly, the effects and camera work were up to par, but the plot took a
standard Hollywood nosedive. Why is it that so few films are willing to take
risks and show us a world where everyone doesn't live happily ever after?
Presumably, the idealistic worldview is justified by studio management as being
"escapist" entertainment, with the rationale being that people go see movies to
feel better about the world, but implausibly saccharine endings such as the one
in THE ABYSS leave this reviewer feeling much worse about the world.
Cameron may see THE ABYSS as a love story first, but it seems as if he is
more in love with the machinery of the film than the characters. Still, some
viewers will find that desirable, and the mastery of the film craft that
Cameron shows will pay off for them. Just ignore the hopelessly hokey ending,
and you'll have a good time.
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+------------------------------------+gvg@hpcvlx.HP.COM (Greg Goebel) (08/18/89)
THE ABYSS
A film review by Greg Goebel
Copyright 1989 Greg Goebel
Given the skills of the Cameron-Hurd team (which has already brought us
the memorable TERMINATOR and ALIENS), it would be a shame to say that they let
us down with their latest film, THE ABYSS -- so it is pleasant to say that THE
ABYSS is one of the more worthwhile films of the summer.
A nuclear submarine has a disastrous accident in the waters of the
Atlantic; the Navy sends a SEAL team to commandeer an undersea oil rig in the
vicinity to perform, if possible, a rescue operation. Of course, nothing is
goes right -- if it did, would there be much of a story? -- and everyone
involved finds themselves in an ever-widening predicament that tests their
ability to survive.
I am told $45 million was spent on producing this picture. Large budgets
don't always translate into impressive productions -- sometimes they're the
result of mismanagement -- but in this case, the special effects are so
spectacular that one wonders how they managed to do it for that small a sum!
This is fortunate, because if THE ABYSS had to rest on the virtues of its
story line, it would most likely sink into a financial abyss even deeper than
the watery canyon which threatens the heroes of this underwater epic. While it
is hard to be unkind to a team which has done their level best (and then some!)
to give the customers their money's worth -- not only is the production
superlative, but all the actors (Ed Harris in particular) put in good
performances -- the script is, alas, almost as mechanical as the special
effects, resembling nothing so much as the kind of story Irwin Allen might tell
on a good day; it punches all the right buttons, sometimes very effectively,
but never with enough subtlety to make the viewer fail to realize that his or
her buttons are, indeed, being punched.
But I will not be cynical; while this film does fail to reach the margins
of greatness, it is very definitely on the high side of good; and I suspect
there are some less jaded and finicky than myself who will be absolutely blown
away by it. As for myself? I count myself satisfied. My compliments to the
chef.