I really enjoyed the theatrical version of this film when it first came to home video. I then saw the director's cut of the film and felt that an entertaining movie became a fantastic one. In the theatrical version it seemed as though the aliens kind of popped up at the end to save Ed Harris. The director's cut is by far a much better viewing experience because it gives more depth and reasoning for why the aliens are there and what there purpose is. It has some underlying messages in the film about the dangers of nuclear war, but that was seen in many of James Cameron's flicks from the original Terminator thru True Lies. Some of the characters are a little annoying at times, but I felt The Abyss is a great roller coaster ride with its action sequences. The movie also did a great job in making the viewer claustrophobic at times, especially in the diving scenes aboard the sunken sub.

It amazes me that there is some negative feedback that appears on the IMDB regarding this film. I sit there thinking to myself…what film did that person watch? You only have to watch the documentary, Under Pressure: Making The Abyss, to have respect for the finished product, and an all-new respect if you have seen the film already. Don't listen to the negative feedback about The Abyss. Decide for your self by watching the director's cut today. It is a great cinematic viewing experience.

There was a time, way back in the '80s - before James Cameron suffered head trauma and devoted his life to Avatar - when the man made blockbusters that had a humanity at their core; something instantly relatable despite the sci-fi setting. The Abyss is one of those, with Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio reconciling their failed marriage amidst mortal peril. Indeed, they're trapped miles beneath the ocean's surface, negotiating nuclear warheads, attacking subs and a hair-triggered Michael Biehn.

Cameron creates a realistic environment that still feels otherworldly, populates it with real people and ratchets the tension to unnerving heights. The effects are fantastic, ast are the performances and - as scary as this place is - I would easily come back to revisit.

The story of The Abyss starts with a mysterious crash of a US nuclear submarine that is armed with the appropriate nuclear weaponry for its time. With reports of it down, we want to get it before the Russians do.

When it rains it pours, literally in this case. A fast moving storm forces the Navy to use the crew and equipment from a nearby underwater deep sea drilling platform and the oil roughnecks are promised some big government checks for their help.

Crew chief Ed Harris gives his reluctant consent, made even more reluctant by the fact that his estranged wife Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio has designed some new equipment for use in the really deep waters of The Abyss of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Navy people and the oil people are a bad fit to start with, but when the deep depths effect Navy SEAL Michael Biehn by bringing out the worst aspects of the military authoritarian personality things get real interesting down in the deep.

The spectacle does dwarf the story which is the only real criticism I can make of The Abyss. What the submarine made accidental contact with is some incredible alien life form which I can't go into further because that's the whole point of the film. Of course Biehn still believes it's all a Russian plot of some kind and therein lies the conflict exacerbated by the extreme paranoia he develops.

Unlike Cameron's Titanic, the spectacle at the end just overwhelms the human players in this film. But it was those special effects that go The Abyss its Academy Award recognition. The Abyss was also nominated for Sound and Art&Set Direction and Cinematography. It could have been a winner in any of those categories. In fact the biggest mistake you can make which is the one I did make, to see The Abyss on the small screen and formatted. This film is what IMAX was developed for.

Though the story does get lost somewhat in the special effects the point is still made about man being ready and open to all kinds of possibilities of life that can exist anywhere. See The Abyss, but wait for a revival showing at a theater.