The Abyss (1989)
Average Rating: 7.2/10
Reviews Counted: 43
Fresh: 38 | Rotten: 5
The utterly gorgeous special effects frequently overshadow the fact that The Abyss is also a totally gripping, claustrophobic thriller, complete with an interesting crew of characters.
Average Rating: 5.9/10
Critic Reviews: 7
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 3
The utterly gorgeous special effects frequently overshadow the fact that The Abyss is also a totally gripping, claustrophobic thriller, complete with an interesting crew of characters.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 98,971
My Rating
Movie Info
The crew of an experimental, high-tech submersible is called into action to investigate a mysterious nuclear submarine crash. A series of strange encounters leads the crew to suspect the accident was caused by an extraterrestrial craft, and that they may be participating in an encounter with an alien species. However, in order to make contact, they must not only brave the abyss, an exceedingly deep underwater canyon, but also deal with the violent actions of one of their own crew members, an
Aug 9, 1989 Wide
Nov 7, 2000
20th Century Fox Film Corporat
Cast
-
Ed Harris
Bud Brigman -
Mary Elizabeth Mastranton...
Lindsey Brigman -
Michael Biehn
Lt. Coffey -
Leo Burmeister
Catfish De Vries -
Todd Graff
Alan "Hippy" Carnes -
John Bedford Lloyd
"Jammer" Willis -
Kimberly Scott
Lisa "One Night" Standi... -
J.C. Quinn
"Sonny" Dawson -
Capt. Kidd Brewer Jr.
Lew Finier -
George Robert Klek
Wilhite -
Chris Murphy
Seal Schoenick -
Adam Nelson
Ensign Monk -
Richard Warlock
Dwight Perry -
Jimmie Ray Weeks
Leland McBride -
J. Kenneth Campbell
DeMarco -
Ken Jenkins
Gerard Kirkhill -
Michael Beach
Barnes -
Chris Elliott
Bendix -
Peter Ratray
Captain -
Brad Sullivan
Executive -
Frank Lloyd
Navigator -
Joseph C. Nemec III
Crew Member -
William Wisher
Bill Tyler -
Phillip Darlington
Crew Member -
Joe Farago
Anchorman -
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The Abyss Trailer & Photos
All Critics (43) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (42) | Rotten (5) | DVD (24)
A firstrate underwater suspenser with an otherworldly twist, The Abyss suffers from a payoff unworthy of its buildup.
Top CriticThe attempt to extract the essences of several genres (cold-war submarine thriller, love story, Disney fantasy, pseudomystical SF in the Spielberg mode) and mix them together ultimately leads to giddy incoherence.
This overlong concoction is scuppered by dire dialogue, histrionic performances and maudlin sentimentality.
Anyone looking for a discouraging word about this stupendously exciting and emotionally engulfing film should read no further. The Abyss confirms James Cameron as a world-class filmmaker.
The human stuff is more than worth the descent.
I'd sooner believe that Moby Dick could swim up the drainpipe.
The Abyss gains in some ways from its own Achilles heels, in a way most movies don't... its formal technique, its reckless obsessiveness, and its gutsy emotionalism are what I can't stop turning over in my mind.
One need not be a Cameron acolyte to recognise that The Abyss has aged better than some of the films that outshone it back in the day.
The movie was a bear to make and it shows onscreen, parading around a series of mesmerizing set-pieces that look deliciously hard-earned in ways our current CG-drenched filmmaking climate never allows.
Undersea UFO adventure is breathtaking but intense.
As a follow-up to Cameron's great sci-fi Aliens, The Abyss is too verbose for an actioner and the special effects, striking as they are, are not well integrated into the narrative, but it's still worth seeing.
What ultimately saves the film are its extraordinary sets and phenomenal Oscar-winning visual effects.
Great blending of spectacle and drama.
Forget Titanic this is Cameron's best underwater flick
What was once a well-made, well-acted mess is now a very poignant and satisfying sci-fi adventure.
A gorgeous and fascinating underwater adventure.
A remarkable film...the vfx are super!
Click to read review
Audience Reviews for The Abyss
I hadnâ(TM)t ever seen THE ABYSS before now. In fact, it and PIRANHA TWO: THE SPAWNING remained for a long while the only two Cameron-directed feature films I hadnâ(TM)t seen. After deciding to rattle off the last two, I immediately jumped to renting the extension. I know Cameron canâ(TM)t let me down, as my absolute favorite director (in a tie with Hitchcock and Allen), and I always want to watch as much as possible of a film, so I thought it to be a great idea. For the first forty minutes or so, it wasnâ(TM)t. The âshallownessâ? (pun fully intended) of the exposition seemed overlong, and Iâ(TM)d assume it was because of the addition of new material. The informal language, as well, got to me. Then, I started to realize something odd. As the tension started building up, I felt that nearly every minute of the opening was necessary, and the casualty and sarcasm the characters were using pervasively was continuing, but strengthening the believability.
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Super Reviewer
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- Bud Brigman: Keep your pantyhose on.
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Latest News on The Abyss
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March 8, 2012:
Watch James Cameron Hit BottomCameron breaks a world record by diving five miles below the surface of the ocean.
August 11, 2008:
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Foreign Titles
- Abyss (FR)
There are some truly effective claustrophobic moments here and the production design is something to behold. On the plus side is also composer Alan Silvestri's brilliant score that adds some true tension for this film, but otherwise The Abyss is a film with overblown concept and a payoff that feels lifted completely from another film.
The Abyss still has it's moments and is lightyears more interesting and better than Cameron's True Lies, Titanic or Avatar. Still the fact is that he never made a film even remotely as good as his Aliens is. That film still stands as the crowning achievement of filmmaking career.