The Abyss (1989)

"The Abyss" may have been technically ambitious, but compared to the filmmaker’s greatest hits from the 80's and 90's, it plays like one of his most insipid and meandering works - still better than any "Avatar", though. It lacks the pulse of "Aliens", the sleek ferocity of "The Terminator" or the operatic grandeur of "Titanic". Where those films throb with tension, spectacle and emotional resonance, "The Abyss" drifts along some ponderous pacing, muddled character arcs and a hollow attempt at awe that never reaches the heights of Cameron’s best works.