One in a wave (pun intended) of underwater horror/science fiction films to proliferate the late '80s – offhand I can think of LEVIATHAN and DEEP STAR SIX as others in this sub-genre. THE ABYSS was one of the few James Cameron films I had never taken much interest in, mainly because I find the idea of peaceful underwater aliens to be less exciting than killer robots from the future or acid-drooling alien beasties from outer space.

Still, one night I caught this on the schedules and decided to give it a go. I'm glad I did. It may be overlong and slightly unsatisfactory, but for the most part it contains all of the elements that make Cameron films great: taut suspense sequences, clinical attention to detail, plenty of tension, a fine score and outstanding special effects. The 'water creature' scene is truly a landmark of CGI technology and helped pave the way for TERMINATOR 2 in a spectacular way.

Otherwise, we're in familiar territory here: an undersea crew are cut off from their team mates and forced to fend for themselves against overwhelming odds. Along with the aliens, they have to contend with a brilliantly done disaster scenario and an increasingly unhinged team mate. The casting is spot on. Ed Harris might not be everybody's first choice as hero, but he acquits himself very well indeed – and it's a wonder he never really found the success he should have done, based on this performance. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is more shrill and slightly annoying, but she does get some very good moments, like the infamous 'drowning' sequence. I also appreciated the fact that Michael Biehn stars as something other than the clean cut hero (as in THE TERMINATOR and ALIENS); he seems to be relishing the chance to explore other facets and brings the screen alive.

To be honest, the 'friendly alien' stuff I can do without, but Cameron handles it with the right mix of awe and wonder. Better than CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, in any case. There's an outrageous special effect at the climax which works very well indeed, but the slow spots and occasionally weak plotting stop this from being a classic in the same league as the director's other films; I'm glad I saw it, but it's not something I'll eagerly seek out to watch again. It's still his fourth best film ahead of AVATAR and TITANIC, though.

American nuclear submarine USS Montana has a mysterious encounter and sinks 80 miles off of Cuba. The navy can't get there before an incoming hurricane and asks divers of a nearby underwater oil rig to the rescue. Lt. Hiram Coffey (Michael Biehn) leads the SEAL team with a secret mission. Bud Brigman (Ed Harris) leads the oil workers. Lindsey Brigman (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) is his designer soon-to-be-divorced wife angry that the navy is hijacking her experimental underwater rig. She encounters glowing otherworldly creatures which disrupts their electrical systems. They are unable to disconnect the cable from the underwater rig to the explorer ship above and the rig is throw into chaos.

As a story, James Cameron's love of the underwater technology does get into the way sometimes. He spends a little too much time with the underwater maneuvers which takes away some of the tension. Looking back at the technical aspects, Cameron is taking a lot of risk and pushing the boundaries. The water tentacle is a giant step forward. All the underwater work with projections on the surfaces and the underwater creatures are terrific. The sets and the water action scenes are also terrific. It was reportedly a harrowing movie shoot and the constant close-quarters water work was probably the big problem.

The story of The Abyss starts with a mysterious crash of a US nuclear submarine that is armed with the appropriate nuclear weaponry for its time. With reports of it down, we want to get it before the Russians do.

When it rains it pours, literally in this case. A fast moving storm forces the Navy to use the crew and equipment from a nearby underwater deep sea drilling platform and the oil roughnecks are promised some big government checks for their help.

Crew chief Ed Harris gives his reluctant consent, made even more reluctant by the fact that his estranged wife Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio has designed some new equipment for use in the really deep waters of The Abyss of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Navy people and the oil people are a bad fit to start with, but when the deep depths effect Navy SEAL Michael Biehn by bringing out the worst aspects of the military authoritarian personality things get real interesting down in the deep.

The spectacle does dwarf the story which is the only real criticism I can make of The Abyss. What the submarine made accidental contact with is some incredible alien life form which I can't go into further because that's the whole point of the film. Of course Biehn still believes it's all a Russian plot of some kind and therein lies the conflict exacerbated by the extreme paranoia he develops.

Unlike Cameron's Titanic, the spectacle at the end just overwhelms the human players in this film. But it was those special effects that go The Abyss its Academy Award recognition. The Abyss was also nominated for Sound and Art&Set Direction and Cinematography. It could have been a winner in any of those categories. In fact the biggest mistake you can make which is the one I did make, to see The Abyss on the small screen and formatted. This film is what IMAX was developed for.

Though the story does get lost somewhat in the special effects the point is still made about man being ready and open to all kinds of possibilities of life that can exist anywhere. See The Abyss, but wait for a revival showing at a theater.