The Abyss: Revisited Edition

[ssj]

And no, I'm not making a weed reference here.

that's what i thought at first. :-D

sounds like a cool edit. let me hunt down a used copy of this movie on amazon, then i'll check eet owt.

 

[seciors]

@Geminigod,

Thanks very much for the review and praise; your comments are well taken, and I'm actually surprised you gave me such a high final rating (Not that I'm complaining! )

The parts of your comments I agree with have to do with the "beat" moment, and the audio mix during the rising of the ship...these both actually are mostly due to me losing steam and wanting to release the edit. I basically redid the entire edit in new software when I changed software from Final Cut Pro 5 to Final Cut Pro X. Everything had to be redone since there is no export/import feature. I did redo everything, except for the final sequence which I "cheated" and just stuck in the rendered version from FCP 5. It's the most complicated part of the edit, and I just kind of felt I wasn't up to redoing it. My bad. I may go back and revisit it at some point given your comments though.

The harder aspect of this movie is indeed the motivation of Coffey if there is no WWIII going on topside (which was of paramount importance to me). My choice was to go with the fact that Coffey was suffering from the pressure effects and that amplified his fear of the unknown. Being in command after being ordered to moving to "phase 2" led him to bad decisions. However, I do agree you can see this as not completely satisfactory. For me though, it is better than the original.

Anyway, thanks again so much for watching and giving your feedback! And for using MF/JDownloader, since I am probably sticking with MF until forced off of it (despite reading the instructions, I'm still a bit confused on how to move to Usenet...)

 

[geminigod]

And for using MF/JDownloader, since I am probably sticking with MF until forced off of it (despite reading the instructions, I'm still a bit confused on how to move to Usenet...)

Usenet is really not too bad. I have been hesitant as well because I don't understand the technology behind it, but I sucked it up yesterday and just followed the instructions on the FAQ on .info. I had everything configured and an edit downloading in no time via the free account option. The recommended program to interface with usenet is very user friendly and, once setup, just runs like a server in the background. I started downloading an 8GB edit last night. It has been slowly but steadily downloading at 120KB/s with no hassle or problems. This morning it is almost finished. Just 2 hours left to go.

I haven't tried uploading a movie yet. We'll see how that goes eventually.

The only tricky part about getting setup to download IMO is that you will need to access the admin settings on your router to open the port number your usenet host gives you when doing the initial setup.

I'm certainly not going out of my way to move my stuff over to usenet. But I also am certainly not going to add anything new to mediafire. Doing so would inevitably result in creating more work for me down the road.

 

[bionicbob]

Upon reading Neglify's and Geminigod's review, I think I fall somewhere in the middle of the two.


The Special Edition of THE ABYSS is easily my favorite James Cameron movie of all time. It is epic, timely, character driven, suspenseful, thought provoking... for me, it is equal to Spielberg's Close Encounters.


So I must be honest, it was a challenge for me to go into watching this edit with an open mind, but I within a few minutes of the new opening, I found myself pleasantly immersed into this alternate take of Cameron's underwater tale.


As already pointed out, Seciors has kept the focus on Bud and his crew, removing the "blockbuster" elements and WWIII threat, and has successfully created a slightly more character oriented narration with a looming claustrophobic feel. I found this approach surprisingly both engaging and entertaining.


Though it is not perfect. The removal of the WWIII subplot also removes a lot of subtext from many scenes, making certain characters motivations more muddled. For example, Coffey suffering from Deep Sea Paranoia only goes so far to explain his actions, it does not explain what is driving his fear and concerns or even why his fellow officers follow his lead so blindly. But also for me, the WWIII threat adds an extra, real world, level of tension, a "ticking clock to doomsday" that really informed the energy and drama of the Special Editon.


That said, the new story is well constructed and executed and basically achieves it set out goals.
I enjoyed the Bud/Alien first contact flashback, as I think it works as a nice replacement for the original Shipboard TV exchange and helps explains the Alien's reasons for saving Bud and his crew. Though I did notice the transition flash was not matted to fit the film.


Other than that, I did notice a couple audio dips and pixels in the reds, but nothing that distracted or ruined the experience for me.


While I still prefer the Special Edition version, Seciors displays a good handle on the material and strong editing skills, and I definitely say this edit is worth one's time to watch.

Well done sir!

 

[seciors]

Thanks bionicbob for watching and providing such a detailed review. I am glad you felt I worth watching even though you still prefer the special edition.

 

[bionicbob]

Thanks bionicbob for watching and providing such a detailed review. I am glad you felt I worth watching even though you still prefer the special edition.

You are welcome. Fan edits are all very subjective, so yes, while I still personally prefer the Special Edition, I can clearly see you have great talent and this is a very well crafted edit. I hope more people take the time to check it out.
:clap2:

 

[Menbailee]

I just watched this tonight with a friend. Neither of us had ever watched The Abyss before, in either of its editions. This marks the first time that I have bought a DVD specifically in order to watch a fanedit. I still haven't watched the original, and I don't intend to before writing a review of this edit as a movie on its own terms.

Summary: I liked the story save for a couple significant reservations, whereas my friend made fun of Cameron's film-making, but neither of us noticed any flaws to indicate that this was anything other than a professional release.

I'm looking forward to writing more in the near future, and then adding to it after watching (at least parts of) the original.

 

[Menbailee]

This is the second time I need to congratulate Seciors on an impressive edit. During its first 40 minutes, I felt as if I were watching 2001, and I intend that as a high compliment. Evidently the changes to this movie involve considerable alterations to the plot and to character motivations. As someone watching this movie for the first time in any version, every step in story and motivation made sense to me, so I will summarize the movie as I understood it:


------
The U.S. navy recruits a deep-sea oil rig and its crew to investigate a nuclear submarine which mysteriously sank. The rig crew and the Navy SEALS assigned to the mission do not find answers aboard the vessel, but the rig's engineer sees vessels belonging to a sapient, technological species native to the deep ocean. The military appears to have limited awareness and significant mistrust of this species, and secretly orders the SEALS to reclaim and arm a nuke from the submarine, just in case.

A hurricane destroys the topside equipment, resulting in the rig plummeting far deeper into the sea and several of its crew dying as the equipment breaks and compartments flood. Tensions run high between the rig crew and the SEALS. The aquatic species sends a tentacle of water with a mimicked human face at its end in an attempt to communicate with the first humans to reach their depths. They show an interest in the nuclear bomb, and a possible awareness of its dangerousness.

The SEAL commanding officer, cut off from his superiors and suffering from a pressure-induced psychosis, interprets the aquatic interest as hostile and decides that the nuke must be launched. A struggle ensues between the SEALS and the rig crew, whose engineer insists the aquatics are friendly. The rig crew defeats the SEALS, but not before the nuke is launched and timed to detonate.

The rig captain dives to the greatest depths ever explored to reach and defuse the bomb. He does so, but he does not have enough oxygen to return to the rig, nor does the rig have enough oxygen to survive until a rescue. The aquatics, seeing the bomb defused, rescue the rig captain and take him to their city. They then launch the city itself upward, taking the rig with it to appear on the surface, thus ushering in a peaceful first contact between the two sapient species who had unknowingly co-existed on this planet.
------

The rig serves as a sort of microcosm for humanity's reactions to the unknown. The plot provides the context for the rig's engineer and captain to rediscover the love they had forgotten on the way to divorce, and the message seems to be that love and trust for each other is the way to make ourselves ready to greet, learn from, and be embraced by the unknown.

I loved the character development throughout the movie, and I did not miss whatever Seciors removed. I found the film quite moving, and I frankly felt annoyed with the extent of my friend's nitpicking during the movie.

Some of these nitpicks hold true, however. One is an exception to an otherwise brilliant move on Seciors' part, and the other two, I think, belong to Cameron's original.

