Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio | Scott's Film Reviews-1,425 + Reviews posted so far!!!

The Abyss-1989

Director James Cameron

Starring Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

Scott’s Review #1,210

Reviewed December 19, 2021

Grade: B+

Well before he created Titanic (1997) and Avatar (2009) and became a household name, director James Cameron made the gorgeous, special effects-laden film The Abyss (1989).

The film followed hits like Terminator (1984) and Aliens (1986).

These films undoubtedly allowed him to make a film that he wanted to make with the necessary freedoms.

The Abyss is completely visual and the interesting cast of characters with possibilities for development are never allowed to shine through instead feeling stale. They are usurped by the constant flow of underwater lush worldly spectacles that utterly encompass the film.

Even when the central characters get a moment to dig deeper into their backstories Cameron never goes for the emotional jugular instead encouraging the viewers to focus on the extraterrestrial and science fiction elements rather than his characters.

That’s the type of director Cameron is and recommended watching The Abyss on the big screen, or the biggest screen possible. I did not and recognize the sheer bombast that a cinema watching would render.

I missed out.

The film, and specifically Cameron, must be heralded for the vast loveliness of the art direction, visual effects, and cinematography.

Forget the convoluted plot entirely and sit back and enjoy the spectacle.

Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio portray Bud and Dr. Lindsey Brigman formerly married petroleum engineers who still have some issues to work out. When an American submarine sinks in the Caribbean, a US search and recovery team works with an oil platform crew, racing against Soviet vessels to recover the boat.

Deep in the ocean, they encounter something unexpected and the American team is determined to find out what. Is it the Russians or a deadly and intelligent extraterrestrial force?

The story is overly complicated and riddled with stereotypical plot points. As the team becomes submersed in their submarine they experience the standard trouble- a hurricane, a rogue team leader, a flooded rig, and freezing temperatures.

Harris and Mastrantonio have pretty good chemistry here but we never fully grasp their marital problems or why there is a distance between them. Thrown together on this mission they predictably face peril and come close to losing each other.

When they embrace in the final scene it is a wrapped up like a tight bow sort of ending that underwhelms.

But, man are the visuals amazing. When the team drops at the alien city in the deepest trenches of the ocean floor the beautiful underwater camera shots take center stage. The technical consistencies are simply breathtaking and become the focal point of the film.

I daresay The Abyss (1989) features the greatest underwater sequences ever seen on film to this date but somehow decades later the film feels forgotten or overshadowed by Cameron’s other works.

Perhaps the dated Cold War plotline and the traditional romance have not served the film well in the long run.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects (won), Best Sound

Scarface-1983

Director Brian De Palma

Starring Al Pacino

Scott’s Review #191

Reviewed November 13, 2014

Grade: B

Scarface is a 1983 mob film directed by Brian De Palma and is an atypical film for the acclaimed director of several stylistic thrillers such as Dressed to Kill (1980), Sisters (1973), and Carrie (1976).

The subject matter centers on the mob and the world of drug trafficking, in this case, cocaine, a very popular, powerful drug that ran rampant throughout the 1980s.

Jealousy, greed, and deceit are common characteristics of Scarface and the story focuses on a temperamental, cocky, and arrogant Cuban refuge sent to Miami by Fidel Castro, as a way of banishing criminals from Cuba and shipping them off to the United States to survive on their own.

Tony Montana, played by Al Pacino, goes from dishwasher to crime lord by selling drugs and creating an empire for himself.

He manipulates, tricks, and makes enemies left and right including stealing his boss’s girlfriend (Michelle Pfeiffer) and eventually falling into a troubled marriage with her.

He loves his financially struggling mother and sister, giving them money and opening a salon for his sister, but he also controls them, especially his sister, and is filled with rage whenever she attracts the affection of a potential suitor.

In his mind, nobody is good enough for her and he is filled with machismo and over-protectiveness. Tony eventually self-destructs due to jealousy, rage, and heavy drug use.

I found the film overall quite compelling but kept thinking to myself how much it resembles a light version of The Godfather (1972) or Part II (1974) and Goodfellas (1990).

I am fully aware that Scarface preceded Goodfellas, but seeing it for the first time in 2014 this was my initial reaction.

I was also kept aware of the fact that it must have been influential in the creation of the popular NBC television series Miami Vice, which debuted a year or two after Scarface was released.

Similarities such as crime lords, Miami Beach, and drugs mirrored the slick feel of the hit television drama as well as the look, style, and fashions.

The performance of Al Pacino is problematic- in my view, this is not at all his best work. For starters, his accent keeps going in and out and I found him slightly unbelievable in the role. A phenomenal actor, something with his performance did not sit well.

The musical score to the film is cheesy- almost shockingly so. Granted this was 1983, but the silly dance beats sporadic throughout now seem completely dated.

Parts of Scarface dragged a bit, however, a sudden dramatic scene (the dismembering of Tony’s friend by mobsters and Tony’s meltdown in a fancy restaurant) more than makeup for the occasional lags in drama.

Scarface (1983) is not on the level of other contemporary violent mob films, but for fans of the genre, it will be enjoyed.