Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant movie making
Review: This movie was so wonderfully made that I believe that it is James Cameron's best. When I fist saw this movie in the theatre it seemed incomplete. And now I know why, because it was incomplete. The job that they did to put the full version together is fantastic. The effects are possibly the best done for any movie ever and it is 14 years old. Still today I have yet to see a movie that is so wonderfully comprised. The acting is outstanding. I have so much resect for the cast after seeing the making of segment. Boy did they ever go through hell. But it was all worth it to see a finished product of superior entertainment. Absolutly breathtaking
Rating: 
Summary: Simple title ¿ complex movie
Review: All the elements are there to make this a fun "sit on the edge of your seat" movie. You have a nuclear sub accident that just gets worse as it goes you have conflict between authority types and free wheelers. There is a love interest (attraction at a distance). Will he make it or is it out of time or out of air or out of distance maybe out of patients. Who knows?Aside from the story there a re great effects and many panoramic scenes. There are lots of bubbles, an abyss and maybe some Ruskies. If you like all those submarine movies this fits in well. Again it is the people action and reaction that make the movie. Don't wait for some slam-bang surprise to appear out of no ware or you will have misses the story. This is one of those movies that have to grow on you and then you will watch it again.
Rating:
Summary: The Abyss Is Visually Stimulating!
Review: James Cameron has given himself a personal reputation that a lot of people would call the very best, however, his films are very broad, usually filled with adventure and often exciting and interesting. From The Terminator to Titanic, James Cameron has thrilled and excited audiences all over the world. This story is one of those that borders on intellectual and fantasy. This DVD has two versions of the film on it. It has the original theatrical release and then the "directors cut". The DC is much better. It explains what happens and what motivates the "aliens" to do what they are doing. I remember seeing this in the theatre and wondering "why?" Ed Harris is great. Elizabeth Mastriantonio is fabulous and all the supporting cast really shines. Even Cameron's favorite bad guy - Michael Bein is intense. The special effects are very good and the visuals are very colorful. It is technically a very good film to watch. The story is simple. "We are not alone." (Heard that before?) The DVD is wonderful. The menus and scene changes and all the behind the scenes are the very best. It is great for film and special effects enthusiasts. It is full of information. This is a good one to own!
Rating:
Summary: Many Hidden Trailers
Review: The easiest is at the Trailer section on the 2nd DVD. If you look at the posters behind the 3 Abyss ones, you will see that there is movie posters for Aliens, True Lies, and Strange Days. You can access them as follows. When your cursor is on the Reviews Trailer item push UP and you will get to an Aliens item that shows a trailer. When your cursor is on the Main Trailer item push DOWN and you will get to a True Lies item that shows a trailer. From the True Lies item push RIGHT and you will get to the Strange Days trailer Go to the The Abyss In-Depth - Mission Components section. At the next menu push UP until you get to the The Wave item and push UP one more time. There is a Harrier in the sky that you can select and it takes you to another True Lies trailer. O.K. Last one, go to the Image Gallery Menu section and move all the way over to the right until you are on the Still Image Gallery and push DOWN. Your cursor will move to an item on the wall at the top of the screen and you will see some text on the monitor that references Strange Days. Select this item and you will go to another Strange Days trailer
--- First go to the 2nd DVD disk, select the Personnel Lockers and go to the last page of items. There you will see an item appear at the upper right corner of your screen. To get to this item, put your cursor on the Building "Deepcore" and push RIGHT. Select the item to see the Aliens trailer. Select the Imaging Station and go to the VCR Tape labeled "Pseudopod Multi Angle". Push LEFT and you should go to an item on the far left of the screen. Select this to see yet another Aliens trailer
--- There is in fact not one but two Strange Days trailers, the first which can be accessed on the trailers menu behind the posters, but the second can be found also on the second disc. To access this second trailer which is actually a teaser, go into the imgaging station, once the screen loads, highlight the clipboard on the desk, which is on the right hand side of the screen, once highlighted press the down button. In doing so you will be taken back to the tyop of the screen were above the videos stacked there is a mini-disc player that should be now highlighted, select that and you an view the teaser. You cannot access this trailer by scrolling up into it, you have to press down on the clipboard.
--- On disc 2. Go to main menu, go to audio options, highlight alien face hugger on top of speaker for an Aliens trailer.
Disc 2: Go to main menu. Go to subtitle options, highlight face hugger hiding behind table for another Aliens trailer.
Disc 2: Go to documentaries, highlight "under pressure: the making of the abyss", press left to highlight the chapter list, scroll down until you reach chapter 18, an alien face hugger appears on a pipe at top of screen, press left to highlight face hugger for another Aliens trailer.
All in all there are 6 Aliens trailers, 2 True Lies trailers, and 2 Strange Days trailers.
Enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow, but ambitious and beautifully photographed.
