Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the 20 films with some of the worst science ever seen on the silver screen.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the 20 films with some
00:10of the worst science ever seen on the silver screen.
00:29As he does in the comics, Christopher Reeve's Superman has a bevy of powers including super
00:34speed.
00:35In this case though, Supes can fly fast enough around the Earth to undo its rotation and
00:39reverse time.
00:40Needless to say, this is impossible.
00:46First, to achieve such speeds, Superman would need to exceed the speed of light, thereby
00:54violating Einstein's theory of relativity.
00:57According to this theory, as an object approaches the speed of light, its mass increases.
01:01The greater its mass, the more energy needed to accelerate, increasing its mass again.
01:05Superman would need to be a being of infinite energy to fly that fast.
01:09Worse, flying at such speeds inside of Earth's atmosphere would generate powerful shockwaves,
01:13destroying anything in its path.
01:25Blockbusters from the mid-to-late 90s were some of the best popcorn movies ever made,
01:36but that doesn't mean they're accurate.
01:38At the end of Twister, Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton survive a massive tornado by strapping
01:42themselves to a pipe with a leather belt.
01:46I mean, let's break that down.
01:52have winds topping out at more than 300mph.
01:55That level of force can uproot trees and decimate buildings.
01:59The pair would, at minimum, likely have been hit by flying deadly debris.
02:03Moreover, even if that leather belt could have withstood the extreme force of the winds,
02:07the pipes would not.
02:09And joints, as a rule, are not designed to handle massive forces, and would likely have
02:13been torn apart.
02:18When returning to their home world in After Earth, Will and Jaden Smith face a planet
02:30where life has evolved to be particularly hostile towards humanity.
02:34Their take on evolution is deeply flawed.
02:36A millennium is not enough time to witness such massive evolutionary changes.
02:48Evolution operates on a much longer timescale.
02:50At best, significant adaptations occur over thousands of years, or even millions.
02:54The idea that plants and animals could evolve so rapidly to specifically target humans is
02:58biologically impossible.
03:01Evolution is driven by natural selection, over generations.
03:04Major environmental shifts do not trigger immediate drastic changes in species.
03:08Humans being absent for only a few hundred years wouldn't lead to such radical transformations
03:13in Earth's ecosystem.
03:17In Independence Day, scientist David Levinson, played to perfection by Jeff Goldblum, saves
03:29the world.
03:30In a matter of hours, David was able to understand alien technology and software enough to connect
03:34it to a mid-90s era PC.
03:36Somehow, the tech of an interstellar civilisation runs on binary code, and was easily accessible
03:41by outdated human software.
03:50That concept relied on the audience's general lack of understanding of computer systems.
03:54In real life, their language, protocols and systems would be utterly alien to our experience.
04:00Even within human systems, hacking into secure networks takes extensive time and specialised
04:04knowledge.
04:05Computer viruses, like David's, need to be specifically designed for the vulnerabilities
04:09of a particular operating system.
04:23One of the most amusing aspects of the Transformers franchise is the way in which giant robots
04:27treat human bodies like toys.
04:29Sam and his friends are tossed around like footballs by Optimus, Bumblebee and Megatron.
04:33Usually they're caught and saved, or a Transformer morphs around them to prevent harm.
04:40Unfortunately, these scenes completely ignore basic Newtonian physics.
04:47According to the laws of momentum, when a human is thrown with significant force, their
04:51body experiences extreme acceleration or deceleration.
04:54When caught mid-air by a robot, the sudden stop would generate immense g-forces, enough
04:59to crush internal organs or snap bones.
05:09The film treats human bodies as if they were indestructible.
05:12In reality, even a moderate impact at high speed could result in severe trauma.
05:21The Hollow Earth Theory has long captivated both science fiction writers and conspiracy
05:31theorists.
05:32Today, it lies at the centre of the MonsterVerse films.
05:35The idea, though, dates back to cinema classics like the 1959 adaptation of Jules Verne's
05:40Journey to the Centre of the Earth.
05:42The film presents a fantastical underground world, complete with oceans, jungles and prehistoric
05:46creatures.
05:54While scientists entertained the concept in the 19th century, it has long since been debunked.
05:59The immense pressure and heat beneath Earth's surface would make survival absolutely impossible.
06:04Gravity would act differently at such depths, making it unlikely for people or ecosystems
06:08to exist.
06:09The vast, hollow caverns at the Earth's centre defies the understanding that Earth's
06:12solid layers are necessary to support its structural integrity.
06:30As the existential issue of our time, more and more Hollywood films and TV shows have
06:34tackled climate change.
06:36One of the first was made 20 years ago, the day after tomorrow.
06:39The film's take on climate science, though, is less than stellar.
06:43The film shows drastic temperature drops and extreme weather events happening almost instantaneously.
06:53In reality, climate change is something that occurs over time.
06:56It would be nearly impossible for the Earth to plunge into a new ice age in a matter of
07:01days.
07:02Such shifts occur over long periods, due to the complex interplay of atmospheric, oceanic
07:07and ecological systems.
07:08Nor could massive superstorms instantly freeze entire cities.
07:11Heat cannot dissipate that rapidly on such a large scale.
07:28The Matrix trilogy may have become a cultural touchstone, but its central premise is scientifically
07:33ridiculous.
07:34In the world of The Matrix, human beings are grown on large farms and plugged into massive
07:39power plants.
07:40Human bodies do, in fact, produce energy through metabolism.
07:43We are not, however, efficient power sources.
07:55The energy required to sustain a human through food far exceeds the energy a body could generate.
08:01Humans are net energy consumers, not producers.
08:05It would take more energy to keep the humans alive than could ever be harvested from their
08:09bodies.
08:20Gravity may be a compelling space thriller, but it's also riddled with inaccuracies.
08:24The drama begins with a noble sacrifice when George Clooney's character detaches from
08:28the tether to prevent pulling Bullock away.
08:31The only problem?
08:32This is unnecessary, in a vacuum.
08:34Without air resistance or significant gravity, once they stop moving, no force would pull
08:39them further.
08:40Clooney could have been easily pulled back without drifting away.
08:51Even worse, the film shows the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope
08:55as objects in close proximity.
08:58In reality, the ISS orbits Earth at around 260 miles, while Hubble orbits at around 335
09:04miles.
09:05In other words, they are in different orbital planes.
09:08Travelling between them would require vast energy and time.
09:25Sometimes, especially with disaster movies, the loose science is only there to justify
09:29the suspension of disbelief.
09:31It's not actually meant to provide legitimacy to the plot.
09:34Such is the case with the science behind the apocalyptic 2012.
09:37Its central premise, that neutrinos from a massive solar flare could heat Earth's
09:42core sparking catastrophic geological events, is completely insane.
09:56Neutrinos, while abundant, interact very weakly with matter.
09:59Tectonic systems cannot, in fact, generate simultaneous tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanic
10:04eruptions on a global scale.
10:06The film also features rapid continental drift.
10:09Entire landmasses move and sink within hours.
10:12In the real world, this process takes millions of years.
10:28The Star Wars franchise, while beloved by fans for decades, isn't exactly famous for
10:32its strict adherence to the laws of physics.
10:34One of Star Wars' cardinal sins is its consistent portrayal of sound in space.
10:45The thrum of ships moving, the buzz of hyperspace drives, and the booms of explosions would
10:50all be silent in a vacuum.
10:52The movement of ships in space, too, is less than accurate.
10:55There is no air resistance or gravity in space, but fighters act like terrestrial-bound planes.
11:01In space, they would move in straight lines, unless acted on by external forces.
11:17Despite decades of scientific evidence, the conspiracy theory that the moon is hollow
11:20or serves as an alien base has persisted.
11:24Adherents believe that the moon may be an artificial structure, and is actually hollow
11:28inside.
11:29The 1922 film, Moonfall, plays into this absurdity.
11:37In the movie, the moon is indeed an alien construct, threatening to destroy the Earth
11:42with a deadly collision.
11:43The film's premise disregards basic astrophysics and geology.
11:47The moon's structure has been studied extensively, through both terrestrial observation and lunar
11:51missions.
11:52It shows conclusively that it is a solid body with a complex internal structure.
12:12The plot of the movie, Volcano, hinges on the catastrophic eruption of a volcano beneath
12:16Los Angeles.
12:17The likelihood of such an event actually occurring is exceedingly low.
12:21Los Angeles is not located near any active volcanoes.
12:24I mean, the nearest volcanic activity is nearly 200 miles away.
12:28The region is shaped by tectonic activity, but that activity isn't likely to create
12:32a volcano.
12:42In some instances, a tectonic fault can cause volcanic activity if it forces one place under
12:47another.
12:48In the movie, Andrea's fault plates slide side-by-side, which can cause earthquakes
12:52but shouldn't typically generate magma.
12:54While California does experience some volcanic activity, the specific scenario depicted in
12:58Volcano is scientifically implausible.
13:15Indiana Jones has faced the power of the Almighty, aliens and time travel.
13:19In Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, he also survives a nuclear blast by
13:23hiding inside a refrigerator.
13:32While this is a fun way to start a film, it's also unlikely.
13:35A refrigerator doesn't necessarily offer much protection against radiation.
13:40Even assuming that it was lead-lined and did insulate Indy, there is the blast.
13:45The immediate blast radius would incinerate anything within a few hundred metres.
13:48Even at a distance, the intense heat would likely melt the fridge, and being launched
13:53several hundred feet would subject Dr. Jones to extreme, possibly deadly G-forces.
14:02The potential blunt force trauma upon landing would also likely have killed the adventurous
14:06archaeologist.
14:11Not Enough Water – Waterworld
14:20Kevin Costner's post-apocalyptic epic Waterworld was one of the first Hollywood films to tackle
14:25climate change.
14:26It portrays a future where Earth is completely submerged underwater due to the melting of
14:30the polar ice caps.
14:31While climate change is causing ice caps to melt, the complete flooding of the planet
14:35is virtually impossible.
14:43Even if every bit of ice on Earth melted, scientists estimate sea levels could rise
14:47by about 70 metres.
14:49While that would be cataclysmic, with most of the world living relatively close to a
14:53coastline, it wouldn't come close to covering the entire world in water.
14:56Additionally, the notion of human survival on floating atolls raises questions about
15:00sustainable living.
15:01I mean, there is very little food or fresh water out on the open sea.
15:18Could humanity truly play God?
15:20Could cloning bring extinct animals back to life?
15:23Audiences have been asking these questions ever since 1993's Jurassic Park.
15:27Broadly speaking, the answer is no.
15:29The genetics in the films are not particularly accurate.
15:36The films suggest that scientists could extract viable DNA from ancient mosquitoes preserved
15:41in amber.
15:42In truth, DNA degrades over time.
15:44It'd be extremely unlikely to find intact genetic material after millions of years.
15:49Moreover, the franchise oversimplifies genetic engineering.
15:52It implies that dinosaurs could be cloned and almost perfectly replicated from fragments
15:56of DNA, combined with that of modern species.
16:07In reality, cloning extinct animals is far more complex.
16:11Scientists would need complete and well-preserved genomes, as well as an understanding of the
16:14organism's full biology and behaviour.
16:30You only use 5-10% of your brain.
16:33We've heard that for years, and science fiction films like Lucy have played with that
16:37concept to our collective delight.
16:44The film suggests that unlocking more brain capacity leads to superhuman abilities.
16:49Unfortunately, neuroscience has long since proved that the notion is a myth.
16:59Humans utilise virtually all parts of our brains constantly throughout the day.
17:03Brain imaging studies reveal that even during simple tasks, multiple regions are active.
17:08Each part of the brain has specific functions.
17:10While not all are firing simultaneously, this doesn't mean that they aren't being used.
17:29While audiences rocked out to Aerosmith, scientists around the world collectively cringed
17:33while watching Armageddon.
17:34It stars Bruce Willis as an oil driller sent to blow up a world-killing asteroid from the
17:39inside.
17:40Virtually everything we see is wrong.
17:45The asteroid's surface couldn't be less accurate, and it's all but impossible that
17:49one so big could get so close to Earth without being discovered well in advance.
17:54Even if we did have a bomb powerful enough to blow an asteroid in half, as depicted,
17:58and we don't, the pieces would still likely be pulled to the Earth's surface by gravity.
18:03Even if the drillers were able to land and accomplish their mission, they would have
18:06all been stuck.
18:07Base shuttles can't take off horizontally.
18:20From geography to physics, from chemistry to climate science, few movies are as aggressively
18:24wrong as the core.
18:26Calamity ensues after scientists discover that the Earth's core has stopped rotating,
18:30thanks to a top-secret geological weapon.
18:39There is no piece of any human technology that exists which could affect the Earth's
18:43core or mantle.
18:44Nor does the core's rotation directly influence the planet's surface events in the way depicted.
18:49It does play a role in generating the magnetic field, but destabilisation would take much
18:54longer to occur.
18:55And when it comes to sending a ship into the Earth, you can forget about it.
18:59The extreme temperatures and pressures found at such depths would easily destroy any human-made
19:04craft.
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19:37Movies tend to treat scientific technology in the same way they treat magic.
19:40It takes a concept that audiences are loosely familiar with, like genetics, and takes it
19:45to an absurd extreme.
19:46The Bond film, Die Another Day, presents a ludicrous notion of transracial genetics.
19:51It suggests that gene therapy can alter a person's DNA, changing their race and face.
20:06Human traits like skin colour, hair texture and other racial characteristics are influenced
20:10by multiple genes and environmental factors.
20:13Such transformations were impossible 20 years ago, and unlikely today.
20:17While gene therapy is advancing, it remains primarily focused on treating specific genetic
20:22diseases, such as sickle-cell anemia or thalassemia.
20:32Hollywood has always had a loose relationship with scientific accuracy, so let us know your
20:36favourite films with bad science in the comments below.
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