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The Abyss (Special Edition)
(***1/2)
In my recent review of "Titanic" I bashed James Cameron for his insistence to write AND direct all of his movies. The problem with this is that his talents don't lie in the realm of writing dialogue; but rather in transforming a very visual imagination into some mighty fine special effects. Films like "Aliens" were so spectacular because they relied so heavily on seeing what would otherwise have been unbelievable.
It's in "The Abyss" that Cameron hits another high mark. True, there are many similarities between this and 1997's "Titanic", but in 1997, Cameron seemed intent on writing for characters, whereas here the characters do what the special effects need to survive. Sometimes that can be a hindrance; in "The Abyss" it works beautifully.
The story is centered around a team of oil drillers headed by Virgil "Bud" Brigman (Harris), who are working on a rig designed by his soon to be ex-wife Lindsey (Mastrantonio). We're quickly drawn into the action when a U.S. Nuclear submarine sinks in the ocean when an unidentified object swims by it and causes the sub to lose power. Since the rig is so close, and a hurricane is coming fast, the U.S. government charges the rig to go out with a military team and allow the marines to search the sub.
The head of the marines is Lt. Coffey (Biehn), and he quickly goes mad from being underwater at such a depth, so we get a nice despicable human villain. This becomes a very good thing quickly when Michael Biehn plays the character so...insane.
There are a few plot holes to be considered, and I can only chalk those up to poor screenwriting. Why would anyone be searching a sub for survivors? That thing would have been crushed like an egg. But no matter, it's such a throwaway moment in the scheme of such grandeur I really didn't care why they were down there.
I stated before that Cameron's strength is in his visuals. Here is holds as true as ever; and in the DVD special edition, you can hear a younger Cameron say "there are no easy shots." Of course, this becomes even more true when you're shooting in hundreds of feet of water; in a tank simulating the depths of the ocean.
When you play the story, the characters will follow. Bud and Lindsey work splendidly off one another, and it really starts to matter who's going to survive. Yep, I can honestly say that I loved "The Abyss."
*NOTE* The version i viewed was the 3 hour special edition; a version that has been bulked up with scenes that add to the complexity of the characters. Those who see the theatrical release of "The Abyss" will not find such a level of characterization. Isn't it odd?