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1989

 

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Lindsey Brigman

Ed Harris as Virgil “Bud” Brigman

Michael Biehn as Lt. Coffey

Leo Burmester as Catfish De Vries

Screenplay by James Cameron

Directed by James Cameron

 

Happy 63rd birthday, Michael Biehn! This popular action film star is also a big basketball fan. He learned acting from none other than Lauren Bacall. He was actually ALMOST nominated for an Oscar® for his portrayal of Lt. Coffey in this film.

 

The Abyss begins with a submarine. It’s cruising along, like submarines tend to do. Suddenly, there’s a flash of some kind of light, racing around outside, and it messes with the sub’s instruments. They go offline just long enough for the sub to head straight for an underwater canyon wall and not be able to maneuver. It crashes and drops down the side of the canyon, full of nuclear warheads.

Next up, we see the Benthic Petroleum-owned Deep Core being towed just above the ocean floor—a gigantic underwater drilling rig. The crew is a bunch of roughnecks—oil workers. It’s a little different, as it’s an underwater platform as opposed to land-based or actual above-water oil platforms, but the job is the same. However, since the rig is down there, and the military needs to get at that nuclear sub, so the government pays the Benthic and Deep Core crews bonuses to be able to use it. Well, that sets off an unhappy reaction from Lindsey Brigman (Mastrantonio; Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves), the rig’s designer. Neither she, nor anyone else, could possibly predict the incredible sequence of events that would follow over the next few days, deep under the ocean’s surface.

So we should be able to guess with quite a bit of accuracy that James Cameron is obsessed with the ocean. Duh, right? His first screenwriting credit is for Piranha II: The Spawning. Yeah, he diverts to the Terminator series, but he loves the ocean. And the environment. (Let’s be real—Avatar was a CG/Live Action remake of Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest.) So it makes sense that he would create this incredible world of fantasy that could very well exist right now. That’s why Sci Fi is so mind-boggling—it could actually be true, you know?

This is one of my favorite films. Ever. It’s beautiful. The characters are amazing. The story is fun, and it tugs at your heartstrings. Can’t help but love it. Here’s some specific instances:

  • Every time Lindsey makes fun of Lt. Coffey (Biehn; the Terminator, Aliens). I think the best one is when she goes off on him and calls him Roger Ramjet. Poignant and funny.
  • The supporting cast. They may not be a bunch of big names, but damn, they were effective. I can’t imagine being cooped up under that much water and NO WAY OUT with all those people for that amount of time. Yeesh. The Navy Seals are intense. The oil workers are regular people. They’re all wonderful. And the rat. Aww.
  • The NTIs. What an incredible presentation of the underwater flying objects (thanks, Hippy). The visual doesn’t quite hold up (you can see the boxes around them, like the ones in Close Encounters of the Third Kind), but they’re so pretty!
  • The technology. The rig is pretty standard—lots of pipes and tubes and cranks and metal. However, the underwater breathing apparatuses that the Navy boys bring down are pretty badass. Who wants that pink shit in their lungs? I’m sorry, but I’d freak the hell out as well.
  • The development of the characters in the story. It all hinges on Bud and Lindsey’s relationship—everyone is at odds when those two are at odds. Everyone comes together when the couple does. It’s standard screenwriting, but it’s so cool to see how all of the characters, especially the previously divided Seals and rig workers, come together just when they think they’re out of time.

Weepy Meter: 10/10 Can’t help it. I cry when I’m moved. Even though Lindsey is a total bitch, it sucks when she dies. Oh. Sorry. Spoiler! (OR IS IT????)

Man Meter: 8/10 Underwater oil rig. Fights. Submarines. Nuclear warheads. A couple of guns. A Russian water tentacle. Yup. He’ll dig it.

Overall Rating: 9/10 It’s great. See it.

 

Photo credit: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096754/mediaviewer/rm1033454848

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