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Ghosts of the Abyss
EMAILPRINTWalt Disney Pictures

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 24 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 6 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Documentary
Written by:
Directed by: James Cameron
Release Date:
Theatrical: April 11, 2003
DVD: April 27, 2004
Running Time: 59 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: G for General Audiences
Starring Lewis Abernathy, Dr. Lori Johnston, Don Lynch, Ken Marschall, Bill Paxton, Charles Pellegrino, and Tava Smiley
In this immersive 3-D adventure presented in IMAX format, James Cameron journeys back to the site of his greatest inspiration -- the legendary wreck of the Titanic.
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Aliens Aliens of the Deep Avatar Terminator Terminator 2: Judgment Day The Abyss Titanic True Lies
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site All Films Considered: James Cameron Official Webcast Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Boston Globe Ty Burr
It's a unique trip that flirts with hokeyness at the surface but that grows more compelling, awe-inspiring, and tragic the deeper you go.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
The experience couldn't be more realistic, though Cameron also superimposes imagery of passengers recalling the fateful night, to haunting effect.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Kevin Carr
Part of what makes this film a must-see for Titanic fans is that it truly puts you closer to the wreckage than anyone else can get.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone Peter Travers
Despite over-ripe narration and an understandable urge to cram too much in, Ghosts of the Abyss is a thrilling documentary.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
Cameron wants to take the audience ''back to 'Titanic,''' but the journey's magic is hemmed in, paradoxically, by the transcendence of his previous effort; surely he must know that a lot of us never left.
Read Full Review >Variety Robert Koehler
Though quite routine on the logistics of deep-sea exploring, pic develops a visual style as it replays the events of the sinking that some viewers may find more visually exciting and satisfying than what Cameron staged in his original mega-blockbuster.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
The film's underwater views are breathtaking, as are its drawings and photographs of the Titanic's original splendor.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
Not just a 3-D novelty to amuse school groups, but also a memorial.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
The more you know about the 1912 tragedy, the more you will appreciate the sights of Ghosts of the Abyss.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
If Cameron wants to be a pioneer instead of a retro hobbyist, he should obviously use Maxivision 48, which provides a picture of such startling clarity that it appears to be 3-D in the sense that the screen seems to open a transparent window on reality. Ghosts of the Abyss would have been incomparably more powerful in the process.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Though younger fans of Cameron's 1997 blockbuster may be a little disappointed at the lack of, well, Leo, Cameron persuades us to share his obsession with the ship's history.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Dave Kehr
Whether he's working in nonfiction or science fiction, Mr. Cameron remains an artist of great instinctive power. In Ghosts of the Abyss, he uses every means of probing that modern science has put at his disposal -- electronic, mechanical, sonic -- only to find that the tragic reality of the Titanic, its myths and its meanings, remain tantalizingly beyond his reach.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones
Its best to situate yourself in the middle of the row; a seat at the end will most likely leave you feeling cross-eyed for an hour.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Angel Cohn
For all the technical wizardry that went into making the film, Paxton's reflections on the human tragedies of the Titanic and the terrorist attack of Sept. 11th, 2001, which took place while the crew was out at sea, provide one of the film's most haunting moments.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
The 3-D footage of Titanic does speak volumes, and sometimes the sheer fussiness of all the ghosts and archival images get in the way. As huge as the Imax screen is, when six different images vie for one's attention, it looks cluttered.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer
Occasionally exciting but carefully controlled.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Mark Olsen
During the all-important underwater sequences, the three-dimensional effects are surprisingly muted.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
If only there'd been a chance to contemplate the legend in blessed silence.
Village Voice Edward Crouse
"Check this out, bro," James Cameron says as he returns to the site of the real Titanic, armed with robots, a 3-D Imax camera, and the same colossal hubris that necessitated a call for silence as he accepted his Oscar on behalf of those who perished.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Charles Taylor
James Cameron disgraces those who died on the Titanic -- again.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky
The 3D, effective but not yet totally awesome, masks a world of sins: Ghosts can be an awfully tedious voyage-to-the-bottom-of-the-sea.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 6 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Valerie B gave it a9:
Loved it! Really liked having a civilians (Bill Paxton) point of view in comparison to the scientists. It made me almost feel like I was there too seeing his reactions!
michael l. gave it a5:
Not impressed at all, direspectful having the will smith song playing because they rescued the other robot, hello over 1500 people died.
Shane R. gave it a 10:
Ghost Of The Abyss was the best Titanic documentary I have seen In a long time and Im very happy that James Camron put this together so people can see the Titanic up close and personal the Titanic may be desceased and sitting on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean the Titanic's legend and legacy will live on forever...
Matt S. gave it a 9:
Very good visual effects that make the documentary much more interesting.
Tony L. gave it a 7:
I can never get enough of the "Titanic" but having Bill Paxton due the narration was a mistake. He comes across as "Gober" who is taking a stroll through Marine World. There should have more quiet time throughout the movie.