Seciors builds tremendous tension by keeping almost the entire film underwater. The only significant exception comes with several short scenes topside in order to establish the hurricane and its disastrous effects. These scenes took me out of the movie and felt unnecessary. I can't help but wonder if just using the audio from the frantic phone call about the broken crane could be enough. If these scenes could be eliminated, then the first and only scene above water would be when the aquatics rescue the rig and make first contact. This would make the break to the surface powerful and symbolic.

This is a quibble. Cameron gave us the real problems. The moment which broke our suspension of disbelief came with two of the rig crew swimming unprotected in the deep ocean in order to reach a compartment in which the psychotic SEAL had locked himself. Isn't the pressure supposed to be crushing at this depth?

Second, the drowning, hypothermia, and revival crisis after the psychotic SEAL is finally taken out made absolutely no sense, took far too long, and wore into tiresome triteness. This nonsensical portrayal of things we know perfectly well about real medical science breaks the suspension of disbelief necessary to accept the movie's sci-fi technologies.

This set of smarmy scenes also left the movie feeling as if it ought already to have ended. It's not simply a matter of length--though the full 14 minutes devoted to this subplot do the movie no favors--it's a question of crisis overload. There is exactly one crisis too many for the core story to keep its focus. If the engineer and captain finished off the SEAL, then returned to the rig without the following crisis even being introduced, this problem would be averted.

Essentially, my suggestion for this edit is for Seciors to do what he has done, and do it even more. Get rid of the hurricane topside scenes if at all possible. Trim the movie a bit more to remove implausibility and focus the story.

Because this is my first experience of the movie, I'm uncertain what proportions of the brilliance I see here owe to Cameron or to the faneditor. Because the movie still works seamlessly after a very long cutlist, some of it clearly belongs to Seciors. Thanks for a great movie!

Now to watch the original...

 

[seciors]

Wow, thanks Menbailie! Your description/summary of the plot was exactly how I intended it to be interpreted. It is gratifying to hear the story can "work" without prior knowledge of the WW3 plot that we originally very interwoven into the story.

I wanted to address your 3 "problems":

1. Keeping everything underwater until the very end

Initially this was my intention. But I became concerned that the audience wouldn't know what the heck was going on with the little information they would be able to hear/see (essentially that the "crane" which they don't know anything about is heading down). But maybe not knowing would add to the feeling of suspense and fear in a good way.

Maybe I just backed away from the idea too quickly. It certainly would be my preference to have no topside shots until the very very end. I think you've given me some inspiration to retry it (at some point when I am done with Star Wars...;-)) Thanks for giving me this idea to revisit!

2. Bud and Catfish swimming outside the rig without a suit

I'm pretty sure that the pressure would not be an issue since they have already been equalized to that depth. The suits they wear are purely for breathing and warmth, not pressurization. So the only scientific issue is hypothermia, and whether or not they could last underwater without a suit on for that length of time and still function.

I don't know the answer to that, but I do know that Cameron knows A LOT about scuba stuff. That said, it could be a moment of "suspension of disbelief" that you were not comfortable accepting. Personally, I agree it is a little bit implausible, but not so much so that it takes me out of the movie.

I do respect your feelings that it might seem implausible to the audience. Unfortunately this is something that can't be removed from the movie as it is integral to the plot.

3. The Drowning and Revival

Wow, I'm surprised to hear your reaction to this sequence, as it has always been something that I recall as one of the most emotionally powerful and draining in cinema. Watching someone drown (on purpose) and then the revival sequence...to me, this is literally the heart of the movie. Sacrifice, trust, hope, perseverance, and love. I find it uncomfortable and painful to watch, but with a major emotional payoff.

I can see your point of view that you don't believe it could happen, though I was willing to accept the explanation made by Lindsey that due to the cold water she could still survive (I think I even looked it up to see if this was possible and I believe I got positive confirmation about it). Even still, I can see why you would not accept the plausibility and/or find it to be "tiresome" and "trite."

This is something -- for me -- I would never want to cut from the movie. But, we all have to subjectively decide what we like about movies, right?

