I disagree, and I think it would have been more controversial than how they did it. I like the echoes of that scene without flat-out copying it. It also wouldn't have made sense, because Kirk already saved Spock in the film, and Spock couldn't understand why until he was in the same situation as Kirk.
^ Yes. And this dynamic was made explicit in the beginning when Kirk asks McCoy what Spock would do. McCoy, of course, answers something along the lines of, "He'd let you die."
The more I think about it, the more I realize that this wasn't "a reenactment for the sake of a reenactment." The entire movie built toward the death scene - and it's pivotal not just to the film itself, but to the overall arc of Kirk, Spock and the rest of the crew. Not only that, it cements a major theme: What would you be willing to do for your family? Khan and Admiral Marcus would be willing to kill for theirs; Kirk is willing to die for his.