The Abyss

Cameron knew exactly what he was doing by cutting the original last 20 minutes or so of the film; in the Special Edition I advise everyone to turn it off right after Ed Harris settles in at the bottom and waits to die. What follows then is just a goofy pat on the head from wise alien mantises completely unworthy of everything that preceded it. And by that I mean especially the intense romance where each of the two lovers watches the other slowly die. This romantic horror thus has an unshakable place in my mind due to the fact that it activated my childhood phobia of the deep. (10/24/2022)

From a purely filmmaking point of view, this must have been hell to film in such cramped spaces. And when a chink of space appears, it immediately fills with water. But purely from a viewer’s point of view, it’s good that Cameron decided to go accept the challenge of making it. This has a fundamentally positive impact on the atmosphere. But this makes the ending all the more annoying, because Cameron is no good at presenting (selling) a message like this. The movie simply lacks even a drop of Kubrick inside it and not even the longest of director’s cuts can help. (12/23/2009)

When Cameron wants to do something, like shooting an entire film in a water tank, he just does it and the result is always perfect. Although this film wasn't nearly as big a hit as Terminator 2, I put it higher in James Cameron's filmography, and it’s further proof of his immense perfectionism – he just can't make a bad film. And since I've seen the director's cut, I have to say that the extended ending with a stunning (for its time) visual effects scene puts this film in a completely different light. (06/01/2002)

The best of Cameron’s work for me. Excellent direction, perfect atmosphere and a rather pleasant story, which is spoiled only by the stupid open conclusion, apparently made to order "to make it work". Otherwise, however, I consider this underwater variation on Close Encounters of the Third Kind to be one of the best adventure films made in Hollywood, to which the excellent Ed Harris in the role of the manly captain of the undersea station certainly contributes. To the aforementioned conclusion – in a special edition, it is extended and drawn into a very naïvely proclamational, but still better form. At least you'll know why these little transparent men do it all. (01/27/2004)

I didn't see the film during its release in movie theaters and I only watched it now as part of filling gaps in the world of cinema. Therefore, I cannot be influenced by any nostalgia and I can easily compare Cameron's famous film with the current offerings in the respective genre. The main advantage of The Abyss was undoubtedly its cutting-edge special effects, which, understandably, lose their shine with the passing years, exposing the triviality of the plot and the hopelessness of the screenplay. Moreover, the concept of the cute aliens who wave at you in a friendly manner and are so kind that you would immediately move them into your living room really bothers me, and I am only open to it in the case of E.T. The remaining aspect is Cameron's precise direction, which earns The Abyss a three-star rating, although just barely due to its overlong duration. In the last third, the film dragged on so much that I longed for Cameron's finances to run out and for him to quickly stop the film... Overall impression: 50%. I can't help but also point out the absence of any deeper thoughts in the film. This really isn't 2001: A Space Odyssey. (06/02/2010)