Rating: 
Summary: No WAY it's underrated! You must not be a diver....
Review: or a SciFi fan if you don't appreciate this film. The combination of technical feats in underwater filming and the special effect is fabulous. And if you can't pick up on the subtext in the Directors Cut, well, you must not have been paying attention. Strong philosophical elements, if you are. And yes, the Directors Cut REALLY REALLY makes a difference!
Rating:
Summary: Overrated? It is way underrated!
Review: The Abyss is my favourite movie of all time. It is mysterious, beautiful, suspenseful and full of great characters. The only complaint of this movie is the theatrical version which was a bit confusing but the special edition makes everything come together. This movie is very underated and should be named a classic! Can't wait for the DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: Read the Book by Orson Scott Card
Review: The book treatment is better than the movie. For those of you disappointed by the original ending in the movie, the book's is much more believable.
Rating: 
Summary: Eye candy to dazzle 12-year olds, but a very weak script.
Review: The Abyss is a continuation of that on-going, pathetic, story in the American filmmaking industry commonly known to most people by its nickname- "Hollywood"... an assembly of very talented actors whose talents are unfortunately wasted under the direction of an incompetent director- this time it's James Cameron. Add in the $$million$$ dollar special effects extravaganza to the immature script, cheesy "feel-good" soundtrack, and cheesy dialogue leading up to the very cheesy ending, and what we have here is an underwater tear-jerker epic in the making(no, it's 8 years too early for Titanic)....The Abyss. I would've given it "2" stars, but they had to re-release the "Director's Cut" version, which made it even worse. Therefore, I am compelled to give it a rating of "1" (only because "0" is not allowed here). To me, there are 2 types of "Director's Cut". 1. The addition of footage that was cut out, because it was considered too explicit by the censors. 2. The addition of footage that was shot, but wasn't included due to time constraints. The Abyss falls under neither category, with the end product adding nothing more than very bad outtakes of Ed Harris mumbling to himself in place of the aliens so that we know their(the aliens) true intentions on earth. People watching the "Director's Cut" for the first time who have already seen the regular version won't be surprised at all by how the plot turns out in the predictably weak & all-too simple of a script. If James Cameron had any brains at all, he would've anticipated that someday there would be a demand for a "Director's Cut", and brought the actors back into the studio even after the film's release to shoot the necessary scenes to give it more cohesion for a future release. Not slop in a bunch of mediocre outtakes and say "Ok, here's my masterpiece the way it was intended to be seen. Blah, blah, blah...". If anything, The Abyss is eye candy to dazzle 12-year olds and nothing more.
Rating: 
Summary: Quite overrated -- and ooohhh that ending! Pewwww!
Review: I surely do not wish to show any disrespect to any of you who love this film and think of it as a "certain classic," yet I must disagree. Hey, everyone's a critic.I am a huge fan of Cameron (except that "King of the World" acceptance speech). Everything from Terminators to Aliens, and even Titanic (which I thought was a great love story). This being said - I must say that this is a terribly overrated film. But first: The acting is quite good. Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Michael Beihn, as well as an exceptional supporting cast, are great and very well cast. Given that it's Cameron, the technical aspects are all top notch. (I heard much of this was filmed in the largest tank built, at that time, covered with a few inches of black plastic ball bearing sized balls to create the darkness.) The basic story is good enough. Deepwater oil workers are the only way to do a rescue of a downed submarine. The navy has not been forthright, though. They have other plans. This of course creates the conflict. OK so far. What really bugs me about this movie (besides the ending, which I'll get to later) is that it tries too hard. It almost seems as if the aliens (there are aliens in this movie who live under the sea) were introduced because the basic story line wasn't enough to make a whole movie from. From the moment the aliens are introduced, (and by the way, the aliens are great effects - they look really cool), they exist as a distraction. Cameron really handles their participation in the plot poorly. They only serve as to represent morality, offer the special effects portion of the film, and confirm who are the good guys (as if we couldn't figure that out on our own). The storyline becomes increasingly unbelievable, unreasonable and unlikeable. (Which is too bad, because it starts out well.) This leads to . . . The ending may be the worst ending ever in a movie ever. Ever! (Unless they make the ending of the upcoming Hannibal the same as the book.) From the build up of tension, which is fairly believable, the ending is just such a letdown. Completely not believable on several levels. It would be unfair to spoil the plot for those of you who might actually enjoy it, but look for the line, "They must have done something to us!" This is truly awful. Awful! This is not a bad movie, just not a terribly successful movie. There are much better Cameron movies out there (some mentioned above), and much better DVDs for your hard earned money.
Rating:
Summary: Where the bright lights are....
Review: All I can say about this film is that a) it is *wonderful* and b) that you really need to see the director's cut to fully appreciate it! Cameron is a wonderful storyteller with a fantastic cast, and one cannot help but be awestruck by both story and actors. Ed Harris and Maestrantonio work splendidly together, which only serves to augment a brilliant thot-provoking story all the more.
Rating:
Summary: It is about time for this release.
Review: I first bought this movie on Laser Disk (3 disks) withall of the deleted footage and the additional "making of"material. The underwater stage and filming were well done and the use of new diving equipment to make the movie that much more realistic was a great part. The directors cut helps make the movie more understandable, although I would agree that the pace can be somewhat nerve racking. The few technical in-accuracies are not enough to go into here because VERY FEW movies are made totally technically accurate and if more were there would be more box office failures. Overall a good movie and the documentary makes a good learning experience on some of the technology used to make movies. Review based on Laser Disk Version END
Rating:
Summary: I would have rated it 10 if I could have.
Review: I just finished watching the widescreen version on a 56" theaterwide television. Talk about showing off all the flaws in the VHS version. When I noticed that the DVD version will be released on 3/2000, I immediately put in a pre-order for it. My roommate thinks that the nuke was well below crash depth and should have detonated or crushed at the very least. I said, "So, it's still a fantastic movie." Can't wait for the DVD. I already have the special edition with the 28 extra minutes but it's more fun on DVD.
Rating:
Summary: ONE OF THE FUNNIST MOVIE I HAVE EVER SEEN!
Review: This is one funniest movies ever made! Christ Elliott is great! I could not stop laughing! The Hammer cracks me up! The rat is a great actor, One of the best animal actors that I have every seen! It was so funny when he was breathring the water! " YOU SEE THIS THAY CALL THIS THE HAMMER"
Rating:
Summary: The Abyss Special Edition
Review: In the future this film, just as Gone With The Wind and others should be labeled a Classic. Of all the movies I have seen and puchased in the last 10 years, this is one of my favorites. Because it combines real acting ability with special effects. It's hard today to find a film that does that. When they put put back the cut sceens it made it a better film. My family are movie fanatics, so all of us have one of these.
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