The Abyss remains James Cameron's most ambitious, creative and epic work in his current film-making career. He weaves a narrative that is both exciting and philosophical, a rare occurrence in modern day American cinema.
The special effects do not flounder even today, 10 years after its creation, the direction is up to Cameron's usual high standard, of fluid tracking shots, steadicam action shots, and all the touches he is famous for. The photography is stunning, and the music by Silvestri is brilliant.
Where The Abyss really succeeds though is in three main elements of acting, plot and script. All of the performances are so natural, as the viewer you immediately connect with them, and that relationship becomes more and more powerful with each subsequent viewing. The dialogue is amazing as well, with no 'stunted' lines that would plague Cameron's later efforts of True Lies and Titanic. The characters challenge each other in what they say, the movie is like a two and a half hour tennis match of dialogue being constantly rocked back and forth between the actors, which makes The Abyss utterly engaging. We really believe these guys live and work on a rig 2000 feet below the sea.
The plot of The Abyss is on par with 2001 in several factors. It is no less epic for a start, both films ending with the beginning of a new chapter for humanity, and both films taking a cynical look at mankind which is ultimately redeemed. In The Abyss we are presented with the worst (the near outbreak of WWIII) and the best (Bud's disarming of the warhead, his love for Lindsay) of mankind.
Bud's journey down the abyss is the most metaphorical incident Cameron has ever filmed, literally as Conrad expressed, 'the journey to a heart of immense darkness'. The bleakness of humanity, the burden of our folly, completely encompasses Bud, but he ventures on regardless, and finds the shimmer of hope at the end of it. And then, through sheer willpower, and reliance on human instinct, he disarms the nuclear warhead, the symbol of the death of mankind. Bud's act redeems the human race.
And ultimately, The Abyss ends on a high. Mankind has reached the point where we can no longer look after our own destiny (again a re-occurring theme of Kubrick), and so the aliens, the NTI's will do it for us. They will lead us into Utopia, a better way.
The Abyss is an under-rated masterwork of cinema, and one that will stand the test of time, emerging as one of the greats. This is the film Cameron should be remembered for.
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