A civilian oil rig crew is recruited to conduct a search and rescue effort when a nuclear submarine mysteriously sinks. One diver soon finds himself on a spectacular odyssey 25,000 feet below the ocean's surface where he confronts a mysterious force that has the power to change the world or destroy it.
Anyone looking for a discouraging word about this stupendously exciting and emotionally engulfing film should read no further. The Abyss confirms James Cameron as a world-class filmmaker.
– Peter Travers,
Rolling Stone,
12 May 2001
rotten:
This overlong concoction is scuppered by dire dialogue, histrionic performances and maudlin sentimentality.
– Geoff Andrew,
Time Out,
9 Feb 2006
rotten:
The attempt to extract the essences of several genres (cold-war submarine thriller, love story, Disney fantasy, pseudomystical SF in the Spielberg mode) and mix them together ultimately leads to giddy incoherence.
– Jonathan Rosenbaum,
Chicago Reader,
6 Jun 2007
fresh:
A firstrate underwater suspenser with an otherworldly twist, The Abyss suffers from a payoff unworthy of its buildup.