In summary, I greatly appreciate you taking the time to write so extensively about your experience with my edit, and I'm glad it mostly worked for you. I do think I will at some point look to try your suggestion about removing all topside scenes. Additionally, I would like the movie to be shorter and would continue to look for more to cut. However, I'm very glad that you didn't feel anything was "missing" with regards to character (or alien) motivation due to the removal of the WWIII subplot.

Thanks again!

 

[herowoac]

I also watched this edit a few weeks ago, and I feel pretty much the same as Menbailee about the drowning and revival. While the basic idea of it isn't that offensive and is within the range of suspension of disbelief this movie requires, the way it's executed doesn't make sense in the context of your edit. It's just milked too far, it becomes almost ridiculous.

As I recall (it's been a few years) in the original theatrical it works because everything is just so desperate at that point, I guess, at least in part, due to the world war 3 subplot. The whole world is basically coming to an end, and it makes sense as a last ditch effort to try to do something, anything, to save something, or in this case someone. And the fact that it goes so wrong and yet somehow works out despite being so ridiculously exaggerated makes sense emotionally because the situation itself is so crazy out of control and you just need to believe someone can do something.

In your edit however things really just aren't that desperate and the focus isn't on the world ending, but rather on the crew and their reactions, which really enhances just how strong their emotional reactions are to the point that the more extreme emotional reactions just doesn't make sense anymore.

IMO In the context of your edit Coffees character comes off as sloppy writing to me for the same reason. When you have a claustrophobic character drama, every little subtle reaction has such an impact because the subtleties are enhanced so much by the setting. The movie as you edit it would benefit if Coffee were not psychotic, or at least that aspect was toned down and more ambiguous. As it is just such an overstated plot device, it makes his character less subtle and less plausible, which in turn makes the movie less subtle and plausible which really is to it's detriment.

It was because of these things this edit just didn't work for me emotionally and the original just made much more sense.
But then again I seem to be in the minority. I can't help but wonder if it is, at least somewhat, because other reviewers besides me and Menbailee are more familiar with the original and the original feeling of desperation it caries and subconsciously adds that bit in when watching your edit. There's no good way of knowing I guess.

 

[seciors]

I respect your opinion, and I appreciate this edit is ending up less satisfactory for some people.

I don't get though why the WWW 3 plot would have anything to do with the drowning/revival scene. I would think if someone is going to die, people would attempt to keep that person alive using whatever means necessary, and it would be a very emotional scene no matter what when trying to revive someone who has drowned. What matters from an audience perspective I guess is if you actually care whether she lives or dies. Maybe that's the issue here?

Regarding Coffee, if I were to do the edit again I'd keep the initial moment we see his hand shake (basically right when he gets out of the equalization tank). Perhaps that would help the audience believe his actions are influenced by the pressure syndrome since we would know he started having symptoms much earlier on. (I initially thought it was too early a reveal to the audience, but now I think that the audience -- in the context of my edit -- needs to know as early as possible that Coffee is going to go bonkers). I'm not saying that would fix the issue for some people, but it might have helped.

 

[geminigod]

Sorry Menbailee and herowac, but your understanding of the medicine and science isn't quite accurate. There is very little requiring suspension of disbelief. As Seciors pointed out, Cameron knows his underwater science. The only science that is questionable here is an issue with the entire movie. We are never given an explanation how they avoid nitrogen narcosis working underwater for extended periods of time. The problem of being underwater for a long time is that the partial pressures of gasses in our body get all out of whack and it causes problems with our physiology after extended periods of time.

Regarding the pressure issue, the aforementioned issue aside, they could swim outside the rig if they wanted just fine. They aren't at crushing depth where the rig is. Also the entire rig is pressurised to equal the water pressure outside, so they would feel no difference when getting into the water. That is how the moon pools work. It is just ocean water but the air pressure inside the rig is pushing back with equal force and so the water doesn't come rushing in, except in that one scene where the equilibrium gets messed up and water from the pool starts filling the room.

