Blog special: The Sins of CinemaSins

Right, well just for a change, I figured I would do a post on something a little different than the usual reviews, as something has piqued my interest lately on Youtube as I have seen a few posts from different Youtubers saying how they hate CinemaSins for numerous reasons.  So, I thought I would throw in my upon tuppence worth and say a bit about what I think of CinemaSins, its flaws, drawbacks and whether I hate it like these Youtubers do.

So is CinemaSins really that bad and does it have its own sins???  For sure it has its share of sins for things the channel either misses, or doesn't get, or simply makes some rather mean spirited sounding comments about films and occassionally the filmmakers involved.

However I personally don't think that CinemaSins is bad as I do quite often enjoy watching the channel for its observational humour and picking up on various flaws or "sins" in films.  However as I said it does have problems, so that is what I will cover in this post.

And before I start I just would like to say this is all just my opinion, so you can all disagree with me if you like.  

CINEMASINS RECURRING SINS

Well to start off I have to say I think one of the problems with CinemaSins is that it makes an excessive use of the same sins.  And as an example one of the recurring themes or "sins" they keep adding to their sin count is "reading" i.e. where we get captions at the start of a film explaining the background story to set the scene.  Yet, CinemaSins for some unspecified reason has a problem with reading.  Why???  I mean the whole point of the captions and paragraphs of text at the start of the film is to explain things to the audience, to set the scene, to give some background exposition of what to expect.  So, for those reasons I really don't see why "reading" should be counted as a sin as it serves to establish what the film is about!

Another recurring sin is DC comics in DC films.  This is another that remains unexplained and Jeremy Scott, who does the voice over for the channel said that one day they might explain why they keep adding a sin for DC comics.  However until then, it remains a somewhat pointless sin as far as I am concerned unless they are prepared to explain why it is a sin in the first place!  The only reason I can think of in regards to sinning DC comics is probably because DC stands for "Detective Comics" so basically by saying DC comics, they are really saying "Detective Comics Comics" which is a bit pedantic but then CinemaSins is certainly all about that!  However I think that isn't the reason why in itself, so this remains a rather bizarre sin unless they explain it.

Another recurring sin is when CinemaSins keep criticising movies that take their time to build up to scenes or move at a slower pace.  Basically, Jeremy Scott comes across as a really impatient guy, who wants films to cut to the chase and get to the action pronto, rather take time to build up to it to these moments.  And its Scott's impatience in these videos that can at times make them quite annoying to watch as not every film needs to move at a breakneck pace in order for them to work.

Further to this point, CinemaSins criticised Blade Runner in their video for being such a long movie when its running time is just under two hours!  Of course what they meant is most likely the film feels long given its somewhat slower pace.  

And lastly another recurring sin is the one where CinemaSins keeps pulling up films that use captions to show where a film is based or where specific scenes are set, e.g. Tokyo, Japan and in which case Jeremy Scott might narrate "In case you mistook it for Tokyo, New Jersey!".  However while a fair amount of these captioned locations can be identified without the caption's help, not all of these locations might be automatically obvious for viewers.

And one such example is in X-Men Apocalypse where  the caption "Pruszkow in Poland" was sinned and Scott said "In case you mistook it for Preuszkow, Kentucky!".  Now I have to say that this Polish city is really not that obvious to me or probably to alot of people, so I think it was a bit unfair of Cinemasins to sin it.  But in the end, it is one of CinemaSins running jokes however it doesn't always work or is well justified.       

BIZARRE SIN REMOVAL OR LACK OF SIN REMOVAL

There are also times where CinemaSins remove a sin for the most bizarre of reasons in a film or more to the point they don't remove sins for scenes that are really good and actually deserve a sin to be removed for.  CinemaSins also appears to remove sins at times more for sexual scenes than other scenes that might deserve a sin removal on merit.  Such examples though of weird sin removal are in Batman Returns where Catwoman first appears and beats up a mugger and she says "This is my first time!" to the mugger and a sin is removed for that.  Then there is of course Showgirls, where a sin is removed when Elizabeth Berkely and Gina Gershon kiss near the end of the film.  So unless there is a bit of sexiness, a lapdance (another recurring joke in Cinemasins, or was) then there are times where a scene simply doesn't qualify a sin being removed even if it is great. 

However there are many instances where they don't remove a sin for a great moment in a film, such as for example in Blade Runner, the replicant Roy's "tears in rain" speech.  In fact they removed only one sin for whole film and that was for Vangelis's score and nothing else!  Then there is The Matrix, which Scott claimed to be his favourite film, yet he didn't remove one sin throughout the whole movie! Although to be fair, this was one of earliest videos on the channel, so maybe the sin removal counter wasn't a part of it all back then.

CINEMASINS SEEMS INCAPABLE OF GOING AGAINST THE FLOW OF WHAT IS A COMMERCIALLY A GOOD FILM VS WHAT MIGHT BE UNDERRATED ONE

Now, OK, everything in life is subjective and when it comes to films, what one person might think is a good movie someone else might think is awful.  However my problem with Cinemasins here is that they tend to always jump on the bandwagon of what is popularly considered to be good (with maybe perhaps the odd exception) yet they will slate films that perhaps deserve a bit more credit.

As an example, CinemaSins praised films such as Wall-E, Mad Max: Fury Road, Interstellar and Unbreakable, which of course all got very positive feedback and praise from critics and audiences, however as far as I am concerned all these films are overrated.  However that is of course just my opinion and you can all disagree with me here.

However Cinemasins have also slated films, which are actually quite underrated such as maybe the odd numbered Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, Revenge of the Sith (which again is subjective!) which has always been considered the best of the three films (or even the least awful one!).  They also had a go at other films such as Ant-Man, which again is quite an enjoyable, entertaining film and of course Hellboy, which is also another film I'd consider underrated (well certainly not by Cinemasins!).

My point here is that CinemaSins don't really seem prepared to go against the flow alot of the time, its all about what is popular and commercially considered being good as opposed what might actually be good and was less successful in the public eye but might deserve a second look.   And Cinemasins really do take a pretty narrow minded approach to their videos and what films might be considered as being overlooked. 

CINEMASINS AT TIMES JUST DON'T PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT GOES ON IN A FILM

There are of course various occassions where Cinemasins sin a film in certain scenes because they overlooked something when they were watching it.

As an example there is a moment in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, where the character, Ilsa Faust is being watched in London at a busy train station and in the next moment we see she is gone, yet Cinemasins said that this should be impossible.  However on slowing down the scene itself, it is actually relatively visible that we see Ilsa flee through the busy crowd and CinemaSins have been shown to actually freeze footage at times in the past, so funny how they missed that one.

Another example is in the Bond film, Spectre, where Bond is admitted into a secret SPECTRE meeting without any hassle as he simply shows one of the guards the octopus ring he took from a baddie in the opening scene and later Blofeld suddenly notices Bond above him without even looking up.  However what Cinemasisns didn't notice is that the guard actually makes a phone call after Bond enters the meeting, which tells us Blofeld has set a trap for Bond to walk right into.

Another example is one I picked up on myself personally and its in their video on Rocky IV, where Adrian joins Rocky in Russia to support him as he trains to fight the mighty Ivan Drago, yet she decides to leave her son behind on his own without anyone to look after him except the big robot they have!  However this is a blatant movie sin that Cinemasins failed to even pick up on, which I actually find quite astounding!

Then there is a scene in Seven where detectives Somertset and Millers along with a SWAT team discover the "Sloth" victim of the serial killer, John Doe and there are loads of air freshners hanging from the ceiling to blot out the rotting smell of the victim's decaying body.  However, CinemaSins seem to think that the freshners wouldn't be able to do that despite the fact that there are HUNDREDS of them!

There are of course loads more examples I could quote but that would take forever!

SUM UP

So, to sum up, I like CinemaSins as a channel as their videos can at times be funny and well observed in picking out films numerous flaws and niggles.  However the channel isn't without problems in that some of the content can come across a bit mean spirited and they do tend to gear themselves towards popular opinion in terms of what are good movies and what are considered bad movies.  And there are times where you feel a bit frustrated in the channel's narrow-minded view towards certain films and their general unwillingness to give films that might be now considered underrated a fair shake.  Jeremy Scott also seems to have an impatient streak when it comes to movies, as everything must happen now or he seems bored and resorts to saying "get on with it already!" and what the hell is wrong with "reading" or indeed captioned plot exposition!

However despite its flaws, CinemaSins is still a channel I enjoy although I just wish at times it would play a bit fairer in its attitude toward films in general.  Its fine to poke fun at films but being mean spirited certainly isn't and there are times where CinemaSins should try and rein that in.

Anyway, so that's it for now and I will be back again with another post soon.

Till the next one its bye for now.   

Doctor Who - Terror of the Zygons "That, Doctor is a kilt!"

OK, I have finally conceded and decided to do another post revisitation and the post in question will be on a Doctor Who story, which i have already reviewed, which is Terror of the Zygons.

So, after 42 years let's see how this Tom Baker era classic holds up....

And yep the usual warning is coming up....

SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY 

OK, so the story is set in Scotland and starts with the collapse of an oil rig as a high pitched beeping echoes throughout the rig and it breaks into the North sea.  Meanwhile the Doctor (Tom Baker), Sarah (Elisabeth Sladen) and Harry (Ian Marter) who have been summoned by the Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney).  They receive a lift from the Duke of Forgill (John Woodnutt) who is a local landowner, who drops them off a local inn, where the Brig has set up his operations and is accompanied by his squad and RSM Benton (John Levene).  The Doctor is irked by the Brigadier summoning him as at first he doesn't seem concenred by the troubles at sea, but the Brig soon convinces him to help investigate.

Harry investigates the medical files of the injuries of the men's crew while Sarah goes to talk with the local inn's landlord, Angus (Angus Lennie).  Angus admits to Sarah that the Duke has not been the same since the oil companies have come as all his servants have gone to work for them.  Sarah also notices a stag head in the inn, which Angus warns her not to touch as it was gift from the Duke.

Meanwhile Harry while driving enroute back to the inn spots a survivor of the wrecked rig stumble and collapse on the shore, where Harry goes over to help him.  The survivor tells Harry they had no chance as the rig was smashed to pieces, then out of nowhere the man is shot dead, and Harry is shot also by the Caber (Robert Russell) one of the Duke's men.

