Science Fact or Cinematic Fiction

 

                What makes a blockbuster hit is not always if the actions within the movie are scientifically correct, but sometimes if what should be scientifically correct is exaggerated. Sometimes what may not be plausible in real life could be a memorable scene or part of a movie to a certain viewer, for example, the act of a falling object or organic matter. The act of a falling object must fall down with the act of gravity. In result, a falling object must hit contact with the ground causing some sort of collision. A collision is an interaction between two objects that have made contact with each other.  As in any interaction, a collision results in a force being applied to the two colliding objects. The laws of falling are broken in three different films: The Covenant, Practical Magic, and Underworld. These unrealistic scenes of falling are used in movies for an entertainment pleaser and for the thrill of their particular scenes.

                The 2006 movie, The Covenant, is a supernatural thriller directed by Renny Harlin and written by J.S. Cardone. The movie is about four young students at a elite private school who are descendants of the original families who settled in Ipswitch Colony in the 1600s. They are bound by their sacred ancestry and special powers. These four students are so close that they call each other brothers. In the beginning of the movie there is a party scene within the neighboring woods. The cops break-up the party and result into a chase scene between a cop car and the four brothers. Driving in a Hummer they gain speed as they are chased through the woods avoiding several trees in and around the road. The two vehicles soon drive out from the trees to a plain of land that is flat with dirt. A bank of fog engulfs both cars. The camera zooms in on the speed of the hummer which rises to 100mph and rising. The cops realize that there is a cliff up ahead and try to stop the Hummer before they drive over. The four boys know what they are getting there selves into and use their powers to combine them before driving off the cliff. The shot shows that the Hummer drives off the cliff with much speed and arches downward. The cops stop and look over the cliff for the car, but there is no sign of it. With the boy’s powers they lifted the Hummer up and over the cop car and suddenly falls and drops to the ground behind the cop car with much force. The hummer has two bounces then they drive away leaving the cops in shock. In reality the cars windows would have cracked and or shattered with the impact the car had with the ground. With the amount of speed gained by falling and the force it had making contact with the ground had very little reaction other then the bounces. 

                                                The 1988 movie, Practical Magic, is a American family-fantasy film directed by Griffin Dunne and starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as witches who carry on a family legacy of witchcraft and tragedy. At the end of the movie the holiday is Halloween. The Owen’s family has a tradition on this particular holiday where they dress in typical witch attire consisting of a black dress and a black witch hat. The women of this family jump off the roof of their house and float to the ground using black umbrellas. This scene is very unrealistic. This could never happen in real life because the weight of the person and the force after jumping off the roof the umbrella would not be able to support the weight of a human being to glide them down to the ground safely. This scene was used to amplify the witchcraft storyline, but in the real world if a person did this they would break a bone or inflict some sort of injury.   

             

            In 2003 film, Underworld, Selene, a beautiful vampire warrior, is entrenched in a war between the vampire and werewolf races. Although she is aligned with the vampires, she falls in love with Michael, a werewolf who longs for the war to end. In the opening scene, Selene is shown at the top of a gothic style building looking down at the city below. After her monologue she steps off the building and falls straight down to the stone ground below. Her impact to the ground was soft with a slight quick bounce to stand straight on her legs and walk away comfortably. With the speed gained in the air as she is falling to the ground plus factoring in the distance from the top of the building to the ground she would not be standing. Selene lands in a squat position, but if this happened in real life the balance on her feet and the stress on her knees as they bend to help soften the land would not result the same in the movie. Because she is a supernatural being in this movie she is fine and walks away with no side effects from the fall.

            Is it realistic or not? A viewer may or may not ask this when watching a movie because they may be entranced into the movie or simply bored. Movies are here as a form of escapism to another world or maybe a situation you wish you could be in. Sometimes the scientific realism can make or break a movie or better yet enhance a movie to immerse oneself in. All three movies that were discussed have flaws in the laws of falling, but all became great movies and forms of entertainment.