James Cameron month: The Abyss

A retrospective by Azzam Abdur-Rahman

The Abyss is a dad movie. In Cameron’s filmography, it stands out like a sore thumb in the sense that it is equal parts a beautiful blend of its blue-collar sci-fi and the man’s obsession with the unknown.

The Abyss stars Ed Harris is probably his least menacing role. He is a member of a team of scientists in a deep-sea lab. During their stay, they discover that beneath them in the “abyss” something is amiss. With that being said to give you any more detail would ruin this film. Cameron feels like a man who is confident enough to look out into the universe and ask is there more. 
The Abyss is that question in the form of a movie about being in a place humans are not meant to go but are and keep asking “why!” It is action-packed but it is also the most patient and caring of his films. Cameron is known for bombast and while that is here it is surrounded by a character drama that feels warm. 

It’s also his most forgotten film. One that deserves a second life, it is the only one of his films that is not consistently re-released and not consistently added to the pantheon of films but is well worth your time. So seek it out

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