Back at the inn Sarah receives a call about Harry and Sarah goes to see him, and as Harry awakes he mutters about the rig, and the hospital head nurse, Sister Lamont (Lillias Walker) tells Sarah that Harry should rest.  Sarah then goes to call the Doctor and she tells him that Harry is in stable condition, however at that point Sister Lamont transforms infront of Harry's eyes.  Sarah while chatting to the Doctor on the phone is suddenly attacked by the transformed sister, who is revealed to be an orange alien biped, a zygon.

The Doctor goes to the sick bay where Sister Lamont tells him that Sarah had gone and Harry's bed is empty.  The Doctor looks around the sick bay and finds Sarah inside a decompression chamber, but before they can leave the door is locked by a Zygon, who removes the oxygen from the chamber.  The Doctor then puts Sarah in a hypnotic trance so she does not need to breath and the Doctor does the same for himself.

Harry in the meantime is brought to the Zygon spaceship which is deep underwater and he speaks to their leader, Broton (also John Woodnutt) who tells Harry that their planet was destroyed centuries ago and they have been stranded on Earth ever since, but they intend to claim Earth for their themselves along with aid of a cyborg creature called the Skarasen, which is said to resemble the myth of the "Loch ness monster".

Benton soon manages to find the Doctor and Sarah at the sick bay and opens the decompression chamber, where the Doctor comes around and tells Benton that he learned a trick from a Tibetan monk that helped them.  Meanwhile the Brigadier and his men have been knocked out by nerve gas which has hit the village, but they soon revive, and the Doctor deduces that this must be a diversion so that something can make its way past them unseen.

The zygons meanwhile use Harry by scanning his brain print in order for them to assume his human form, and one of the zygons disguised as Harry goes to the village and recovers a tracking device, used by the zygons, which the zygons takes from Sarah, who runs after him.  Sarah follows the Zygon Harry into a nearby barn, and the zygon attacks Sarah with a pitchfork in the upper level of the barn, but the zygon falls off to its death and reverts back to its normal form.  Broton then orders for the zygon to be disintegrated before it is found, which is gone by the time Sarah brings Benton to the barn.

Broton decides to unleash the Skarasen and in doing so it activates the tracking device, which the Doctor takes and uses to divert the creature away, and the Brigadier eventually get's a signal on it as it originated from Loch Ness, meanwhile the Doctor barely survives an attack from the Skarasen, as Harry sabotages the Zygons control console onboard the ship just in time.  And from here the Doctor decides to pay the Duke a visit at Forgill castle, where ultimaltey the story begins to unravel as the Doctor will soon encounter his foes and try and find a way to stop their plans of world domination...

THOUGHTS 

Terror of the Zygons easily stands as one of the best of Tom Baker's early stories and it also proved to be the last full proper UNIT story of the original series run until Battlefield in the Sylvester McCoy era (Android Invasion did follow later in the same season but it didn't feature UNIT as much only Benton).

And in that regard it really did signal the end of the UNIT era as the new producer at that time, Philip Hinchcliffe decided that it was time to move the show on from that era and see the Doctor return fully to his time travels.  However as the last hurra for UNIT there is no doubt that it was an excellent one and the story itself written by Robert Banks Stewart is great, as it nicely uses the whole Loch Ness monster theme very well.  The zygons themselves remain one of the most creepy and unique villains in the original show's run and their bizarre design and appearance is something you won't forget quickly.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)

Performance wise Terror of the zygons is pretty strong all round.

Tom Baker, who has grown well into playing the Doctor at this point provides another fine performance, and his potrayal of the Doctor starts to show signs of him becoming a bit darker in tone, yet he still allows for some levity as well, and this tone would continue to be developed in the same season of the time (which was Baker's 2nd season and 13th season of the show overall). 

Tom has plenty of fine scenes in the story, some of which I will mention, and to start with there is the scene where the Doctor meets with the Brigadier, who tells him about the disappearance of the rigs but the Doctor is not really interested.

So, the Doctor interrupts the Brig and says "Brigadier! Brigadier!  Have you brought me two hundred and seventy million miles just to sort out a little trouble at sea?!".  The Brig then firmly says "Three serious disasters, Doctor!" and the Doctor shouts back "When I left the psionic beam with you, Brigadier, I said it was only to be used in an emergency!".  The Brig then says "This IS an emergency" and the Doctor mockingly says "Oh, an emergency???!!  It's about time the people who run this planet of yours realised that to be dependent upon a mineral slime just doesn't make sense!".  The Brigadier then says to the Doctor "Doctor, the destruction of these rigs is a complete mystery. Do you want more men to die?".  The Doctor then gives in, groans and says "Very well! When do we start?".

Then there is the scene where the Doctor, Brig, S and H meet with Mr Huckle, one of Hibernian oil's representatives says about the oil rigs "These babies are meant to be unsinkable!" and the Doctor replies "Yes and so was the Bismarc and we all know that story!".  So, the Doctor asks Mr Huckle "You say these radio blackouts have happened before?" and Huckle replies "Each time a rig has disappeared" and the Doctor asks "No strange craft in the area?  Nothing suspicious?" and Huckle says "Difficult to be sure. It was at night. The radio picked up some strange sound, but as far as we know, the sea was calm and empty".  And then the Doctor replies "It may be calm but its never empty....".   

Also the scene where the Doctor is in the hypnotic trance in the decompression chamber and Benton finds him and Sarah inside, the Doctor whispers "It worked Mr Benton!" and Benton whispers back "What worked?" and the Doctor whispers "Why are you whispering?".  And Benton says in a normal level voice "What worked, Doctor?" and the Doctor replies "Oh, just a trick I picked up from a Tibetan monk. Don't touch her. It could be fatal to break the spell incorrectly".  So, the Doctor gently leans forward and tilts Sarah's neck, which brings her around and she gasps and looks up and says "What happened??".

Then there is the scene where the Doctor, being held captive onboard the Zygon ship is met with by Broton (in his native Zygon form).  And the Doctor smiles and says "Social call?" and Broton asks him "You admire our technology, human?" and the Doctor says "Well, I'm not human and I've seen better".  And Broton defiantly says "Better than this?!" and he changes form back into the Duke of Forgill and the Doctor mockingly applauds and says "Very good!  Very good!  Almost impressive. But why bother?".  Broton then explains part of his plan for conquest of the Earth and that the planet must be restructured for the arrival of more Zygon ships "It will be many centuries before the fleet arrives. In that time, the whole of this Earth must be restructured" and the Doctor smiles and says "I'll say one thing for you, Broton, you think big!".  Broton then tells the Doctor he intends to use humans as forced slave labour to carry out the task and the Doctor tells him "You're underestimating human beings, Broton" and Broton turns to him and says "We shall see.  Tomorrow I shall demonstrate my ultimate power".

Then there is the scene where the Doctor releases the humans that were being kept by the Zygons, the Duke, Caber and Nurse Lamont and he starts to sabotage the ship's controls.  So, the Doctor get's Caber to break off one of the controls and the Doctor says "Right, let's see what other damage we can do!" and he looks to a piece of tech and says "Anyone know what this?" and the Duke says "I haven't faintest idea and the nurse says "You tell us" and the Doctor says "I will. Its the self destruct and it works like this!" and he activates it.  The Doctor then turns to them and says "Right, we've got about sixty seconds before the whole ship blows up!".  And after they escape the ship and it blows up and are reunited with Sarah, Harry and the Brigadier, the Doctor says to the Brig "Was that bang big enough for you, Brigadier??".

WARNING: THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH REFERS TO THE CLIMAX OF THE STORY, SO IT IS ONE BIG SPOILER!!!

And last of all is the scene where the Doctor has his final confrontation with Broton, who is set to use the Skarasen to attack London but the UNIT troops come in and shoot Broton dead and the Doctor then uses the signal device Broton had and throws it at the Skarasen outside, which towers over the Thames.  And the Doctor in the scene goes out onto a balcony of Stanbridge house and he aims the signal device toward the Skarasen and says "Go on, boy....fetch!" and he throws it and Skarasen ends up chewing it up.

So, as Sarah and Harry join the Doctor, Sarah asks him "Where's the signal device?" and the Doctor says "He's chewing it!".  Sarah then looks as the Skarasen goes back down below into the waters and she says "Its going back down under the surface!" and the Doctor says "He'll go home now he's eaten the device" and Harry asks "Home?" and the Doctor says "Loch Ness, Harry.  The only home he knows".  

Elisabeth Sladen does another fine job as Sarah Jane and she has some good moments in the story that include the scene near the start where Sarah Jane and Harry are both amused when they see the Brigadier wearing a kilt.  So, Sarah says to the Brig "Anyway, its nice to see you again, Brigadier" and the Brig says "And you, Miss Smith" and Sarah grins and says "Though I didn't expect to see you in a kilt!".  However, the Brigadier says to her "My dear Miss Smith, as you remember, my name is Lethbridge Stewart. The clan Stewart!" and Sarah laughs and says "Oh, sorry.  I thought you were doing a Doctor!".  

Then there is the scene where Sarah walks into the inn and we hear the bagpipes being played in the background.  So Sarah says to the Doctor "If you're interested, the Brig's on the quayside watching wreckage being brought ashore" and the Doctor tinkering with a circuit board is not so interested and merely says "Hmm".  So, Sarah says "Thought that might interest you! He's being very secretive. He's wasting his time if you ask me. Well you can forget about security in Tulloch, the landlord here's got second sight!" and the pipes all of a sudden stop!  Followed by Liz's funny line when she answers the phone in a heavily exaggerated Scottish accent "Hello, Fox Inn!" and there is a pause and she looks concerned and says to the Doctor "Harry's been shot!".

And lastly there is the scene where Sarah and Harry (the real one!) search the Duke of Forgill's castle for clues as to what the Zygons might be up to as they have taken off in their spaceship at this point (with the Doctor).  And Harry searches for the secret lock that opens the door leading down to the Zygon ship.  So, Harry dispairs and says "If I don't find what opens this door, I'll go mad!" and Sarah says to him without looking up "Well as long as you don't turn into a Zygon!" and Harry turns around and says "What?!".  

Ian Marter, in his last regular appearance in the show (followed by his last one in Android Invasion) also does really well, although he is slightly sidelined in the story, but his performance is really good.

And Ian's best scene is actually one where Harry having being shot (as the Zygon Caber, fire a bullet grazing Harry's head) is taken to hospital and in the scene, he lies restlessly in bed in the sick bay, and his reaction to the sister Lamont transforming into the Zygon is great.  And in the scene Ian deliriously says out loud "The rig, the rig was smashed to pieces. Nothing left. Munro in the water, struggling. Cold, exposed, hypothermia..".  And then we hear a strange noise and see a red glow as Harry comes round he sits up startled and shouts in horror "No! No!".