Now on to hypothermia. Many people in real life have drowned in hypothermic waters and been revived. The cold essentially freezes you, which actual preserves the body. Then once the body gets warmed back up, the water can be cleared from the lungs and the person can be revived much like a normal drowned person could be after only having been drowned for a few minutes. In emergency medicine we say that the person is never dead until their core body temperature is warmed back to normal body temp (37 degrees Celsius).

The drowning and subsequent revival IMO is one of the most powerful scenes in movie history. It is kind of blowing my mind to hear multiple people referring to it as dumb and unbelievable. Maybe there is some needed tension missing because of the lack of the WWIII plot.... but that doesn't really explain anything. She is going to die, irrelevant of what is happening elsewhere. That is quite literally the only chance that both will survive. It is a long shot, and I'm not sure she even believes it will work, but it is enough of a hope to convince her husband to save himself.

 

[bionicbob]

3. The Drowning and Revival

Wow, I'm surprised to hear your reaction to this sequence, as it has always been something that I recall as one of the most emotionally powerful and draining in cinema. Watching someone drown (on purpose) and then the revival sequence...to me, this is literally the heart of the movie. Sacrifice, trust, hope, perseverance, and love. I find it uncomfortable and painful to watch, but with a major emotional payoff.

I can see your point of view that you don't believe it could happen, though I was willing to accept the explanation made by Lindsey that due to the cold water she could still survive (I think I even looked it up to see if this was possible and I believe I got positive confirmation about it). Even still, I can see why you would not accept the plausibility and/or find it to be "tiresome" and "trite."

This is something -- for me -- I would never want to cut from the movie. But, we all have to subjectively decide what we like about movies, right?

I agree with you Seciors, this is for me, the one of the most powerful and emotional scene in the entire movie. I still remember clearly the pain and anxiety I felt watching this scene the first time in the theatre many years ago. It is always the first thing I think of when someone mentions Cameron's ABYSS. It is a brilliantly executed scene IMO. I am glad you kept it. I can not even imagine the movie without it.

 

[seciors]

The drowning and subsequent revival IMO is one of the most powerful scenes in movie history. It is kind of blowing my mind to hear multiple people referring to it as dumb and unbelievable. Maybe there is some needed tension missing because of the lack of the WWIII plot.... but that doesn't really explain anything. She is going to die, irrelevant of what is happening elsewhere. That is quite literally the only chance that both will survive. It is a long shot, and I'm not sure she even believes it will work, but it is enough of a hope to convince her husband to save himself.

Yeah, that's kind of my reaction too... I just don't get why any external additional tension would be needed. I've always felt one could take that sequence out of the movie and use it as an example of amazing film making, without any additional context provided.

I'm not quite sure what I might have done to ruin this scene, but if I did, I'd deeply regret it and want to fix that.

 

[Menbailee]

Wow, thanks Menbailie! Your description/summary of the plot was exactly how I intended it to be interpreted. It is gratifying to hear the story can "work" without prior knowledge of the WW3 plot that was originally very interwoven into the story.

It did work, and I'm glad I could offer the perspective of a first viewing. We create fanedits with hypothetical fresh audiences in mind, but usually only existing fans watch them.

1. Keeping everything underwater until the very end

Initially this was my intention. But I became concerned that the audience wouldn't know what the heck was going on with the little information they would be able to hear/see (essentially that the "crane" which they don't know anything about is heading down).

Agreed, you made a tough call. I'd love to see if the crucial scenes can work with your original intention carried through.

2. Bud and Catfish swimming outside the rig without a suit

I'm pretty sure that the pressure would not be an issue since they have already been equalized to that depth. The suits they wear are purely for breathing and warmth, not pressurization. So the only scientific issue is hypothermia, and whether or not they could last underwater without a suit on for that length of time and still function.

