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Spoiler Warning: The following article contains major spoilers for Last Breath. If you’ve yet to watch the rescue thriller, please return to the surface and check it out with a Peacock subscription before going any deeper.
There are quite a few 2025 movies I’ve been able to take in on the big screen this year, but I haven’t been able to see everything I originally planned to catch in theaters. That’s the case for Last Breath, the “stressful” survival thriller about a saturation diver being separated from his crew during a massive storm on the North Sea. I did get to watch it at home when the film made its streaming debut, and while I did enjoy it, I still can’t help but feel like I missed out on something grand.
Don’t get me wrong, this white-knuckle thriller based on a true story starring Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, and Finn Cole checked all the boxes, left me on the edge of my seat, and had me pacing around my bedroom a few times. However, there were a handful of intense scenes that would have been even better had I made time to catch this on the biggest screen possible.
Chris And David’s Attempt To Reach The Diving Bell Was Probably So Intense On The Big Screen
Before the ship malfunctions and Chris Lemons (Finn Cole) is sent to the bottom of the North Sea with only minutes of oxygen in his suit, the saturation diver and his partner, David Yuasa (Simu Liu) are sent to conduct scheduled maintenance on several gas lines 300 feet below the surface. But, a routine task soon becomes anything but when the ship’s positioning system goes haywire in the middle of a storm, meaning they only have seconds to get back to their diving bell or risk being left at the bottom of the sea.
This sequence, which comes about 30 minutes into Last Breath, is a terrifying race to safety as the two experienced divers attempt to reach the bell and go back to the surface. I was on pins and needles watching from the comfort of my own home, I can only imagine how extreme this had to have been in a dark theater with a massive screen.
But the movie was just getting started…
The Moment Chris’ Line Snapped, Pulling Him To The Seabed, Had To Have Been Terrifying
Though the Last Breath trailer (and all the TV spots) heavily teased the moment Chris’ line breaks just before he can reach safety and is flung to the bottom of the sea, the sequence didn’t lose any of its intensity when I was watching the new movie streaming on Peacock. In fact, knowing that it was coming, but not exactly when, made the whole sequence all the more nerve-wracking and exciting, to say the least.
I was watching this all go down in my bedroom as I folded laundry on a Sunday afternoon (this is a perfect Sunday afternoon movie, by the way), so I can only imagine how nightmarish it was seeing it while surrounded by strangers on my local AMC Theaters’ Dolby Cinema screen. I would have been jumping, biting my nails, and stress-eating a box of Milk Duds by that point.
I Would Have Loved To Have Experienced The Deafening Silence Of Chris’ Attempt To Reach The Manifold
Another moment I think would have been great on the big screen was the sequence in which Chris is at the bottom of the sea, trying to make his way back to the manifold so he can await rescue. Though not as action-packed as the rest of the film, this short segment has a deafening silence and sense of dread that’s honestly breathtaking (no pun intended). Stuck in a state of fear, contemplation, and doom, this short sequence of events was one of my favorite parts of the entire movie.
There are those moments in theaters where everyone is stuck in a state of silence as the music and background noise of the movie fades away that are just so enchanting, and I’m sure this would have been no different.
The Whole Race By The Bridge To Get The Ship Operational Had Me On The Edge Of My Seat
Like other disaster films from the past, Last Breath isn’t solely focused on what’s going on below the water. Throughout the movie, we’re thrown onto the bridge of the ship with Captain Andre Jenson (Cliff Curtis) as he and his crew attempt to save Chris from ending up dead on the bottom of the sea while also preventing an environmental disaster by accidentally disrupting an underwater gas line.
This whole section of the movie, which is cut with footage of the underwater operation and Chris trying to survive without oxygen or a tether to the diving bell, is exhilarating, to say the least. Multiple characters get time to shine and attempt to save lives (both under and above the water), which adds a dizzying yet satisfying element to the story. My TV’s speakers aren’t what they used to be, so I’m sure the whole series of events was even more chaotic while watching the movie the way it was meant to be seen.
I Can Only Imagine How I Would Have Reacted To Those Terrifying Shots Of The North Sea
I know I keep talking about the North Sea, but have you all watched any real-life videos from the massive and dangerous body of water connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the English Channel? Just go onto TikTok, X, or any other social media platform and you’ll see what I mean. Throughout the movie, the sea is treated like a monster, one that is trying to claim the lives of anyone who enters its turbulent and frigid waters (two degrees above freezing, according to one character).
Sunny or stormy, day or night, it doesn’t matter; the North Sea is formidable throughout the film, and I cannot imagine how ferocious those swells looked and felt in a theater with state-of-the-art picture and sound and not a 42-inch Samsung from 2013. Breathtaking doesn’t even begin to describe it.
I Would Have Loved To See How Audiences Would Have Reacted To David Rescuing Chris At The End
One of my favorite parts about going to a movie is listening to the audience talk about it as they walk out. Good or bad, these comments help me figure out how people in general receive the movie. I would have loved to hear what folks had to say about this thriller, especially when it came to David rescuing Chris at the end of the movie.
I don’t think it would be on the level of Cap saying “Avengers… assemble” in Avengers: Endgame’s epic battle sequence, but I bet it was awesome and received at least one cheer and some clapping scattered throughout the theater. Instead, it was just me jumping up and knocking over laundry while my cat stared at me before going back to sleep.
All in all, I’m glad I finally watched Last Breath, even if I didn’t get to enjoy it in its original format. Though it’s not my favorite movie of the year so far, it was a great way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon.