Science Fact or Cinematic Fiction

Since I was a young child I have been fascinated with fast moving objects. My favorite toys were objects that could move fast and my favorite heroes were action heroes. I remember the first time I saw movies like Top Gun, Indiana Jones and the Matrix, which all blew my mind. When I was watching these movies I did not think about physics or if it was humanly possible to pull out the amazing action stunts, rather I let the magic of the movies carry me away. As time passed, movies got more complicated and I began to question if it was possible for me to reenact the action scenes I saw in the movies. I realized that it takes much more than a child’s imagination to be a real life action hero. Also, I understood that physics plays a large role in every day life activities. I did not always understand how physics worked but I knew that physics affected the way I move in this universe. Thanks to this class I am able to understand physics more in-depth and I am able to distinguish between science fact and cinematic fiction. Using one of Isaac Newton’s Law of Forces the Law of Acceleration I am going to examine one action scene from Top Gun, Indiana Jones and The Matrix Reloaded.

First let’s take a look at a scene from one of my favorite action movies of all time Top Gun (1986). What fascinated me about this movie is how Maverick (Tom Cruise) is able to manipulate the fighter jet in the air as if it was a car. He is able to manipulate the Law of Acceleration and escape from life and death situations. In this particular scene, Maverick and his friends encounter enemy fighter planes and they engage in battle. Maverick takes his the plane to incredible high speeds, which is not impossible, but at the same time he is able to move the plane left to right and up and down in less than a second. Even though the Law of Acceleration says that objects always change their velocity in the direction of the applied force, Maverick would not be able to pull that stunt in the real universe. We have to factor the speed of the plane, which is the force that is pushing the plane forward and also the forces that are pushing the plane left to right or up and down. It is possible to make a plane move up and down, but it takes a lot more time because the plane has to fight against air resistance and the force of gravity that is pulling it down. If the exact scene was re created in real life, the pilot would lose control of the plane or the plane would not be able to resist the forces pulling in different directions and it would break into pieces. Even though Top Gun was released in 1986 its special effects were credible enough that millions of fans fell in love with the film. By the end of the movie everyone wanted to be like Maverick and fly a fighter plane at incredible speeds and do impossible maneuvers. I know I did.

Now let’s examine my favorite childhood action films and heroes Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford). In the movie Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Jones escapes from a giant boulder that is rolling down towards him as he is running away. In this particular scene, Jones is removing a small gold statue from a pedestal inside a cave. Once the gold statue is removed a series of booby trapsactivate to protect the statue. Jones escapes these preliminary booby traps but soon the last trap is activated and a giant boulder rolls down a narrow corridor of the cave. In order to survive Jones has to run faster than the boulder and reach the exit before it crushes him. Now let’s examine this scene using the Law of Acceleration. It’s true that the greater the mass an object is the less it accelerates when acted on by one force. This is true when an object is moving on a flat surface and is only moving with the initial applied force. However, it is also true that a massive ball accelerates faster when rolling down a steeper slope. The boulder in the scene looks appears to be massive and is moving down a steep slope so therefore Jones will not be able to out run the boulder in our universe. Initially the boulder will start slow but once it hits the slope it will gain momentum and will increase its acceleration. We also have to take in consideration the mass of the boulder, which will determine the strength of the force that is pushing the boulder forward. Thankfully for my childhood hero Indiana Jones lives in movies where physics can be manipulated for his benefit. If I had not taken this class I would have believed that Jones could actually out run a fast moving boulder in our universe. This scene seems somewhat credible to people who do not fully understand the laws physics.

The final scene that I am going to examine is from The Matrix Reloaded (2003). Although I was much older when I first saw this film, the films hero Neo (Keanu Reeves) and the amazing fighting sequences intrigued me and stimulated my imagination. The physics of The Matrix series were not as questionable because the story line was placed in a future universe inside a computer system. By the third movie audiences knew that the laws of our universe will not apply to a computer program. So, the hero Neo had the audience’s approval to break the laws of our universe and entertain. In this particular scene Neo and Agent Smith have an epic battle where Neo fights off multiplying agents with ease due to his super human speed. Neo is extremely fast and agile, which allows him to use his hands with extreme speed and precision. His greatest strength is his ability to synchronize his mind and his body. Also, Neo accelerates and decelerates his body in a very short amount of time and move in his universe with great ease. If Neo was fighting in our universe it would be impossible for him to fight at a high rate of speed because of the forces of gravity. Even though in our universe we have the Law of Acceleration that would allow him to be fast, but his body and mind would not respond the same way. The torque in his joints would allow his body to be fast but in effect he would not have enough strength in his punches to send agents flying at the time of impact. Every time he would hit someone with great force he would receive the same force back. Neo would not be a great hero in our universe because his greatest strength is his mind. He fights villains that are in a universe that is controlled with the mind so; therefore Neo is a credible hero in his universe only. Audiences sometimes like movies not because they are credible but because they stimulated their imagination and allow them to dream beyond the retractions of this universe.

In conclusion, action scenes are very hard to make credible because they are supposed to stimulate the mind and give the audience a rush of adrenalin. Newton’s Law of Acceleration is one of the many laws that directors have to bend in action movies to keep audiences interested. Today directors have the ability to push the boundaries of physics further than before, because new technologies are able to do more within our universe. As a result they are using faster cars, flying higher using better planes and run faster using high performance shoes. As humans we are always challenging the laws of our universe and try to bend those laws of physics to fulfill our curiosities.

I have to say this was one of my favorite assignments this semester, because it allowed me to go back and revisit the reason why I love action hero movies. One of my favorite parts of this assignment was doing the research. I discovered that without the Law of Acceleration and Velocity movies would not be as fun and exiting to watch. A good action movie always has a great action scene in which the action hero is chasing the bad guy at incredibly high speeds. Acceleration is what keeps audiences on the edge of there seats breaking a sweat. The Law of Acceleration and Velocity is what helped me fall in love with movies when I was a child and it is what keeps making me millions of fans going back to the theaters.