Cool. Because of the unintentional plunge from the crane, I had the impression that they had sunk much deeper than the level for which the rig was pressurized, and only Lindsay's solid design specs were holding (parts of) the rig together. Also, when Coffee's ultimately defeated, his vehicle does not take any additional hits, but his windshield begins to crack from apparent pressure at only slightly greater depth. So we had an inconsistent understanding of the pressure issue.

I've realized why the scene feels more problematic without the WWIII plot. The original was a summer action blockbuster. Your movie isn't. It sets us up to feel as if we're watching real, frail, and limited humans. I love that. When Bud starts acting like an action hero and gets away with it, it breaks the naturalistic feel of the film.

3. The Drowning and Revival

Wow, I'm surprised to hear your reaction to this sequence, as it has always been something that I recall as one of the most emotionally powerful and draining in cinema. Watching someone drown (on purpose) and then the revival sequence...to me, this is literally the heart of the movie. Sacrifice, trust, hope, perseverance, and love. I find it uncomfortable and painful to watch, but with a major emotional payoff.

I wrote a paragraph about using defibrillators on wet bodies on wet floors with wet people around, but the real problem was that I felt absolutely no narrative tension as to whether Lindsay would perish, despite my liking her character from the instant we met her. Of course this would be a miracle movie revival. My friend was MST3K-ing the movie at this point, ever since the outside swimming. I may have responded entirely differently if I'd been able to get lost in the movie during this pivotal scene.

I watched the crucially different scenes from the Special Edition. It's quite a different movie! Comments soon.

 

[seciors]

I've realized why the scene feels more problematic without the WWIII plot. The original was a summer action blockbuster. Your movie isn't. It sets us up to feel as if we're watching real, frail, and limited humans. I love that. When Bud starts acting like an action hero and gets away with it, it breaks the naturalistic feel of the film.

Yes, it was my intention to change the feeling of this movie from summer-action blockbuster to be more about the first contact story and how people deal with the unknown and in crisis. I couldn't remove all the action sequences though and still make the plot work. The only "actionish" scenes left (IMO) is the bud vs coffee fight scene, and the underwater sub chase scene (which I did shorten...).

Regarding Bud being an action hero, he does try to be and maybe that's out of character, but he would have failed if not for Catfish (remember Coffee had him dead-to-rights before Catfish shows up). So I wouldn't say he "gets away with it" but I do agree that the two action scenes might feel out-of-place in the atmosphere I was trying to create.

[...] but the real problem was that I felt absolutely no narrative tension as to whether Lindsay would perish, despite my liking her character from the instant we met her. Of course this would be a miracle movie revival.

Well strictly speaking, in every single version of this movie, the death/revival scene is not part of any bigger narrative. It carries no additional narrative meaning in the original or special edition.

I also made specific edits to make Lindsey more likable (and reduced the animosity One Knight shows towards her as well).

My friend was MST3K-ing the movie at this point, ever since the outside swimming. I may have responded entirely differently if I'd been able to get lost in the movie during this pivotal scene.

I really think your friend had a big influence on how you interpreted/experienced this scene and perhaps other aspects of the movie.

I watched the crucially different scenes from the Special Edition. It's quite a different movie! Comments soon.

Hopefully you watched them with your friend, otherwise the comparison may not be fair. ;-)

 

[geminigod]

I've realized why the scene feels more problematic without the WWIII plot. The original was a summer action blockbuster. Your movie isn't. It sets us up to feel as if we're watching real, frail, and limited humans. I love that. When Bud starts acting like an action hero and gets away with it, it breaks the naturalistic feel of the film.

Interesting! That kind of makes sense how the action at end might stand out more and feel more like a break in the overall tone of the movie in this version of the movie.

 

[herowoac]

Yeah, that's it.