Review: The Abyss is James Cameron's weakest film. However, Cameron should be proud that even his weakest film has plenty of merits, and its attempt at pulling off a global message is noble, even if it's a noble failure. This was one case where the "director's cut" phenomenon really proves unappetizing for the viewer. There's a reason why the theatrical release version of this film was nearly a half hour shorter than this "special edition", which is that the extra footage simply bogs down the momentum of the film, already quite languid to begin with. The booklet to this DVD edition offers up an invaluable resource by describing exactly what differences exist from scene to scene between the special edition and the theatrical release, but nearly all of the arguments it offers for restoring the "director's cut" are unfounded. Much of the restored footage is painstaking background detail and reiterations of concepts that already exist in the theatrical cut, and the badly written "two candles" scene features possibly the worst acting from Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in the film. That said, even given the slow pacing, it's a tribute to Cameron's writing and directing abilities that the narrative thrust remains and you'd probably still be engaged throughout those long underwater-exploration scenes. Michael Biehn, playing against type, does an excellent job portraying the detestable yet human Coffey; he makes life hell for everybody around him, yet Biehn and Cameron smartly instill the character with pathos. Ed Harris is never less than compelling, and his unique, intimate charm carries the film. Mastrantonio is the weak link in the cast -- she gets the hotheadedness and toughness of the character, but when trying to project the more vulnerable moments, her overacting grates on the nerves. The photography and special effects are gorgeous (making it easy to see why it'd be tempting to restore the cut footage), and Alan Silvestri's score is fitting and elegant. The central message is extremely preachy, but I still have to give it to Cameron for having attempted to convey it at all. Few films and filmmakers have the daring to make such global, universal statements, and though Cameron was not able to seamlessly incorporate the message into the narrative of The Abyss, his attempt is admirable. He would succeed in spades come time of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. A flawed film, one which still warrants a serious look.
Rating:
Summary: A great action film, but.....
Review: Did you ever watch a movie that has top-notch performances, great action and awesome special effects, but the whole thing nearly gets ruined by the cop-out ending? Well, if you've seen Mission to Mars, you know what i'm talking about. James Cameron's underwater thriller The Abyss is a taut, supensful film with all the aformentioned plus points but is let down by the bog standard ending which, to be blunt, screams "Close Encounters rip off!" The problem is, that it's one trick that Cameron can't pull off. The etheral ending is bizzare for a man who unleashed the brutal and terrifying Terminator and Aliens. But the plus points do make it worthwhile, with action aplenty and a series of gripping set-pieces that enthrall every time. And the huge amount of extra features on the DVD is impressive, with trailers, T.V spots, a feature "Multi-Story Option": where you can select original theatrical release (145 min.) or special edition release with 28 minutes of added footage, plus a video
subscripture Version: Viewers can read pop-up captions throughout the film explaning how the special effects were created. Documentary: Under pressure: Making The Abyss (60 min.) with cast and crew interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. Not quite five stars, but it's worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Must have for your collection
Review: I've been waiting for years to see this version of The Abyss. Yes this is the Director's Cut with the added footage that changes your whole perspective of the beings. I wont give anything away to anyone who hasnt seen this, but it definitely makes you think differently of the beings seeing this version.
Amazing what about 14 minutes of extra footage will do to a movie. The DVD quality is excellent when played on a quality DVD player with quality wiring as all DVD's are. I never view any of the special features on DVD's, I'm buying a movie, not the making of a movie. I guess it would be nice though. But I'm here rating what I saw in this DVD and it was very good.
Rating:
Summary: Loaded DVD adds to very good Sci-Fi Flick
Review: "The Abyss" is a rare film that is about as interesting to see how it was made as it is to watch the film itself. The extras on this DVD are easily some of the best out there - not the least of which is the nearly 30 min longer "special edition" which I thought was superior to the original (you can view either one!). The movie is a good but a fairly standard underwater "aliens"-style flick until a scene about 2/3 of the way in, where the two leads (played by Harris and Mastrantonio) have to make a life and death decision. Harris delivers an Oscar-worthy performance as he and the other crew members try to revive Mastrantonio. It adds an emotional punch that really elevates the entire movie. Director James Cameron barely allows you to catch your breath before he practically reverses the roles from the previous scene. The rollercoaster emotional effect sucks you in even more and I thought that this is one instance where leaving a somewhat open-ended conclusion would have worked well (leaving Harris down at the bottom of the Abyss). The fact that the ending switches from the crew confined to the underwater oil rig for nearly the entire picture to suddenly looking at a global perspective did not work for me. It seemed forced and contrived (almost like a reverse of the "Close Encounters" ending), but it did nail home the movies' "message" for anyone who might have been napping during the previous 2.5 hours. Still, this is a very good movie with great extras. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Good, but could have been better
Review: First of all, let's look at this from the standpoint of the DVDs themselves. The picture quality is great, numerous special features and easter eggs, great sound. A+. The acting - For the most part, the acting is top notch. There are some problems with a little bit of overacting by the military group and the continual sense of urgency by many of the cast throughout the film, even before there is any need to feel that way, but for the most part, emotions are well acted, and most of the characters have more than 2 dimensions. If you throw in the deleted scenes so that you get a better sense of the relationships among the various players, they come even further alive. B+ Storyline - I could add more categories, but I'll stop with this one. Some people have argued that this movie moves too slow or that the dialogue seems contrived at points. I disagree. I think too many reviewers look at this as an action film and fail to realize that it was primarily a drama in an action laden environment. We are looking at the interactions of a group of different individual psyches in a contained environment. From that standpoint it is a great character film. But it fails the same place 90+% of Hollywood movies fail in that the ending is flat, even the alternate ending. ****Spoiler Alert**** You are left with too many what next anti-climax questions and an alien force that is vastly technologically superior to our own that is suddently going to live among us in peace, etc. etc. even though we have no interactions with them to show their benevolence. It also fails in the number of odd or improbable situations that continually pop up all at once, which, much like tripping when being chased by the axe murderer, are constant cliches in Hollywood films. Still, with all said, I found the movie very enjoyable, only mildly predicable, with excellent cinematography although a few of the shots would better have been served from different angles and fewer transitions. B Overall - B+
Rating:
Summary: Great underwater action movie
Review: I love Cameron's movies. This one doesn't disappoint. Its about Linsday,her soon to be ex husband Bud(Ed Harris)and their crew of oil riggers on Deepcore 2,who run into trouble when a group of Navy SEALS come on board when a submarine named the Montana sinks with some important material on board.
Beautifully photographed movie that is not to be missed.
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