It's been twenty years now since James Cameron's film, The Abyss hit theaters. After all that time, let's take a look at the film to see how well it has aged.
The film stars Ed Harris as "Bud" Brigman, and he has been tasked to check out what happened to a lost submarine. What he discovers is that water-based creatures live deep at the base of the ocean, and are upset about having been disturbed.
The film was something of a surprise at the time. At first, The Abyss doesn't really come across as a science-fiction film. It seems, instead, like some sort of action film that is going to take place underwater.
However, it slowly becomes clear that what is going on at the bottom of the ocean is more akin to something extra-terrestrial. Instead of the recovery of a submarine, we instead have a story of discovery where an entirely new form of life has been discovered.
The film does an excellent job of covering the details of underwater travel. Not being an expert myself, I'm not sure how accurate the information is, but it certainly sounds accurate. Not only that, but they make it sound dangerous. This increases the overall level of tension to the film.
There's also some technological fiction as well, in the breathable liquid that can be used for very deep-sea diving. This single technology expands the possibility of underwater exploration in a very drastic way, and the technology is used for one of the most startling moments in the film.
The Abyss is a unique film in a lot of ways. It is a science fiction film that doesn't announce itself as such. Instead, we slowly realise that the protagonists are not simply looking for a submarine, and they have found something completely new.
Rating: ***1/2
Marcus Pontecorvo, M.A., has written a number of articles on the internet over the last fifteen years. His current project is a site called Film Projector Rental, where he has a page on projector screen rental.
0 comments:
Post a Comment