It must've looked good on paper, but bringing Michael Crichton's decade-old novel to the screen turned out to be a big mistake for all involved. Hoffman, Jackson, and Stone are a team of researchers sent underwater to investigate a mysterious 300-year-old space ship. After realizing the ship has American origins, they stumble across a huge liquid metal sphere that can make their deepest fears come true, in the form of huge squids and sea snakes. Never lives up to the promising premise or high-class looks. Despite three mega-stars and an A-list director, it's a hollow excursion low on thrills and originality, but there's plenty of existential ramblings about the power of the mind.
The Hound is way too severe on this one. James Cameron could've done this better, but the premise works and the ending is way more believable than "The Abyss." And I didn't find any "existential ramblings": a few plot-related reflections, amateurish maybe, but what you'd expect from light fare. Thrills and chills, good effects: two and a half bones minimum.