Another good scene from Ian is when the Zygon version of Harry goes to the inn to take the signalling device and Sarah is surprised to see him.  So, in the scene Harry flatly says "Hello" and Sarah in disbelief says "What do you mean "hello"??! Are you alright?  What happened to you?!" and Harry says "Nothing. I escaped".  Sarah then asks "Escaped? Escaped from where? What do you?!" and Harry then picks up the signalling device and Sarah asks  "Where are you going with that?!" and Harry coldly says to her "The Doctor asked me to collect it".  Sarah then asks "Did he?!  When did you see him?" and Harry says "Its not important" and as Harry tries to leave Sarah grabs his arm and says "Hey, just a minute!" and Harry pushes her away and rushes out the door.

Then there is the scene where onboard the Zygon ship, Sarah finds the real Harry trapped behind a chamber.  So, Sarah asks Harry "Sarah! Well, come on, open the door. Look, Sarah, we've got to get out of here. Look, sorry. Put your hand on the panel!".  However, due to her encounter with the fake Harry, Sarah is wary of him and Harry says "Is it you?" and Harry puzzled asks "What do you mean is it me?" and Sarah asks "Is it REALLY you?".  And Harry replies "Well of course its me!  What's the matter with you, old girl?!" and on hearing this, Sarah automatically knows only Harry would say this and smiles and opens the door.

And lastly there is the moment near the end where the Doctor invites everyone (except the Duke of course) for a trip in the TARDIS and the Brigadier says "No, thank you" and Harry says "I think I'll stick to Inter-city this time, Doctor" and the Doctor looks a little disappointed.  

Nicholas Courtney, is great as ever also here in his last outing as Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart for another eight years until the Peter Davison era (in Mawdryn Undead and then The Five Doctors).

And Nick has his share of good scenes such as his first one where the at the inn, the landlord Angus play his bagpipes loudly in the background.  So, the Brigadier says to Benton "You get on well with the landlord, don't you?" and Benton says "Well yes, sir, I guess I do" and the Brig says "Well try to use your influence to get him to play the pipes when we're out would you?" and Benton grins and says "Right, sir".

Then in the next moment, the Doctor, who is wearing some Scottish attire of his own walks in suddenly and says "I want to know one thing, Brigadier...." and he suddenly notices the Brig is wearing a kilt.  So, the Doctor points at the kilt and asks "What's that?" and the Brig responds "That, Doctor, is a kilt" and Sarah and Harry are both trying to contain their laughter and the Doctor smiles and says "It suits you very well".

And then after this, Sarah says to the Brig "Anyway, its nice to see you again, Brigadier" and the Brig says "And you, Miss Smith" and Sarah grins and says "Though I didn't expect to see you in a kilt!".  However, the Brigadier says to her "My dear Miss Smith, as you remember, my name is Lethbridge Stewart. The clan Stewart!" and Sarah laughs and says "Oh, sorry.  I thought you were doing a Doctor!" and the Brigadier says "What an absurd idea!".      

Then there is the scene, where after the Brig and his soldiers have been knocked by gas,  he comes around in time for the Doctor to arrive at the inn. And the Brig sees the Doctor and says "Ah, there you are, Doctor!" and he looks around and asks "What was I doing on the floor?" and the Doctor replies "You've been asleep, Brigadier" and the Brig replies "What are you talking about?  You know there are times where you talk absolute nonsense, Doctor. Excuse me!" and he walks off, leaving the Doctor and Sarah to have a small giggle. 

Another scene, which is quite amusing from Nick is when Benton puts the prime minister on the phone to the Brigadier and the PM just so happens to be a woman (which is a unique piece of foreshadowing as the Maggie Thatcher days that were yet to come!).  And in the scene the Brigadier takes the phone and speaks to the PM and says "Lethbridge Stewart speaking. Oh, absolutely understood, madam. No public announcement. Yes, madam. Discreet action. Discreet but resolute action!".

And lastly there is the scene at the end where all is put to rights and the Doctor, Sarah, Harry and the Brig all walk through a woodland area with the Duke.  And the Duke asks the Brig regarding the whole Zygon encounter "Tell, I imagine this whole business has caused quite a stir" and the Brig says "No, the Cabinet's accepted my report and the whole affair's now completely closed".  The Duke then says "You mean it never happened" and the Brig tells him "Well, a fifty foot monster can't swim up the Thames and attack a large building without some people noticing, but you know what politicians are like!". 

John Woodnutt is great also in his dual role as the Duke of Forgill and Broton, the Zygon's warlord and leader, who has plans of world domination.  Woodnutt's Forgill is wonderfully snooty and he also even delivers a fine Scottish accent and he also has some good lines of dialogue, particularly when the Doctor says to him how aliens have been causing the trouble at sea, and Forgill replies "You're all utterly unhinged! Aliens with wireless sets?!".

I also like the line at the start of the story where he drops off the Doctor, Sarah and Harry at the local inn, and he has a cross word with Mr Huckle, the rep from Hibernian oil.  And  the Duke turns to the Brigadier and asks "I trust the army isn't going to help these people. Is that why you were sent here?" and the Brigadier says "No, sir.  We're a military investigation team".  So, the Duke then asks "Investigating what?" and the Brig is reluctant to divulage and says "I'm afraid our mission is a sensitive matter, sir".  And the Duke says "Official secrets and all that twaddle, eh? Well, I won't pry, although my family have served this country for seven centuries, but that doesn't seem to count these days, does it. Good day to you".

Woodnutt as Broton is also suitably creepy and his raspy and at times whispering voice (treated by some sort of electronic device no doubt courtesy of sound effects man, Dick Mills) really adds to the character. And in his climactic scene as Broton is a good one, where the Doctor turns up in the cellar of Stanbridge house looking for Broton.  And we hear Broton's voice "I thought you were dead" and the Doctor says "Loose thinking, Broton!" and Broton then says "This time, I will make certain!".

The Doctor tells Broton "Broton, your starship has been destroyed.  This building is surrounded by soldiers!".  And this finally provokes Broton into coming out of the shadows and he shouts "I control the Skarasen! I can destroy this planet or become its master. That is the choice I offer your world!".  Broton then screeches at them and ends up fighting the Doctor and quickly gains the upper hand.  However one of the UNIT soldiers distracts Broton long enough for the Doctor to break free and the Brigadier soon comes in with his men and shoots Broton, who staggers and says with his dying breath "The Skarasen...will destroy you all!" and he collapses, dead. 

And lastly at the end of the story where the Duke (the real one at this point) walks with the Doctor and the Brig and Sarah and Harry through the woods to the TARDIS.  And the Duke says to them "By the way, I was coming to meet you people. I could swear I caught a glimpse of the monster in the Loch" and Sarah asks him "But you're not sure" and the Duke cops out and says "The sun was in my eyes!".  And as the TARDIS dematerialises, the Duke looks on in amazement and says "Well, I'll be...." and he asks the Brig "Do they have return tickets?" and the Brigadier says "Yes, I imagine so" and the Duke quips "You should taken your return tickets and got a refund, I thought you were a Scotsman!".

John Levine is also once again great in his role as the ever reliable and likeable Regimental Sgt Major Benton.  And I will only mention one of his scenes, which is the one where Benton sweeps the Fox Inn for the hidden bug the Zygons have planted to spy on the inn, much to the disapproval of the landlord, Mr McRanald.

And in the scene, McRanald testily asks Benton "What are you all doing here?" and Benton says "Brigadier's orders, Mister McRanald.  We're looking for bugs" and McRanald grumpily says "We you can tell your Brigadier from me that this is a clean house!" and Benton tells him "Yes, well its not that sort of bugs we're looking for.  Microphones".  And McRanald says "Acchh you're all mad!  Who'd be hiding microphones here??" and Benton says "Yes, well, you'd better ask the Brigadier that".  McRanald then insists "Sergeant Major, you're all wasting your time!" and Benton says "Yes, well you never know.  So, if you don't mind, we'll carry on looking".  McRanald then says "Here in Tullock we don't need any clever contraptions to tell us what people are up to. Everybody knows everybody else's business. It's a matter of principle" and Benton grins and says "Yes, and you in advance with your second sight, eh?".  And as Benton starts to look at the mounted deer head, McRanald snaps at him "Don't touch that!  It was a gift from the Duke of Forgill!" and Benton says "Alright, Mr McRanald, keep your hair on". 

As for the supporting cast members Lillias Walker is effectively creepy in her dual role as Sister Lamont (with a beside manner equivalent to Nurse Ratchett) and one of the Zygons, who is quite clipped and icy in her delivery.

And Lillias has two notable scenes with the first one being where Sister Lamont talks to the barely conscious Harry in hospital although its quite apparent from her tone that she isn't as she seems.  So, Sister Lamont says to Harry "It's all right, Doctor Sullivan. You're quite safe. Your worries are over now. You're going to be very well looked after!". 

Then there is the scene where the Sister wanders the woods (really a Zygon in disguise), and a UNIT soldier finds her with her arm badly injured and bleeding.  And the soldier says to the Sister "Sister, what are you doing here?" and she says "I was told somebody was injured" and the soldier says "Not injured, killed!" and the Sister asks "Who?" and the soldier tells her "Angus, the landlord.  Hey, you've hurt yourself!" noticing her wound.  However the Sister says "Its not important" but the soldier says "Let me see" and as he goes to examine the wound, the Sister hits the soldier in the head with a big rock, knocking him out and she gives a sinister look as she is about to move off. 

Angus Lennie (who was well known for his role in The Great Escape) is also very good as the landlord of the Fox Inn, Angus McRanald, who claims to have second sight and happens to play his bagpipes a bit too much!

And Angus has his moments also that include the one where Sarah questions McRanald about the goings on with the oil rigs.  So, Sarah asks McRanald about previous events surrounding the oil rigs and his ability for second sight and he tells her " Well, I am the seventh son of the seventh son. you know, the fellow with you, the Doctor, he looks likes a man who might see around a few corners himself" and Sarah simply says "Quite a few...".

So as Sarah presses McRanald about his second sight abilities of foreshadowing disaster of the oil rigs, he becomes a bit defensive and says "Do they now? You seem to have done a fair bit of clacking in the village, my dear!".  And Sarah asks him "Is it true?" and McRanald says "I'm no saying, but only bad luck comes to them who set over Tullock Moor".  Sarah then asks why and McRanald says "Tullock Moor's a strange, murky sort of place. When the mist comes down, it's like steam frae a witch's cauldron. Nobody from these parts will cross the moor after dark".

