Science fact or Cinematic Fiction?

Science fact or Cinematic Fiction?

What do super heroes movies have in common? There is a hero, a lover, a psychic friend, a vilain, and of course lots of actions. Those super heroes movies such as The Avengers , Superman, or Scott Pilgrim tend to break laws of physics in order to dramatize an action, also called cinematic fiction. If a movie was non-fiction or based on a true story, then it is important to follow the rules of physics, otherwise the viewers will think that it poor editing or a science fiction world. For example, conservation of energy is constantly changed to make a hero more powerful. According to Physics, the laws of conservation of energy state that energy can not be created or destroyed but transferred from one object to another. Down bellow are scenes examples of how the law has been broken.

1. The Avengers-Captain America's shield

There is a scene where 3 superheroes are in a forest and Captain America and Thor are getting into a fight and Thor throws his hammer to the captain. The hammer hits Captain America's shield but instead of knocking it out of his hand, the shield absorbs the energy and repels the hammer as well as the other super heroes. What makes this shield unique is that it is composed of Vibranium, Adamantium, and a third element which gives it’s strength properties. The energy force that was applied on the hammer transmitted on the heroes who fell 6meters back. If this scene was reproduced in real life, the hammer would have probably landed on the floor (considering of it's mass) and if it knocked the shield, the shield would have fallen on the floor.

2.Spiderman-Sandman fight

In that scene, Spiderman is in a truck fighting against Sandman and throws a punch in Sandman's stomach. Spiderman's hand goes thru his stomach because he is made of sand however, the energy of the punch is not equal to the energy of sand that flies of Mr. Sandman's stomach. It seems that the sand is projected at a very high speed like a rocket. Surprisingly considering the force that was applied by the punch, Sandman does not fall backwards nor collapse, but just stand in the same position. Because of laws of energy, the punch would have created a different reaction and thus less sand flying of the villain’s back. This scene was meant to show the strength of both characters: Spiderman’s punch and Sandman’s protection.

3. Scott Pilgrim-First fight with evil ex

 

I personally (sorry to say this) did not like Scott Pilgrim movie because I taught the acting and plot was cheesy and cliché. However I thought it would serve as a great example to point out the errors in physics. In the video above, shows the first time Scott Pilgrim encounters one of Ramona's first ex (Matthew) and needs to fight against him in order to keep Ramona. The movie is meant to look like a live action comic book which is why most of the action are exaggerated and punctuation marks appear. Scott is fighting the first ex and throws a Drum cymbal towards his enemies' face (while randomly floating in the air). The cymbal hits his head without leaving any bruises and then Matthew does a backflip in the air. What should have happen since Scott trowed the cymbal with great energy, Matthew would be looping a second time and moving backwards instead of the same spot.

It is common for super hero movies to break the laws of physics such as conservation of energy to emphasize an action. If a hero is trowing a punch to it's enemy, the villain it will fall further out than it should because it is showing the strength of the hero. Exaggeration in action is needed to create this style of cinematic fiction.