The Abyss (1989)

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Writer/Director: James Cameron

Stars: Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Micheal Biehn, Leo Burmester, Todd Graff, John Bedford Lloyd



James Cameron infuses his action/sci-fi films with real humanity more successfully and consistently than any other filmmaker.

 


This film tells the story of an isolated group on the ocean floor who must both investigate the sinking of an American nuclear submarine and deal with the mysterious aliens that they encounter. 



Ed Harris plays the supervisor on Deepcore, an undersea oil drilling rig.

 


Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is the rig's designer as well as Harris' ex-wife.

 


Antagonism leads to rekindled passion during the extraordinary adventure that they endure.

 


There is one great action set piece after another, some exciting technology (such as breathable fluid) and an effective emotional core to the story. 



The culminating sequence, wherein Harris sinks to the bottom of the abyss with only Mastrantonio's voice to accompany him, is more moving than the endings of many supposedly more serious dramas.














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