Occasional uses of "s--t," "damn," "hell," "d--k," "wiener," "goddamn"; exclamatory use of "oh my God," and "Christ." Sexist line about a woman "needing to be shot by a tranquilizer gun," and she's referred to as "bitch" and "queen bitch" several times.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.
Frequent suspense/tension and peril. Bloodshed in hand-to-hand combat and near-strangulation. A submarine catches fire and sinks; people inside are overtaken by gushing water and drown. Dead bodies float underwater (not gory); a crab crawls out of a body's mouth. Characters use knives and shoot guns (no one gets shot). An important character almost dies; sad/very tense scenes. Another slashes his arm in a masochistic "cutting" ritual. Threat of nuclear annihilation as characters approach a sunken submarine loaded with bombs. A montage of real-life footage showing atrocities during the Vietnam War, the Holocaust, other infamies. A domesticated rat is forced into breathable liquid against its owner's will -- as the rat struggles mightily, then stops moving, the owner panics. The perpetrator eventually takes the rat out, showing that she's OK, but the ignoring of consent is still a form of violence.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
A character eats Captain Crunch from the box, and a Coca-Cola vending machine is visible.
Positive Messages
a little
Don't judge others by their appearance or how much money/power they appear to have. Love can help overcome hardships. That said, the behavior being modeled in the film sends mixed messages, with the U.S. military and oil rig workers shown as a boys' clubs that treats women poorly without consequence. Women are forced to "prove themselves" to men by being exceptionally intelligent and assertive, or by becoming more "masculine."
Positive Role Models
very little
Several overconfident U.S. Navy SEALs are more or less the villains here: They're portrayed as arrogant, paranoid, fixated on weaponry and Cold War-influenced destruction. In contrast, the working-class oil rig crew act more sensibly, and although they swear and use sexist language, they're depicted as being more concerned for one another's safety and well-being. Main characters are a feuding couple in the process of divorce: Lindsey is fierce and intelligent, while Bud demonstrates courage.
Diverse Representations
very little
Almost all characters are White men. Male colleagues treat the female lead poorly, referring to her as "queen bitch," with one saying that she needs to be "shot by a tranquilizer gun." (They're never criticized for their behavior and are all shown working together without any problems.) In a supporting role, a Black woman is a capable oil rig worker. A minor Black character works onboard a submarine that winds up sinking (he dies).
Parents need to know that The Abyss is an underwater sci-fi thriller written and directed by James Cameron. There's lots of suspense and some non-gory violence: A U.S. Navy submarine explodes and sinks, with several dead bodies seen floating. Characters fight with fists, knives, and guns, and main characters nearly die (one needs to be defibrillated). Swearing includes "s--t," "goddamn," and "hell," and men use sexist language, calling a female peer "queen bitch" and saying that she needs to be "shot with a tranquilizer gun." A married couple fight and kiss, and there's a brief nonsexual glimpse of bare breasts during a medical emergency. A scene in which a pet rat is immersed in breathable liquid is a real don't-try-this-with-the-family-pet-at-home moment. In terms of diversity, the cast is made up of almost all White men, the female lead deals with sexism, and a Black woman has a positive supporting role. The U.S. military is portrayed as power-hungry and trigger-happy, while a group of oil rig workers is shown to be sensible and caring. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
"The Abyss", compared to today's standards, is most certainly a family film and a classic that's on par with "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".
The story has very rounded characters, each with their own issues and quirks. The plot starts as a personal story but ends up being an event of huge proportions that effect everyone.
What parents should expect:
This movie can open dialogues about subjects such as
- Life and Death
- What lies in the sea
- Otherworldly encounters and how could they effect us.
- People's behavior and the differences with those behaviors.
Another reviewer mentioned slight nudity and cruelty to an animal in this film. The slight nudity is justified as one protagonist is reviving another protagonist via CPR. The proper technique is to open the shirt or get to the lowest layer so the pressure applied can be more effective.
The scene where a mouse is breathing water was carefully conducted, while initially shocking for some, it is a scene that should make one ponder on the ideology of oxygenated water breathing. Factoid: The mice used for the scene were totally fine and were thriving after the takes.
Consider The Abyss as a one-time view. It is groundbreaking both cinematically during that time period and in story being so full of depth in many ways, one of which is the human condition to fear the unknown.
I highly recommend this film if you've never seen it.
What's the Story?
An American nuclear submarine bristling with atomic warheads sinks into THE ABYSS and encounters the deep-sea equivalent of a UFO, losing all power and contact with the outside world. As Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union escalate, the U.S. Navy conscripts the civilian oil rig workers of an experimental underwater drilling platform to mount a rescue expedition to the unresponsive sub, while a hurricane whips up the ocean surface. Things get worse; the platform is itself battered in an accident, and the commanding U.S. Navy SEAL officer (Michael Biehn) becomes violent and unstable under the pressure -- even more so when the luminous, enigmatic, inquisitive UFO aliens return to check out the stressed humans up close.
Expect lots of orchestral crescendos and awesome visuals in this underwater epic. The Abyss was so highly touted in its production phase that rival Hollywood studios had time to get lookalike (and inferior) marine sci-fi flicks (Deep Star Six and Leviathan, if you had to ask) in theaters by the time perfectionist director James Cameron released the film. Even then, Cameron was less than satisfied, and on DVD and VHS releases, you can find both the original Abyss and a "special edition" that attempted to better blend the alien first-contact story into the plot. Even so, it mixes like the proverbial oil and water, because Cameron's realization of the characters' high-tech, deep-sea survival ordeal is so fascinating (and excruciatingly suspenseful) in its own right that the sci-fi element seems intrusive -- a Close Encounter of the Unnecessary Kind.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the ocean exploration and underwater living depicted in The Abyss. Ask kids what they would prefer: manning a space station or a submarine platform?
How did the oil rig workers deal with unstable U.S. Navy SEALs onboard their submarine? Was violence the only answer? If not, what are some other ways to achieve peace?
How did the oil rig workers treat Lindsey? Was their gossip about her acceptable, or was it inappropriate and punishable? If you were Lindsey, how would you feel being called names behind your back?
What's the difference between suspense and violence? Which has a bigger impact on you?
MPAA explanation:
language and some scenes of action
Last updated:
August 14, 2024
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Charles Cassady Jr.
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