Sarah then asks if there were any mysterious goings on that ever happened there over the years and McRanald tells Sarah of a case surrounding two brothers.  So, McRanald tells Sarah " It was, let me see, 1870. They went out cutting peat and the mist came down. Donald just disappeared. They found the older brother, Robert, two days later, wandering about, off his head. His eyes, his eyes were terrible to see! For the rest of his life he never spoke again. Take my word for it, my dear. There are ancient mysteries here. Evil spirits haunt Tullock Moor".  However, Sarah is more sceptical and says to McRanald "Maybe, but I'm certain of one thing, Mister McRanald. Evil spirits don't destroy oil rigs".



And the last two cast members I will mention are Tony Sibbald as Mr Huckle, the oil company representative.  And Tony has a couple of good moments that include his first scene where Mr Huckle tries to talk to the Brigadier over the noise of McRanald's bagpipes in the background and he raises concerns over the oil rig destruction "If this keeps up, pretty soon there won't be a man willing to work out there".  And the sound of the bagpipes finally makes him snap "Do we have to put up with this hullabaloo?!!" and the Brigadier tells Huckle "I'm afraid we've rather imposed ourselves on the landlord. If he wants to play his pipes, there's not much I can do about it".

Then there is the moment where the Duke drops of the Doctor, Sarah and Harry and goes into the inn and speaks to Mr Huckle, who he doesn't like and amusingly mispronounces his name on meeting him.  And before they meet, the Brigadier sees the Duke's jeep pull up and he asks "Who is that man in the driving seat?".  And Huckle says "Him? That's the Duke of Forgill, the local big shot. He doesn't make things easy. He owns just about everything in this part of Scotland, except our shore base, and frankly, he doesn't like us. Not one little bit!".  And the Duke later says "I had to pass my way on here to the oil bass" and Huckle says "To see me" and the Duke sharply says "To see YOU, Mr Hickle!" and Huckle corrects him and says "Huckle". 

And last of all is Robert Russell, who does well enough in his small role as the Caber, who I think is the Duke's gamekeeper and turns out to be copied by one of the Zygons.  And Russell's most notable scene is when one of the Zygons transforms into the Caber (using the real Caber's body print) and Harry witnesses this in disbelief.  And the Zygon Caber says "We have the power to turn ourselves into replicas of your unpleasant form whenever it is necessary!".

DIRECTOR, MUSIC, SOUND AND DESIGN
 
Getting onto the show's direction, well it would be hard to argue with its director, the late great Douglas Camfield, who was widely acclaimed as one of the very best directors of the show.  And here Camfield does a terrific job as he paces the action nicely, and builds up some suspense and his reveal of the Zygons is particularly effective at the end of the first episode when the Zygon at the sick bay attacks Sarah.  Camfield who was also ex-army was said to have been by reputation good to work for but he directed and ran his shows like a military operation as well, which given it is a UNIT story is quite appropriate here!

In fact Camfield funnily was the director to have directed the first ever proper UNIT story back in the Troughton era, The Invasion, so its rather fitting he was the one to direct the last regular UNIT story of the original series (until Battlefield of course but by then Camefield had passed away).   

The music score is also worthy note, as it was score by Geoffrey Burgon, and it is very good and a nice change from the show's regular composer Dudley Simpson (whom Camfield had a falling out with years ago, which is why they never worked together again, and Camfield always used different composers afterward).  Burgon would then go on to compose the music for the 13th season finale, The Seeds of Doom, which was also directed by Camfield. 

Dick Mills sound effects are also worthy note here and he makes great use of his effects, particularly in the scenes where the zygons transform their appearance, and also the deep atmopsheric rumbles of their spaceship.  And special mention finally has to go to the set designer Nigel Curzon who did a great job with creating the truly strange and original design for the Zygon spaceship, which looks like you are stepping into a giant Mozzrella pizza!  Not to mention the costume design of the Zygons themselves remains truly unique in the series and very impressive although they would never win the award for the most prettiest of alien races!       

FLAWS (This section may contain spoilers!) 

So, flaws....yes OK, Terror of the Zygons does have some.

So, to start with it has to be said that the story's biggest letdown is of course the Skarasen itself, as a monster it just isn't convincing as it looks like some that belongs out of Ray Harryhausen film.  And in its last scene with the Doctor throwing the signal device into the ocean for it to go after, the close up of it rising over London is just ridiculous, but I guess given the show's limited budget of the time its to be expected.

I also felt the story has one or two other silly moments in it, such as Broton's final confrontation with the Doctor as it attacks him and Sarah and UNIT soldiers when they shoot Broton and he collapses and dies, we can see the join in the top and bottom half of his alien costume!  It kind of takes away from the alien-ness of the Zygon costume design to make you aware of how it is just a costume!   

Another rather silly and amusing moment is after the real Duke is rescued from the Zygon spaceship by the Doctor, Sarah tells the Doctor that the Duke is the president of the Scottish energy commission which will allow them entrance to an important conference in London, and all of sudden the Duke says "That's right I am!" like he had forgotten all about his position, like "Oh I had forgotten all about that!".  But the show is of course guilty of silly moments like that now and then so I suppose you can forgive that.

It also has to be said that while the flangered whispy effect used for the zygons voices is undeniably effective and rather creepy, it is also makes their voices quite indistinct at times when you are trying to make out what they are saying, particularly when Broton goes on a rant and talks quite fast, which he does quite often.

Then there is the whole idea of the Doctor being able to use the Zygon controls so efficiently given the fact none of them marked at all and are just some sticky, gooey looking organic erm...things rather than proper panels!  Yet, somehow the Doctor being the Doc, knows instinctively what sticky buttons to press or manipulate to make things happen such as the ship's self destruct mechanism.  How does he do it????  Well....cos he's the Doctor I guess!

I also found it a bit unclear just why the Zygons needed the Skarasen in order to survive as all Broton says is that they "depend on its lactic fluid for our survival".  OK, but why???  And if so, how does the Skarasen transfer that fluid to the Zygons in the first place???  I can only guess it is dispersed into the ship in some way through its sticky, organic system.  However it is an example of a subplot that is never fully explained and just brushed over in a couple of sentences within the series.

And last of all....why the hell doesn't the Doctor know what a kilt is????!  I mean, the Doctor was already wearing a tartan scarf and a Tam O' Shanter hat, so by that rationale if he knew to wear that as Scottish attire, then why DIDN'T he know what a kilt was???!  It just didn't quite ring true and ultimately it is used for an admittedly funny moment where the Doctor's potential rant is stopped short when he sees the Brigadier wearing the kilt!

Anyway, so that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, so in summing up, Terror of the Zygons remains a very entertaining and strong entry in Tom Baker era, especially back in the show's golden era of the producer/script editor: Philip Hinchcliffe/Robert Holmes partnership.  And not only does it feature an enjoyable, witty script but some fine performances from the regular cast not to mention a standout performance by John Woodnut in his dual role as Broton and the Duke of Forgill.

The story is also notable as being the last proper UNIT story until Battlefield in the Sylvester McCoy era some 14 years later in 1989, so this in itself does mark an end of an era for the show of the time as I previously mentioned, the then producer, Philip Hinchcliffe was keen to move on from the UNIT days.

So overall, Terror of the Zygons still remains a very enjoyable and solid story that is still well worth checking out 42 years onward.

Right, so that's it for now and I will return possibly with another post before the end of the month.

Till the next one, its bye for now!

Blade Runner 2049 review

Right, I promised some new posts with NEW content...well this post will feature new content for sure as I have just seen Blade Runner: 2049 at the cinema (now technically last night!) so this post will be a relatively quick review on it.  So, don't worry I won't go into any great detail and for once I will not quote any dialogue!

Anyway with that all being said, let's get on with the post and see what I think....

And to be fair I will issue the usual warning of spoilers but don't worry as I will not give that much of the plot away.  But for fairness I will issue this warning...

THE STORY SECTION WILL COVER SOME PLOT POINTS BUT NO REAL SPOILERS!!!

STORY

So, the story is set some 30 years after the events of the original film where replicants have now been integrated into society as slaves and servants and the Tyrell corporation has since been bought over by the Wallace Corporation.  And the film's main protagonist is K (Ryan Gosling) who is a replicant working for the LAPD as a "blade runner" who is set out to retire older rogue model replicants.  On retiring a rogue replicant, K finds a buried box that contains the remains of a female Nexus-7 replicant, who died during childbirth.  K takes the evidence to his superior officer, Lt Joshi (Robin Wright) who orders that K destroy the evidence, find the child and retire them to avoid the possibility of a interspecies war between the replicants.

And its from here that K must embark on a dangerous mission that will unveil some dark secrets about his past and also about the truth of who the child is, not to mention he would somewhere along the line reunite with a former blade runner.....

THOUGHTS

Well, I think it has to be said that even though it doesn't come close to the original, Blade Runner: 2049 is still a very credible and solid sequel to first film, which was one of the defining sci-fi films of its time.  However, BR:2049 certainly has its share of moments that are both spectacular and beautiful, especially as the visuals of the film remain absolutely incredible and also pretty faithful to the original too with the future still being a very bleak one with dark, dreary skies and giant skyscrapers with billboards on them.   

What BR:2049 certainly has going for it is its plot is more involved than the original, which was a simple case of hunting down replicants and seeing Deckard fall in love with one (sorry BIG SPOILER FOR THE ORIGINAL THERE!).  But here, we are presented with K as a replicant but what is not certain as the film goes on is K really a replicant???  And in doing this, the film neatly toys with your expectations as it carries on but I will NOT say any more than that for now on the matter!

PERFORMANCES (Warning: this section does not contain any real spoilers but it may make reference to a few plot points!)

Right, now onto the performances of the film, which are all excellent and it features a largely unfamiliar cast despite a few exceptions.


Starting with Ryan Gosling, who is excellent as K, the replicant "blade runner" who works for the LAPD and takes down or "retires" rogue replicants, which are older models.  And Gosling gives a pretty thoughtful performance as K, who as a replicant rarely shows much emotion but as the film progresses he does make some discoveries that change him as a person.  So, overall this is a very impressive performance from Gosling and he carries the film pretty well for the most part.

Harrison Ford makes his return as Deckard here and he's as good in the role as you might expect with Ford playing Deckard as an older more bitter man than before but still essentially a good guy in his own way.  Although I will not reveal any spoilers about Ford's part in the role as Deckard, I will say that he only appears in the film for about 30 minutes toward the end, which in a way is a pity that he wasn't used more.