I think the point I was trying to make about the death/revival scene is that it feels like it is a part of a bigger narrative in the original that isn't in the edit: a typical block-buster action hero narrative. To me the original feels much more like "Bud (and Lindsay) vs world war 3" at that point (though obviously not as blunt as that). And at least I felt that even though the narrative obviously isn't explicit about it, it (rather nicely) set me up to want Bud to be an action hero that can save it all (including Lindsay) and the lack of narrative tension of the death/revival scene is expected within that context. (And the scene itself plays out beautifully in the original)

Whereas at that point in the edit it really doesn't feel like I'm watching action heroes, despite all that the main characters were able to do there is still a tension, a reality, a relevance. And the all-out-drama of the death/revival scene just kills it.
I mean don't get me wrong, the drowning/revival scene is an extremely moving and powerful scene and I'd love for it to fit, but it doesn't. It's just too much. It's almost impossible to accept, to take it seriously. And once you've lost that feeling of reality, the rest of the movie (the ending) just seems so unreal it's almost pointless.

And as I recall the ending was my favorite part of the Abyss. The theatrical ending that is. That and the first communication (the pillar of water)...

 

[Menbailee]

Well strictly speaking, in every single version of this movie, the death/revival scene is not part of any bigger narrative. It carries no additional narrative meaning in the original or special edition.

I'm surprised you say that! This scene, as you've described it, is core to the narrative of re-learning love and trust for those we know best, so that we can give the possibility of trust to what we do not know.

The scene is raw and unabashed in its emotion; if anything takes the audience out of the movie, it will come across as cheesy instead of powerful. This must be prevented. My friend did a lot of damage, but it was the transition to action hero invincibility that jarred us both out of the movie enough that he found his MST3K schtick justified.

I also made specific edits to make Lindsey more likable

Well, mission accomplished!

Regarding Bud being an action hero, he does try to be and maybe that's out of character, but he would have failed if not for Catfish (remember Coffee had him dead-to-rights before Catfish shows up). So I wouldn't say he "gets away with it" but I do agree that the two action scenes might feel out-of-place in the atmosphere I was trying to create.

I actually liked Coffee beating Bud, as a SEAL should, and Catfish's rescue serving as the payoff to the seeming throwaway line, "They used to call this the HAMMER!" The impunity of the swim is what first jarred us, even if the pressure wouldn't kill them, followed by the fact that Bud is the guy chosen to suit up to pursue Coffee right after he's been beaten within an inch of his life, and then the person to take the deep-sea dive right after he's been beaten up and nearly watched his wife die. "It doesn't have to be you!" Lindsey exclaims. "Who else?" Bud responds. "Uh, literally anyone else," my friend suggested in one of his responses that I actually agreed with, "especially, you know, the Navy SEAL?"

Despite my liking the Bud/Coffee fight, one way to reduce the action movie awkwardness and the feeling of one crisis too many would be to cut directly from the rescue by Jammer (roughly 1:21:25 in your edit) to the crew rushing in to find Coffee departing in the sub (roughly 1:29:00), with a few shots reworked to preserve continuity. Nothing in between affects the plot anyway, other than Coffee getting a bit roughed up, and that's not so overwhelming as to be disruptive.

It might also be possible to cut the sub chase more. The point of the scene is that Coffee launches a nuke, and then Coffee and Lindsey play dueling subs, which Lindsey wins because she knows the hardware better and has a clearer head. Maybe the whole bit of tying the missile back with a rope and then holding to the rope with the mechanical arm could be cut.

Since it's such a different topic, I'm going to save my thoughts on your ending in comparison with the SE. In short, I like both, and for different reasons.

 

[geminigod]

I've realized why the scene feels more problematic without the WWIII plot. The original was a summer action blockbuster. Your movie isn't. It sets us up to feel as if we're watching real, frail, and limited humans. I love that. When Bud starts acting like an action hero and gets away with it, it breaks the naturalistic feel of the film.

That kind of makes sense how the action at end might stand out more and feel more like a break in the overall tone of the movie in this version of the movie.

That being said, it is still highly amusing to me that there would be such strong criticism of the end action scenes given that there is very little suspension of disbelief required from what would be physically possible in the real world, whereas nobody ever complains about movies I complain about where absurd impossible shit happens all the time... like every single scene in The Rock, for example.

The idea of tone and its relationship to audience expectations and suspension of disbelief is very interesting.