The other scene is the kiss scene. I dig the kiss itself, but I hate how Ben died immediately after. The crowd at the theater cheered when they kissed. But a lot of people laughed when Ben died. It was just too soon and too fast. I don’t know if that’s JJ’s intention. But I wish his death would be more dramatic. And I later learned it’s not just my theater, someone else had the exact experience where the audience cheered at the kiss and then laughed when he died. I think slowing down both scenes giving them more breathing room will help a lot.
It was the opposite in ours: There were audible groans at the kiss. And other friends have told me their theaters actually boo’d haha. That pieced-together version of that scene on YouTube actually feels much better to me, with them almost looking like they might kiss, and then him dying instead. The tension is still there, you don’t need a big goofy romantic moment.
I agree the editing of the no kiss looked quite nice & natural. But adding the kiss after doesn’t feel natural. Unless you can show Ben waking up again which won’t be possible without new footage.
At the same time, I also don’t think the kiss was the awkward part. It was the dying immediately after that felt awkward and rushed. With some breathing room/slowing down, I think it’ll look fine even with the kiss.
So I guess there are two ways to go about it, remove kiss to get a natural flow or add some breathing room, pauses on some frames so the death doesn’t feel like it came out of nowhere. It will be best if there’s already extended version of this scene on Blu-ray extras.