Ana de Armas is also very good in her role as Joi, K's hologramatic girlfriend, who helps him throughout the film and I better not say too much more than that as it might involve revealing more of the plot!

Jared Leto, who appears to have a real penchant for playing psychotic characters, is also pretty good as the primary protagonist, Niander Wallace, who owns the Wallace corporation that bought over the Tyrell corp after they went bankrupt.  Although, Leto doesn't appear too long in the film, he still makes quite an impression in his screen time and appears to relish his role.

Robin Wright is also excellent as ever in her role as Lt Joshi, who is K's superior officer at the LAPD and she plays an integral part later in the film but again because I don't want to give away any spoilers, so nuff said there.

MacKenzie Davis (who appeared in Ridley Scott's The Martian) is good in her role as Mariette, who at first glance is no more than a hooker, who seems to have a thing for K but as the film progresses she is no what she seems and has another agenda.

Sylvia Hoeks is also very good as the ruthless replicant, Luv, who works for Wallace and does his dirty work and Hoeks provides quite an effective creepy presence in the film and its not long before you see what she is capable of.

Carla Jui also provides a good performance as Dr Anna Stelline who (KIND OF SPOILER WARNING!!!) creates artificial memories for replicants and she also plays a key part in the film of which I will say no more about!

Dave Bautista, the ex-wrestler turned actor, while his appearance here is somewhat brief, he is still pretty good in his role as Sapper Morton, who is an older rogue replicant model, which K tracks down and their encounter doesn't turn out too well for one of them.

And last of all, Edward James Olmos makes a welcome return in a brief appearance as Gaff, who was a cop in the original film.  Olmos again though really only makes no more than a cameo appearance, which in a way is a pity but then again Gaff was a secondary character even in the original.

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC

As for the direction, Denis Villenueve, takes over at the helm here from Ridley Scott and he does a very solid job here and provides some stunning visuals for the audience to look at (also thanks to the incredible photography by the brilliant Roger Deakins, who is criminally enough still yet to be recognised by the Academy Awards for his work!).

Villenueve however does have the film move at a pretty slow, leisurely pace here though, so if you are hoping for a fast paced actioner here, you are going to be disappointed.  However Villenueve still deserves alot of credit for his efforts here and he has still created a film that has the feel of a Blade Runner movie.

As for the music.....well....this for me was easily the weakest aspect of the film as the score by Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch is nowhere near as good as the original score by Vangelis as it is frequently VERY LOUD and loud to the point of distraction!  I mean to be fair there are some sections of the score that work well, particularly in the quieter sections and there is also more than just the odd passing nod to the original score that works nicely at times.

However what really bugs me about this score is the ridiculously noisy sequences that feature Hans Zimmer's deeply annoying fetish for using BWAAMMMMM!!!! BWAMMMMMM!!! BWAMMMMMM!!! sounds!  It just adds nothing other than deep irratation and by the end of the film when it came to the titles I was just aching to leave the cinema, so I didn't have to hear it anymore!


Does the score kill the film???  No, definitely not but at the same time I just wish Zimmer knew how to tone things down instead of creating music that is ridiculously bombastic all the time!  So, for that reason alone I just think the score is easily the weakest part of the film for me.

FLAWS

As for flaws....well, yes, Blade Runner: 2049 has some but I can't really go into them without mentioning a few spoilers, so this section will be fairly short.


However what I can mention is that the film is just a bit too long for my liking as its extensive running time of 2 hours and 43 minutes really does at times feel that long and there are certainly some scenes that feel padded out in an excessive way.  If you like a film that takes its time then you are sure to love this one but if not then it may not be for you.

WARNING: THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH REFERS TO HARRISON FORD'S APPEARANCE IN THE FILM!!!

I also felt that further to this point that the film takes a bit too long to actually get to Deckard as what I can mention is that he only appears in the film for the last half hour or so.  And when Deckard does appear, he actually isn't given whole lot to do, which makes me think that they did underwrote his part a bit too much, which is something of a letdown.  However by the end of the film, I felt more satisfied with the ending itself reagrding Deckard than say another sci-fi film involving Harrison Ford in recent years! And that's all I'm going to say on that.

Anyway that's it for the flaws for now!

SUM UP

So, to sum up, Blade Runner: 2049 is a pretty good sequel to the original film and while it doesn't live up to the expectations of the original, it deserves much credit for having a good stab at it and it remains a very solid one in its own right.  The story is also a bit more involved this time round than the original, which is also to the film's credit and by the end of the film, you actually end up feeling quite satisfied that there are no real major loose ends (well OK maybe one but I won't mention it here!).

The film also features some fine performances from its cast, particularly Gosling and Ford in the lead roles and Denis Villenueve has stepped up to the plate very well in his directorial role and provided some amazing visuals not to mention some gorgeous photography by Roger Deakins.  

And after a slew of inferior sequels to great films, its good to see that we finally have a sequel that stands up well on its own feet and Blade Runner: 2049 certainly does that.


Right, so that's it for now and I will be back soon with yet another post, which should also feature new content and not another revisitation. :-) 

So, until the next the one its bye for now! 

The Abyss "This is something I wanted to do since we first met...!"

Right, I'm actually quite surprised by this but it turns out that I have never reviewed this next film already on my blog but the reason why I think is simply because it has not been properly released on DVD for years and is yet to even get a Blu-ray release date.

So, to cut to the chase, the film in question that I will be looking at is The Abyss, which was directed by James Cameron back in 1989.  And over the years it has been on VHS, Laserdisc and DVD (but it was not anamorphic) however none of these versions would prove to be that definitive.  Thankfully the film has at last been given the go ahead by Cameron to get a Blu-ray transfer and will even be remastered in 4K.  However what's even better for now is that the film is available to stream in full HD on Netflix and I had the pleasure of watching it again for the first time in quite some time today.

And so with that being said, I will now take a look at The Abyss and see just how well it has faired 28 years later.

Oh and you can expect the usual warning coming up and also another warning ahead of it...

SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

And...

THIS POST WILL BE A BIG ONE!!!

STORY

Right, so the film is set in 1988 and it begins with a US submarine encountering an unidentified object underwater, which leads to the sub sinking near the Cayman Trough.  So, the US Government decides to send in a SEAL team to a privately owned experimental underwater drilling platform near Cayman Trough, which they intend to use as a operations base.  The team are accompanied by the platform designer, Dr Lindsey Brigman (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) who insists on going even though the current rig foreman, Virgil "Bud" Brigman (Ed Harris) is her estranged husband.

During the initial investigation of the sub, Lindsey, who dives down with the Navy SEAL team along with Bud and some of the other rig employees, she witnesses a strange light that circles the sub.  Not long after their initial dive, the SEAL team, lead by Lt Coffey (Michael Biehn) receive orders to go down again in one of the mini-subs to retrieve a nuclear warhead from the sunken US sub, much to Bud's annoyance as they used it without permission.   

However things take a turn for the worse when a violent storm hits the area and it ends up damaging and tearing up a cable crane, attached to a ship that is tethered to the rig.  The crane crashes down through the water toward the rig and it causes the rig to be dragged toward the trench but it stops just short.  This results in the rig being severely damaged and several crew members killed as they are drowned by flooding water that spreads through parts of the rig, however the others survive.  After Coffey and his men return with the warhead, he shows little in the way of remorse for Bud's men.

Sometime later while Lindsey goes outside underwater to effect some repairs to the rig, she encounters what she would later call an "NTI" non-terrestrial intelligence and tries to explain to the others, who remain somewhat sceptical of what Lindsey saw.  However, not long after one of the NTI's makes its way into the rig as it forms itself with water and Lindsey and the other crew members see it and it is clear the NTI means them no harm.  Coffey, who by now is suffering paranoid effects from high pressure nervous syndrome, panics when he sees the NTI and closes a hatch, which cuts it in half and it disappears back into the waters.

Coffey then decides to take Lindsey, Bud and the other rig members hostage as he locks them up and he heads for the mini-sub, which is armed with the warhead that he intends to use to attack the NTIs.  Lindsey and Bud soon manage to escape when one of the rig members, Jammer (John Bedford Lloyd) subdues the SEAL holding them hostage.  Bud tries to fight Coffey in hand to hand combat but Coffey gains the upper hand due to his SEAL training until one of the rig crew, Catfish (Leo Burmester) knocks Coffey down with a single punch.  Coffey then flees and Bud and Lindsey pursue him in another mini-sub and as they clash subs, Coffey's mini-sub is sent crashing over the edge of the trough, which implodes from high depth pressure, however Coffey does manage to activate the warhead before he is crushed by the impact.

And due to the damage sustained in Lindsey and Bud's mini-sub, it is rapidly flooding with water and with only one diving suit, Lindsey opts to go into deep hypothermia and have Bud swim her back to the rig.  On bringing Lindsey back to the Rig, Bud and the other rig members desparately try to revive Lindsey at first however to no avail but Bud refuses to give up and continues his attempts to resuscitate her using CPR and she eventually comes around much to the delight and relief of Bud and the others.

After this however, the crew realise they still have to deactivate the warhead that Coffey had armed, which lies at the bottom of the trough for which Bud volunteers to go.  So, one of the Navy SEAL's decides to help them out as he was unaware of Coffey's plan and has Bud put on an experimental diving suit that is equipped with a liquid breathing apparatus and Bud will only be able to communicate via the use of a wrist keypad.

So its from here Bud makes his dangerous and deep dive down the trench in an effort to save themselves and the NTIs from potential annihilation....

THOUGHTS

The Abyss for me has always been one of James Cameron's most underrated and least talked about films of his career.  The film's production was notoriously known as one of the toughest and most horrendously difficult shoots of any movie, which saw many struggles between the actors, Cameron and the production crew.

And as an example of the problems, Cameron had the production crew build a massive tank for the underwater scenes, which sprung leaks that lead to further delays in production.  The cast and crew also become agitated by the lengthy daily shooting schedule and the slow pace of the production.  As for the two leads, Ed Harris to this day has stated that he never wishes to discuss the film and its production ever again.  Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio also was said to have suffered an emotional breakdown during the film and she particularly hated filming the scene where Bud tries to revive Lindsey due to intense efforts of Harris's pounding and slapping her in the sequence.

However for all its production issues, the film itself has alot going for it as it features some engaging characters and a pretty decent story, even if the element of the extra-terrestrial lifeforms seems a bit out of place at times given the otherwise grounded nature of the story itself.


PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section will contain spoilers!)

As for the performances, well they are all excellent as the cast give it their best and it clearly shows throughout.

Starting with Ed Harris, who is great as Virgil "Bud" Brigman, the foreman on the rig, who ends up being saddled with his estranged wife, Lindsey, who designed the rig systems and together they also have to deal with an untrustworthy Navy SEAL time and some non-terrestrial lifeforms.

And Harris has his share of good scenes in the film such as the one where Bud first chats to Lindsey again for the first time quite a while on a video screen.  And as Lindsey angrily sits down and appears on the video screen, Bud feigns cheerfulness and says " Hi, Lins.  I thought you were in Houston" and Lindsey angrily says "I was, but I managed to bum a ride on the last flight out here.  Only here isn't where I left it, is it, Bud?!".  And Lindsey complains about how a company grabbed control of the rig that she designed "I can't believe you let them grab my rig!" and Bud asks "Your rig?!" and Lindsey says "My rig!  I designed the damn thing!".  Bud then tells her "Yup, a Benthic Petroleum paid for it.  So as long as they're hold the pink slip, I go where they tell me".  Lindsey then continues to accuse Bud of selling himself out to the company and he becomes fed up and says to her "I'm switching off now" and Lindsey shouts "Virgil, you wiener!  You never could stand up to a fight..." and Bud switches it off.  And he sighs and says "God, I hate that bitch!" and one of rig crew, Hippy says to him "Probably shouldn't have married her then" and Bud nods.

Then there is the scene which appears in the director's cut where Bud tries to appeal to Lindsey over their ruined relationship as she is currently seeing someone else, who Bud calls "the suit".  So, in the scene Bud asks Lindsey "What happened?" as she tells him "I haven't seen him in a few weeks.  Bud, its not a part of your life anymore!".  So, Bud stands behind her closely and says "I'll tell what you happened...you woke up one day and realised "this guy never makes me laugh!" and Lindsey angrily tells him "Jesus! You're clever! You should get your own show...ask Dr Bud, advice to the lovelorn from 300 fathoms!".  And at this point, Bud gives up and storms out with Lindsey saying "Thank you!" as he leaves.  Then we cut to Bud going into a toilet and pulling off his wedding ring and throwing it down the toilet and he slams the door.  However a moment later, Bud changes his mind and goes back in and reaches down into the toilet pan for his ring, which he get's and sticks back on his finger and we see that his hand is all blue and Bud shakes his head and says "Oh, shit!".

Another good scene is when Bud learns that Coffey and his men are taking their mini-sub to go underwater (although he doesn't know why).  So, Bud rushes over too late as he sees Coffey is already submerging the mini-sub into the water.  So, Bud yells at him "Shit!! Coffey!!  COME BACK!!  We need the big arm to unhook the umbilical!  THERE'S A GODDAMN HURRICANE COMING!!!".  However it is too late and one of the rig crew, Lisa "One Night" Standing (Kimberly Scott) tells Bud of Coffey "He's switched off" and Bud says "Unbelievable!".

Then there is the moment where Bud tries to help three of the rig crew members, who become trapped behind one of the doors, which floods with water and one of the men bangs on the door frantically.  So, Bud shouts at him "Philip!!  Cut the hose!  Cut the hose to the motor!  I can't open it from out here!" however, Philip is powerless to do anything as the water pressure builds and Bud yells out in horror "PHILIP!!!!!!!!" as the water bursts out through the door and starts to flood into the compartment where he is.  So, Bud desparately tries to make it into the next area and one of the bulkhead doors is about to shut on him but stops it with his hand and his wedding ring prevents his hand from being injured.  So, Bud yells out for help "HEY!!!!!! HEY!!!!!!!!!" and Cat soon comes to the rescue and Bud shouts "CAT!!! CUT THE HOSE!!!  CUT THE HOSE TO THE MOTOR!!" and Cat takes out a flick knife and cuts the hose lines for the doorand they manage to force it open and Bud get's through and sighs with relief and kisses his wedding ring.

Another good scene from Ed is where Coffey starts to really show signs of instability when Hippy has recorded cam footage of Coffey and his men priming the nuclear warhead and Lindsey sees the footage and storms off and angrily confronts Coffey.  And Coffey's men grab Lindsey, which forces Bud to sound an alarm to bring his other crew members to help and he warns Coffey "OK, man, let her go!  DO IT NOW!" and Coffey's SEAL member let's her go.  Then after this, Bud says to Lindsey "Linds, I want you to stay away from that guy.   Look, he's operating on his own. He's cut off from his chain of command. He's showing signs of pressure-induced psychosis, and he's got a nuclear weapon. So as a personal favor to me, will you try to put your tongue in neutral for a while?".

Then there is the film's most dramatic and tense scene where Lindsey drowns in the mini-sub when it is submerged in water after the skirmish with Coffey in the mini-sub battle and Bud takes her back to the rig and he attempts to revive her with CPR.  And after a brief attempt to revive Lindsey, the crew give up as there is no response, leaving Bud devastated.  However, Bud suddenly yells out "NO!!!!  SHE HAS A STRONG HEART!  SHE WANTS TO LIVE!!!  COME ON, LINDS!!!  COME ON, BABY!!!" and he starts frantically doing the CPR again.  Then he yells at One-Night to zap Lindsey with the cardiac defribilators again "Zap her again.  DO IT!!! DO IT!!!" and One-Night zaps her again but to no aval, so Bud continues the CPR.  And Bud then yells at Lindsey "Come on, goddamn it!  Breathe! GODDAMN IT YOU BITCH, YOU NEVER BACKED AWAY FROM ANYTHING IN YOUR LIFE!!!!  NOW FIGHT!!" and Bud slaps her twice to try and bring her around.  Bud then yells desparately "FIGHT!!! RIGHT NOW!!! DO IT NOW!!  FIGHT GODDAMNIT!!!!  FIGHT!!!!! FIGHT!!!!!!!" and he frantically shakes her and yells with all the breath that he can muster "FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!!!!".  And Lindsey finally starts to come around with to Bud and everyone else's delight and relief and Bud sobs and says "You did it, Ace!".

WARNING: THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH IS A BIG SPOILER!! 

And last of all is the scene where Bud makes the dive down to the bottom of the trench to disarm the nuclear warhead and after he successfully disarms the missile, the one Navy SEAL that is on the crew's side, Ensign Monk (Adam Nelson) asks Bud how much oxygen he has left and Bud types on his keypad "FIVE MINUTES WORTH".  And at this point the crew react in surprise and Lindsey becomes emotional and pleads with Bud to start his ascent right now and the guage could be wrong and she starts to break down crying.  So, Bud types on his keypad "DON'T CRY, BABY.  KNEW THIS WAS ONE WAY TICKET.  I HAD TO COME.  LOVE YOU WIFE" and he lies at the bottom of the trench, waiting to die when all of a suddeny an NTI appears and takes his hand and leads him into an alien ship.  And in the ship, Bud is then able to take off his diving helmet and gear and they relay the message to Lindsey on a big screen and Bud smiles and salutes the NTIs.

Mary Elizbaeth Mastrantonio next up is also excellent as the feisty and headstrong, Lindsey Brigman, who at the start of the film has a tense and uneasy relationship with her estranged husband, Bud, but the two of them start reconnect again as the rig crisis unfolds.

And Mary has her own share of good scenes that include the one where Lindsey angrily confronts Bud in a video com.  And Bud says to her "Hey, Linds.  I though you were in Houston" and Lindsey says "I was, but I managed to bum a ride on the last flight out here.  Only here isn't where I left it, is it, Bud?".  Lindsey then angrily says "We were that close to proving a submersible drilling platform could work.  We had over seven thousand feet of hole down for Chrissake. I can't believe you let them grab my rig!".  Bud asks "YOUR rig?" and Lindsey tells him "Yeah, I designed the damn thing!" and Bud tells her Benthic petroleum own the rig and they tell him where to go.  However Lindsey is not interested and angrily says to Bud "You wimp!  I had alot riding on this...They bought you...more like rented you out cheap!".  Bud however has heard enough and says "I'm switching off now" and Lindsey spits at him "Virgil, you wiener!  You never could stand up to a fight...." and Bud switches her off.

Then there is the moment where Lindsey goes down to the rig with the NAVY seal team and they undergo the decompression process before they enter.  And Lindsey tells the team "The bad news is we got six hours in this can, blowing down.  The worse news is it's gonna take us three weeks to decompress back to the surface later".  And Lt Coffey says to her "We've already been fully briefed, Mrs Brigman" and Lindsey irritably says "Please don't call me that, OK?  I hate that" and Coffey says to her "OK. What shall we call you?  Sir???" and Lindsey manages a faint smile.  And after they decompress, Cat let's them onboard and the SEALs move out first with their gear, all without saying anything and Lindsey says to Cat "They're really very sweet!" and then "These guys are about as much fun as a tax audit!".

Another good scene is when after the rig sustains heavy damage from when the cable crane breaks loose from the ship above that is tethered to the rig, Lindsey is in the machine making repairs and Bud joins her.  So, Bud asks her "What's the scoop, ace?" and Lindsey tells him "I can get power to this module and sub-bay if I remote these busses.  I've gotta get past the mains, which are a total melt-down".  Bud asks "You need any help?" and Lindsey tells him "Thanks.  No, I can handle it.  Bud... there won't be enough to run the heaters.  In a couple hours this place is going to be as cold as a meat locker".  And Bud asks her about oxygen situation and she says they will have 12 hours worth if shut off unused sections but she then says "I can extend that.  There's some storage tanks outboard on the wrecked module.  I'll have to go outside to tie onto them".  Bud then smiles and says "Hey, Linds....I'm glad you're here" and Lindsey smiles back and says "Yeah?  I'm not!".

Then there is the moment where after Lindsey first encounters the NTIs, she goes back onboard and tells Bud about it, who remains sceptical.  However tries to convince Bud of what she saw "I saw these things.  I touched one of them.  And it wasn't some clunky steel can like we would build... it glided.  It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!".  Lindsey then says "It was a machine, but it seems almost alive. Like a... dance of light.  Bud, you have to trust me... please.  I don't think they mean us harm.  I don't know how I know that, it's just a feeling".  Bud says "How can I go on a feeling?  You think Coffey is going to go "on a feeling"?".  So, Lindsey says "We all see what we want to see... Coffey looks and he sees Russians, he sees hate and fear. Bud, you have to look with better eyes than that".

Another good scene comes when Lindsey angrily confronts Coffey when she discovers he has brought a nuclear warhead onto the rig.  So Lindsey sees Hippy's footage then storms off and grabs a fire extinguisher and says "Goddamnit!  If you're not gonna something about it then I will!" and she angrily bangs it against Coffey's cabin door.  Coffey then finally opens the door and barges in and uncover the warhead and she looks aghast and says to him "You've got some heuvos bringing that thing onto my rig!  WITH ALL THAT'S GOING UP IN THE WORLD YOU GO BRING A NUCLEAR WEAPON IN HERE???!".  Coffey then tells her "Mrs Brigman, you don't need to know the details of our mission and its better if you don't".  Lindsey however is still furious and shouts at Coffey "You're right... I don't.  I just need to know that this thing is out of here! YOU HEAR ME, ROGER RAMJET???!!!".

Then there is the scene where Bud having made his dive down the trench and successfully deactivated the warhead reveals that he has only 5 minutes worth of oxygen left.  And Lindsey becomes emotional and says to Bud "Bud! Do you hear me? You drop your weights and start back now, Bud. The gauge could be wrong! Do you hear me? Just drop your weights and start back now! Your gauge could be wrong!".  Bud then types on his keypad "GOING TO STAY A WHILE" and Lindsey then starts to break down in tears "No, you won't stay there, do you hear me, you drop your weights! You can breathe SHALLOW, do you hear me? Bud, please listen to me, PLEASE, goddammit, you dragged me back from the bottomless pit, you can't leave me here alone now, please...!".  Bud then types her message saying he had to go and knew it was a one way ticket and that he loves her and she tearfully says "I love you" back.

WARNING: THIS SECTION REFERS TO THE END OF THE FILM!!! 

And last of all is the moment where (SPOILER!!!!) Bud is rescued by the NTIs and they rise their massive ship out the water, which lifts up the rig and the ship with it.  And Lindsey and the other rig crew and the two remaining SEALs, Monk and Schoenik emerge outside and Lindsey says in surprise "We should be dead.  We didn't decompress".  Hippy then suggests "Maybe they did something" and Lindsey smiles and says "Yeah, you could say that".  And then Bud emerges from the ship and he waves and smiles and Lindsey smiles back and rushes to him and they hug and she says to him "Hey, Brigman...." and Bud says "Hey, Mrs Brigman..." and the two kiss to end the film!

Michael Biehn, who by then had become a regular in Cameron's films, puts in another really good performance as the Navy SEAL, Lt Coffey, who as the film carries on, becomes emotionally unstable as he suffers from high pressure nervous syndrome.

And Michael has his share of good moments also that include his first main one when Coffey and his team of SEALs and Lindsey arrive on the rig and decompress before they enter.  And in the scene Lindsey appraises the men of their situation and Coffey says "We've already been fully briefed, Mrs Brigman" and she annoyedly says "Please don't call me that.  I hate that" and Coffey says "OK...what shall we call you?  Sir???" and then men laugh and she manages a weak smile.  Lindsey then mentions the dangers of high pressure nervous syndrome and to watch each other for signs of it.  So, Ensign Monk quotes it "High-Pressure Nervous Syndrome.  Muscle tremors, usually in the hands first.  Nausea, increased excitability, disorientation...." and Coffey jokingly sings "...and a partridge in a pear tree!".  Lindsey however warns them "1 in 20 people can't handle it, they just go buggo" but Coffey insists "Look we've all made runs to these depths.  We're checked out".  However as Lindsey and the SEAL team move out, Coffey heads back in to get his case and suddenly notices his hand is trembling.

Then there is the scene where Coffey briefs Bud's men on their initial dive to check out the sunken sub and they are all handed out radiation counters and Hippy objects to going, saying of his bonus for the mission "What good is the money if after six months your dick drops off?!".  Coffey then angrily stands up and says to Hippy "What is your problem?!  On this dive, you will do absolutely nothing without direct orders from me, and you will follow my instructions without discussion.  Is that clear?!  Alright, I want everyone finished prep and ready to get wet in fifteen minutes!".  So as the crew all get ready for the dive, Bud goes up to Coffey and asks him to cut his team a little slack "Hey, you come on my rig, you don't talk to me, you start ordering my guys around.  It won't work.  You gotta know how to handle these people... we have a certain way of doing things here".  Coffey however is not interested and tells Bud "Right now, I'm not interested in your way of doing things. Just get your team ready to dive". 

Then there is the scene where Lindsey angrily confronts Coffey when she discovers he has brought the nuclear warhead onboard the rig.  So, Coffey tells her "You don't need to know the details of this mission... you're better off if you don't" and Lindsey yells at him to get the warhead off the rig.  So, Coffey glares at her and says "Mrs. Brigman, you're becoming a serious impediment to our mission.  Escort her back to her quarters" so Schoenik grabs Lindsay but then Bud sounds the alarm and the others run into the cabin.  So, Bud yells at Coffey to let go of her and Coffey says "Let her go" to Schoenik and they leave.  And afterward, Coffey really starts to signs of HPNS as he becomes shaky and tells Schoenik "They can't be trusted.  They're turning against us.  We may have to take... steps!".

Another good scene for Michael is when Coffey panics as he sees the NTI onboard the rig and cuts it off as he seals a bulkhead door and the NTI roars and goes back into the water, leaving Coffey cowering in fear.  Coffey then later says to Schoenik of the NTI as it floated toward the warhead "It went for the warhead they think its cute!" so he goes into his quarters and grabs his machine gun and even Schoenick suggests to Coffey that he get some sleep but Coffey is not interested.  So, Coffey says to Schoenick "Now we have no way of warning the surface.  Do you know what that means?" and he suddenly grabs him and says "It means whatever happens....its up to us!" and he gives the machine gun to Schoenick, who has little choice but to take it.

Then we have the moment where Coffey and Schoenick take Bud, Lindsey and the others hostage and lock them up and just before, Hippy sneaks around to see Schoenick load the warhead onto the mini-sub.  And as Hippy tries to sneak off walks right into Coffey, who by now has really started to lose it and he says to Hippy "Sniff something???  Did ya, rat boy??!".

Coffey then grabs Hippy and throws into a room where the others are and Lindsey tries to reason with Coffey but he suddenly grabs her and puts her against a wall and he says to her "This is something I wanted to do since we first met...!" and he takes a piece of tape and puts it over her mouth.  Coffey then locks them into one of the quarters and tells them "Everybody just stay calm.  The situation is under control" and he locks them in and says to Schoenick outside "If anyone touches that door...kill them!" and he head off to the mini-sub with the warhead.

And last of all in the film's funniest moment when Bud and Lindsey chase Coffey in their mini-sub and clatter into Coffey's mini-sub, it inadvertently brings on One-Night's radio, which plays country music.  So, Coffey furiously smashes it to pieces with his elbow!  Its a pricelss moment just before Coffey meets his own end............

Todd Graff next up is also very good as Hippy, a nervy rig crew member, who is paranoid of the Navy SEAL team and what they intend to do.

And Todd has his moments also that include the scene where Coffey briefs Bud's crew on the dive to investigate the sunken US submarine.  And in the scene, the SEAL team handout radiaton counters and One-Night asks "Is this to tell how much radiation we're getting?" and Hippy suddenly panics and says "Whoa.  Whoa.  Whoa!  I ain't goin near no radiation!".  So, Cat mocks Hippy and says "Aww, Hippy you pussy!" and Hippy tells him "Yeah, what good is the money, six months later your dick drops off!".

Then there is the controversial scene where Ensign Monk takes Hippy's rat and submerges it in a container filled with liquid oxygen much to Hippy's concern.  And Hippy tells Monk "Take her out of there!  She's gonna drown!" but Monk reassures Hippy "Relax, she won't drown.  I've breathed this myself" and we then see the rat first off all panic as it takes in the liquid and then it calms down.  And Monk says to Hippy "You see, she's digging it" and Hippy angrily says "She's doin it!  She ain't digging it!  OK let her out now!".  So, Monk let's the rat out of the container and hands it to Hippy and Monk tells him "See, he's fine!" and Hippy corrects Monk about the rat's gender and says "She's a she!".

Another good scene is when just after watching a news broadcast on a worsening crisis between the Soviets and US, Hippy walks off saying "This sucks!".  And in the next moment, Hippy raises his concerns to Bud and Lindsey " Now we're right in the middle of this big-time international incident.  Like the Cuban Missile Crisis or something!".  And then Hippy says "We got Russian subs creeping around.  Shit! Something goes wrong they could say anything happened down here, man.  Give our folks medals!".  Hippy then says "Those SEALs aren't telling us diddly.  Something is goin on!" and Bud dismisses Hippy's concerns and tells him "Hippy, you think everything is a conspiracy!" and they walk off leaving Hippy alone and he says to himself "Everything is".

Then there is the scene where Hippy shows Bud the footage on a video camera he has of Coffey and his men working on the nuclear warhead only for them to be interrupted by an angry Lindsey.  And as video reveals the warhead, Hippy says in a "Here's Johnny!" style "And here's MIRV!!!" however Bud remains sceptical of what he sees as it is poor quality footage and Hippy says "Come on, what else could it be?!".  And Hippy theorises "It's gotta be, like, an emergency plan to keep it away from the Russians... Hotwire one of the nukes with some kinda detonator, put it back in the sub, and fry the whole thing, slicker'n snot!".  Hippy then says "And I'm not being paranoid..." and he suddenly sees Lindsey standing at the door with a look of fury on her face and Hippy says to her "Hey, Linds!".

And last of all there is the scene where Coffey and Schoenick lock up Bud, Lindsey and the others and as Schoenick drags Hippy away, Hippy yells "Your boss is set to pull the pin on fifty kilotons and we're all gonna be ringside!  He's havin a full-on meltdown!!".  Then after Coffey locks them in, Lindsey shouts to Schoenick on the other side "Schoenick, you're Lt is about to make a real bad career move!" and Hippy yells "He's crazier than a shithouse rat!!". 

Leo Burmester is also pretty good in his role as the tough but good hearted former Vietnam vet, Catfish De Vries, who works on the rig.

