Ghosts Of The Abyss
(2003)
|
James Cameron, director of the hugely successful TITANIC, returns to a subject with which he appears infatuated. GHOSTS OF THE ABYSS sees Cameron assemble a team of scientists, documentarians, and actor-narrator Bill Paxton to descend 12,000 feet to the wreckage of the Titanic. The results are rendered in the stunning IMAX 3-D format, following two submersible vehicles that carry the crew members to the depths of the ocean floor. A visibly nervous Paxton takes his first trip to the wreckage, and muses on the historical and scientific importance of their journey. The Titanic appears from the murky gloom of the ocean depths, an eerie and startling occurrence that leaves Paxton and crew awestruck. Two mini robotic cameras are unleashed to explore the nooks and crannies of the ship, with director Cameron superimposing shots of actors playing out scenes that may have occurred in the final hours of the dying ship. |
His vision apparently too grand for regular cinemas, Titanic director James Cameron returns from a five-year film-making hiatus for this adventure in IMAX 3D. While the prospect is mouthwatering on paper, it's a shame Cameron chose to waste the technology on this dull documentary-take on his biggest hit, as he returns to the wreck of the Titanic to catalogue what remains in mindnumbing detail. Initially, the 3D gambit is engaging but after the novelty wears off we are left with endless shots of the submerged ship — spruced up with graphics and computer generated apparitions of the passengers and crew — accompanied by narration from an overenthusiastic Bill Paxton, who vainly trys to drum up some morsels of excitement. There are some good moments — a resonant scene in which Cameron and crew emerge from the water to be informed of the 9/11 disaster — but for the most part, this is a stodgy and sentimental excursion.