MovieChat Forums > The Abyss (1989) Discussion > What a dumb mistake!

What a dumb mistake!

posted 14 years ago by tansut
25 replies | jump to latest

When the crane breaks from the ship at the surface, it falls first just in front of them, and a moment later to the abyss pulling the the whole underwater station down to the abyss.

You gotta be kidding! A small crane maybe 5% of the size of the whole station pulls it downwards? Does Cameron have an idea about Newton's laws? :-)

When this type of stupidity happens in a movie (they almost always occur in action movies), that's a immediate turn-off for me. Check your physics knowledge before making a movie.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Romani_grl 14 years ago

This may not be the answer you're looking for, but....have you ever tried to pick up a truck on land? Doesn't work cause the truck is much heavier and you don't have the mass or leverage to pick it up. Sink that sucker to the bottom of a lake, strap on some dive gear and give it a try again- see what a difference it makes.

The situation may seem highly improbable, but it is still possible. The platform was not bolted down and was in fact neutrually buoyant so that it could be moved around by the flatbed. So it is possible that the crane, with the added help of the momentum and downward angle leverage (going over the edge) that it can in fact move the platform.

It only requires a little suspension of disbelief, not a giant illogical leap.

[–] darkstorm97 14 years ago

We are watching a movie about aliens that live in the fathoms, and you're nitpicking a cranes weight?

Come with me if you want to live.

[–] Romani_grl 14 years ago

No....I'm not. I'm responding to anothers problem with the movie.

[–] darkstorm97 14 years ago

I know, that is who that was meant for. Stupid IMDB, LOL.

Come with me if you want to live.

[–] Romani_grl 14 years ago

Ah!! Ok :)

[–] juviejay 14 years ago

I, too, wondered how the crane could pull the platform like that, but you explained it pretty well, romanigirl. Thanks.

"Ronald Reagan was never afraid to raise taxes....He knew that it was necessary at times."

[–] Romani_grl 14 years ago

Glad I could help...that stuff bugs me too, so if I have an even remotely plausible explanation, I usually try :)

[–] Zvoni 13 years ago

maybe station was a little bit on the slide towards edge, little drag and it went on, whos expert on underwater science anyway, these kind of things dont bother when theres underwater ufos flying on regular basis on this movie, what newton says about those.

[–] Romani_grl 13 years ago

What? I'm afraid your post is a bit of a mess.

Minte vreodata regula de trei

[–] mradam-3 13 years ago

tansut,

who says this is a mistake at all? How do you know how much that crane weighs? Even if it is only 5% of the station's weight, how do you know that's not enough to pull the station sideways?

How about doing some research before commenting? The scene looked just fine to me. It doesn't have to comply with layman expectations.

[–] Romani_grl 13 years ago

You replied to the wrong party....may want to "nest" the page so you can see who you're responding to.

Minte vreodata regula de trei

[–] mradam-3 13 years ago

I didn't reply to the wrong party. I directly put the name of the party I was addressing. The only difference in replying to the OP directly or the last post in the thread directly in this case is the amount of indentation, which doesn't matter because the OP's post isn't on this page.

[–] Romani_grl 13 years ago

*sigh*...wrong. But no big deal. You hit reply on my post, which is why I got the notice in my inbox, saying someone replied to my post. Yes, you labeled the post to someone else, but still clicked "reply to this post"- mine.

You may wish to follow your own advice...and do some research.

And on that note, I will leave it alone- relpy again if it makes you feel better, I will not be back to check your smarmy reply.

Minte vreodata regula de trei

[–] mradam-3 13 years ago

It's not wrong. Getting the notice in your inbox is your choice. No one told you to do that.

I hit Reply on your post, and purposely, and will continue to do so. You will do better to leave it alone before you even start, rather than troll others thinking your way of doing things is the only right way. Get lost.

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] DingelBerry 11 years ago

Haha stfu

[–] HenryHaller 12 years ago

Don't know how deep they were but you should consider too the weight of the cable.

[–] dln1700 11 years ago

Not only do you have the weight of the crane but you also have momentum which would increase the pulling capacity of the crane dramatically. Just look at a "strong man" who pulls a 747 aircraft. He is infinitely smaller than the other object but his forward momentum will move it on a level surface. After that he only needs to maintain that momentum to keep it moving, rather than increasing it.

With the crane and the rig the crane lands on the edge of the abyss while the rig sits level but on the edge of a slope. The crane's intial momentum pulls it forward with just enough force before the weight of the rig itself and the momentum of the crane, now falling, pulls it down to the edge where it finally stops.

I'd be checking your own physics knowledge, tansut.

[–] brightmidnight71 11 years ago

The mistake was why didn't the surface ship have a way to detach the ambilicus from the crane in an emergency?

[–] dln1700 11 years ago

They couldn't because then 3 miles of cable would have fallen onto the rig. If they had then they wouldn't have a way of hooking it back up to the crane.

And notice how the original poster hasn't returned to reply to any posts. Look at his/her other posts. That says it all.

[–] brightmidnight71 10 years ago

I'm not saying that would be the standard procedure...but in an emergency, like say during a hurricane when the crane might rip free and three miles of cable would fall onto the rig anyway, along with the crane, it would have been nice to have some explosive bolts or something.

[–] Thearchangelmikeyg2 9 years ago

The crane is irrelevant. That deep, the cable is everything.

[–] 5535 9 years ago

Only part of the crane falls first, then the rest, as it's a long crane. The fact that it's falling over the ledge, means it's gaining enough momentum to pull the bigger submersible down with it.

[–] Nobodyinnit 8 years ago

Yeah you're forgetting about thousands of feet of cable as well.