And Leo has some good moments of his own but I will only mention the one scene where Cat sets the decompression chamber for Lindsey and SEAL team as they have arrived on the rig.  And on seeing Lindsey, Cat gives her a warm welcome and says "Hey, Lindsey!  I'll be damned!  You shouldn't been down here, sweet thing, ya'll might run your stockings!".  And as they undergo the decompression process, Hippy who is with Cat asks him "Are those guys SEALs?" and Cat says "Those guys ain't so tough.  I fought plenty of guys tougher than them!".  And Hippy jokingly says "Now we get to here about how you coulda be a contender!" and he pours some of his cereal down Cat's back, who angrily hits Hippy with his cap.  Cat then holds up his fist to Hippy and tells him "You see this???  They used to call this "the Hammer!"" and Hippy pretends to look afraid.

Kimberley Scott is also very good as Lisa "One Night" Standing, the African American, cowboy hat wearing rig member, who likes country music of all things!

And Kimberley has her moments too but the one scene of hers that I will mention is one that appears on the director's cut where Bud and One Night work together, while One Night makes repairs, Bud is tending hose for the divers, including Lindsey, who is outside.

So, in the scene Bud and One Night talk about Bud's relationship with Lindsey and how they met and she says to Bud "So there you were...." and Bud says "There we were, side by side, on the same ship, for two months.  I'm tool-pusher and we're testing this automated derrick of hers.  So, we get back on the beach and... we're living together".  One night then says to Bud "It doesn't mean you had to marry her" and Bud says "We were due to go back out on the same ship. Six months of tests.  If you were married you got a state-room.  Otherwise it was bunks".  One Night then says "Okay, good reason.  Then what?" and Bud says "It was alright for a while, you know.  But then she got promoted to project engineer on this thing, couple years ago".

So as she listens, One night says "So she went front-office on you...tighten that for me will you?" and Bud tightens a bolt for One Night with a wrench and Bud says "Well you know Lindsey....she's too damn aggressive....son of a...!" as he strains himself, tightening the bolt.  So, Bud then tells One Night "She didn't leave me, she just left me behind" and One Night says to Bud "Bud, let me tell you something.  She ain't half as smart as she thinks she is!" and she then grabs Lindsey's air-hose and pretends to kink it and Bud laughs and says "Get out of here!".

Last of all is Adam Nelson who is also pretty good as the Navy SEAL, Ensign Monk, who is the one SEAL on the side of the rig crew and doesn't approve of Coffey's irrational behaviour and Monk ends up helping the crew toward the end.

And Nelson has his good moments also that include the somewhat controversial scene where Monk places Hippy's rat in a container full of liquid oxygen, which the rat breaths in.  So, Hippy asks Monk in the scene "What is all this stuff?" and Monk tells him "Fluid breathing system, we just got it. You use it when you go really deep" and Hippy asks "How deep?" and Monk simply says "Deep" but Hippy asks again "HOW deep?" and Monk says "Its classified".  Monk then says "Anyway, you breathe liquid, so you can't be compressed. Pressure doesn't get to you".  Cat, who is with them asks "So, you got liquid in your lungs?" and Monk says "Oxygenated fluorocarbon emulsion" and he pours some liquid in a plastic container.  Hippy however remains sceptical and says "Bullshit!".

Monk then has an idea and says "Check this out" and he grabs Hippy's rat "Can I borrow your rat?" much to Hippy's protests and Monk places the rat into the liquid and uses a wire mesh container to hold the rat it as it takes in the liquid.  Monk says "I breathed this myself" and he explains the process but Hippy while intrigued, is more concerned for the rat and Monk says "See, she's digging it" and Hippy says "She's doin it, she ain't diggin it!  OK, let her out now!".  So, Monk releases the rat and holds it by the tail and says "OK, now we let the fluid drain from his lungs.  There's your rat" and Hippy snatches her back and Monk says "See?  He's fine!" and Hippy corrects him "She!".

And lastly there is the scene where Coffey, who at this stage has become deranged from the effects of high pressure nervous syndrome, locks up Bud, Lindsey and the others as he plans to go ahead and use the warhead against the NTIs, however Monk is injured (as a result of the damage to the rig) and against the idea.  Coffey says to Monk "We're goin to stage three?" and Monk says to him "Stage 3?! We haven't got orders for that!" and then "We can't go to stage 3.  What about these people?!" and Coffey takes Monk's gun from him and says "Shut up!  What's the matter with you?!".

So, after Coffey locks in the others and has Schoenick keep guard, Monk tries to persuade Shoenick to go after Coffey to stop him.  So, Monk says "You gotta stop him!" and Schoenick says "Shut up!" and Monk continues "We can't get to minimum-safe-distance in three hours.  The shockwave will kill us.  It'll crush this rig like a beer can!" and Schoenick again shouts "SHUT UP!".  Monk then says "This is not our mission!  We can't detonate without orders!".  And in the next moment, the crew member, Jammer, emerges from his coma and subdues Schoenick and releases Bud, Lindsey and the others.  So, Hippy grabs Schoenick's gun that Jammer had taken and points it at Monk and shouts "Don't move, jarface!" and Monk puts up his hands and says "Hey, I'm the least of your problems!".

DIRECTION, MUSIC AND EFFECTS

Finally moving onto the direction paragraph, director, James Cameron, produces one of his finest efforts here in The Abyss, as he is in total control of his craft in this film and he delivers great performances, a solid script (written by Cameron himself) and his direction for the most part is pretty taut despite the film's lengthy running time.  Cameron also expertly builds up the film's tension and suspense throughout as the rig crisis worsens but he also nicely juxtaposes that with its sci-fi elements also, which thankfully don't drown out the film (no pun-intended!).

Cameron however of course endured one of the toughest shoots of his career on making the film, which consisted of a long gruelling schedule that was riddled with technical problems to dealing with tensions in the cast members.  It was even said at one point (but whether or not this is true I'm not sure) that Cameron threatened the life of 20th Century Fox executive, who visited the set one day when Cameron was very stressed.

But regardless of the film's production issues, Cameron still has produced one of his very best directorial efforts with The Abyss and it remains one of the highlights in his career.

As for the music, well the score is by Alan Silvestri and for the most part it is very good although I have to say there are times where I do get a bit tired of listening to Silvestri's style of composing (well back in the 80s anyway!) when he overuses his rising orchestral strings all the time.  And by this I mean its the way in which, Silvestri ups the tempo of his score during the film's more dramatic moments and in the 1980s he was guilty of always doing this!

However all that aside, Silvestri's score for The Abyss is still pretty good overall and it has enough drama, suspense and excitement to it, to make quite an enjoyable one that compliments the film pretty well.

Last of all, and I don't always do this but I figured given how good the film's visual effects are, I would given a special mention to the special visual effects guru, Dennis Muren, who along with a whole team of visual effects designers created some truly stunning effects here.  The film is also one of the earliest to utilise CGI, although of course Tron, back in 1982 was the first film to really utilise it properly.  Regardless of this though, the effects of the aliens and indeed the water based NTI, which can manipulate water into different shapes, such as Bud and Lindsey's faces, are terrific and the film was more than deserving of its Academy Award for best visual effects that year. 

FLAWS (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)

As for flaws....yeah OK, The Abyss still has some.

So, to kick off one of the problems I think the film suffers from actually comes down to the theatrical cut in that there are certain scenes that feel a bit incomplete and these are corrected in the director's cut.

So as an example, the scene where Bud throws his wedding ring down the toilet but later changes his mind and retrieves it from the toilet bowl again in the theatrical cut, this scene doesn't have a strong enough reason for him to do it.  And the reason being there is a whole scene that was added into the director's cut (which I mentioned in Ed Harris's performance section of the review) where Bud tries to charm Lindsey and she turns on him and tells him pretty much to get out and he angrily walks out then he goes to the toilet and chucks the ring down it.  And when that scene is left in, it makes Bud's reasoning for chucking his wedding ring down the toilet much stronger than in the theatrical cut where Lindsey simply says to him "We all have our priorities" in reference to chosing her career over their marriage.

Another issue is to do with the presentation of the NTIs (or aliens really) in the theatrical cut and the end sequence with Bud is basically far too short when one of the NTIs saves Bud's life and takes him onboard their mothership.  And this sequence alone seems pretty underwritten in the theatrical cut, where the NTIs simply let Bud onboard, show the footage of his keypad message to Lindsey and that's just about it!  So, again the NTIs are a bit more fleshed out in the director's cut where we get a bit more of a sinister feel from them as they are concerned about the idea of nuclear weapons beind used against them.  So, the NTIs use their water control technology to create massive tidal waves, which they threaten to use but they relent given Bud's message to Lindsey as maybe a sign of compassion that made the NTIs change their minds from using the waves.

And this brings me onto another issue to do with the NTIs in that scene where they suddenly present Bud's typed keypad message to Lindsey on a big screen.  I mean how could their technology suddenly be able to pick that up from a very small typepad screen and plaster on a big monitor screen in their own ship.  It seems just a bit daft that all of a sudden they can transpose such things but then again their tech is obviously way more advanced than humnas.

I also found it a bit strange how no one really noticed Coffey's signs of paranoia and psychosis that bit earlier or more to the point, the early signs of HPNS when we see his hands shake not long after they decompress and board the rig.  I guess, Coffey simply did his best to cover up his shaky hands but there are certainly plenty of opportunities for it to resurface, especially when he is briefing Bud's team on the diving mission.

And lastly there is of course the scene where Bud desparately tries to revive Lindsey using CPR after she drowned in the mini-sub and in this scene at first, Bud and the others give up too easy on Lindsey and its only Bud's insistence to keep going that ultimately saves her.  However in reality, you should never actually stop performing CPR on someone until you are either exhausted or until medical services arrive (OK in this case an ambulance isn't just a few miles away!).  So, Bud in the end does the right thing as he keeps on going but basically that's something he should have done anyway without the others telling him to give up.  So, shame on them! ;-)

Anyway, so that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, in summing up, The Abyss for me remains James Cameron's most underrated film that often is overlooked by many fans of his work and are usually more caught in watching the likes of Aliens and Terminator's 1 and 2, or Titanic and Avatar.  But here, Cameron really was at the peak of his game in creating a very entertaining, suspenseful and at times even moving sci-fi film that works very well, also simply because despite its sci-fi leanings, it feels very much based in reality and works as a credible story even without the sci-fi stuff.

So, basically for me, The Abyss is one of Cameron's best works and the acting, direction, writing and special effects are all spot on here and its great to see that it has finally made its way into the realms of HD with it being available for streaming on Netflix.  And it is said that Cameron is working on the 4K Blu-ray transfer as I type this, so hopefully that and an official HD/4K Blu-ray release won't too far away as its a film that is long overdue this.

Right, so that's it for now and I will return soon with yet another post.

So, till the next un its bye for now!