- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
How much can bad science in Sci-Fi break immersion?
Posted on 1/20/20 at 11:41 am
Posted on 1/20/20 at 11:41 am
Have you ever heard a factoid or statement that someone states in a science fiction show or movie that immediately caused you to break immersion because of how far off it is?
I give fantasy and super hero movies a bit of a pass (primarily because the first isn't science related, and the second because the source material is TERRIBLE at getting it right to begin with).
Action movies also get a bit of a pass - I don't REALLY consider Independence Day a "science fiction" movie in the strictest sense, so I don't mind that Jeff Goldblum wrote a virus that was able to interact with an alien system - on a Mac laptop less powerful than his phone.
Good example:
In Prometheus, one guy says they've traveled 35 light-years, or "half a billion miles". That's a good example of one that will cause you to blink repeatedly.
I give fantasy and super hero movies a bit of a pass (primarily because the first isn't science related, and the second because the source material is TERRIBLE at getting it right to begin with).
Action movies also get a bit of a pass - I don't REALLY consider Independence Day a "science fiction" movie in the strictest sense, so I don't mind that Jeff Goldblum wrote a virus that was able to interact with an alien system - on a Mac laptop less powerful than his phone.
Good example:
In Prometheus, one guy says they've traveled 35 light-years, or "half a billion miles". That's a good example of one that will cause you to blink repeatedly.
This post was edited on 1/20/20 at 11:52 am
11
Posted on 1/20/20 at 11:47 am to skrayper
quote:
Action movies also get a bit of a pass - I don't REALLY consider Independence Day a "science fiction" movie in the strictest sense, so I don't mind that Jeff Goldblum wrote a virus that was able to interact with an alien system - on a Mac laptop less powerful than his phone.
Definitely a science fiction action film.
The computer which landed Apollo 11 on the Moon was about as powerful as a contemporary pocket calculator..so he gets a pass.
Posted on 1/20/20 at 12:32 pm to skrayper
I guess if I know the science it will take me out in the same way when something happens in a sports movie that is supposed to be an impressive play but is completely against the rules takes me out of it.
I also get really annoyed every single time you have a cop say you need to wait 24-48 hours to report a missing person. No. No you do not. Also the make them wait on the phone so we can trace them thing is annoying since that isn't legit either.
I also get really annoyed every single time you have a cop say you need to wait 24-48 hours to report a missing person. No. No you do not. Also the make them wait on the phone so we can trace them thing is annoying since that isn't legit either.
Posted on 1/20/20 at 12:42 pm to Dr RC
I just watched Hurt Locker for the first time, I think I sprained one of my eyes rolling them too hard. I can't say bad science has affected me that much, with the possible exception of a horrible time-travel explanation.
Posted on 1/20/20 at 12:43 pm to Dr RC
quote:
I also get really annoyed every single time you have a cop say you need to wait 24-48 hours to report a missing person. No. No you do not. Also the make them wait on the phone so we can trace them thing is annoying since that isn't legit either.
Yeah, that along with the "If you didn't read them their Miranda Warning, they get away free and clear!" Some are because Hollywood didn't keep up with technology, but others are where the reality gives away to plot convenience.
The 100% of your brain thing is also anger inducing. The fact they make entire movies on this premise is rage inducing.
Posted on 1/20/20 at 12:49 pm to skrayper
Personally, Armageddon is the worst for me, but I still enjoy it for what it is.
--Acting like it's easier to train drillers to go to space than highly intelligent astronauts to drill.
--Large explosions with fireballs shooting into space.
--Taking a remote controlled gun to an uninhabited meteorite.
--Space Dementia.
I still enjoy it, but so much of that movie is ridiculous.
--Acting like it's easier to train drillers to go to space than highly intelligent astronauts to drill.
--Large explosions with fireballs shooting into space.
--Taking a remote controlled gun to an uninhabited meteorite.
--Space Dementia.
I still enjoy it, but so much of that movie is ridiculous.
Posted on 1/20/20 at 12:50 pm to skrayper
quote:
The 100% of your brain thing is also anger inducing. The fact they make entire movies on this premise is rage inducing.
That is a favorite pet peeve of mine as well. As one biologist put it: "If you could get by with just ten percent of your brain... your brain would only be ten percent of its current size."
Posted on 1/20/20 at 1:00 pm to skrayper
quote:
Yeah, that along with the "If you didn't read them their Miranda Warning, they get away free and clear!" Some are because Hollywood didn't keep up with technology, but others are where the reality gives away to plot convenience.
The "one phone call" thing is a pet peeve of mine with cop movies/shows. It's always treated like this legal requirement, when in reality it's nothing.
Also how cops will just beat the **** out of people in interrogations. We see tons of real life allegations of brutality, but in movies, cops just go to town on someone and it's treated like no biggie.
Posted on 1/20/20 at 1:15 pm to skrayper
quote:206 trillion just doesnt have the same effect
In Prometheus, one guy says they've traveled 35 light-years, or "half a billion miles". That's a good example of one that will cause you to blink repeatedly.
and i definitely had to look that up.
This post was edited on 1/20/20 at 1:16 pm
Posted on 1/20/20 at 1:27 pm to Dr RC
quote:
when something happens in a sports movie that is supposed to be an impressive play but is completely against the rules takes me out of it.
Sorta like when we had to suspend our belief that Hines Ward could return a kick for a touchdown in Dark Knight Rises. Forget the rest of the impossible science in that movie, that scene really did it for me haha.
Posted on 1/20/20 at 1:44 pm to skrayper
Kinda like the new star wars having bombs fall in space.
Or Leia decide to superhuman survive and fly around like superman around in space with no suit?
Or Leia decide to superhuman survive and fly around like superman around in space with no suit?
Posted on 1/20/20 at 2:16 pm to Mahootney
i know it was a cartoon but pixar's Wal-E was doing a great job with realistic scifi then inexplicably in the middle of the movie Wal-E opens his storage container in space to show Eve the little potted plant was alive. 
i mean, they couldn't have waited for that scene until they were safely back on board the ship?
i mean, they couldn't have waited for that scene until they were safely back on board the ship?
This post was edited on 1/20/20 at 2:22 pm
Posted on 1/20/20 at 2:37 pm to Sun God
quote:
I genuinely love The Core because of how bad the physics/science are in it. It makes Armageddon look like 2001.
I always liked the Core because the plot is clealry loosely inspired by Dr. Evil's plan in Austin Powers.
Posted on 1/20/20 at 2:53 pm to Sun God
quote:
The Core because of how bad the physics/science are in it
Wait... what? You mean to tell me that you can't actually take a space shuttle, "fly" it to the bottom of the ocean, enter the earth and "fly" to the core of the earth, then return home?
Posted on 1/20/20 at 3:01 pm to Mahootney
quote:
Kinda like the new star wars having bombs fall in space.
Or Leia decide to superhuman survive and fly around like superman around in space with no suit?
To be fair...
The bombs could have "fallen" through use of magnetic attraction. The ship they were falling too would certainly be massive enough to have a gravity well, but nothing that would pull them that fast.
Trained Jedi have been seen to be able to survive in space for much longer than regular people. Some can even stay in space for an extended period of time with only a breathing apparatus.
Posted on 1/20/20 at 3:07 pm to skrayper
quote:
To be fair...
The bombs could have "fallen" through use of magnetic attraction. The ship they were falling too would certainly be massive enough to have a gravity well, but nothing that would pull them that fast.
Trained Jedi have been seen to be able to survive in space for much longer than regular people. Some can even stay in space for an extended period of time with only a breathing apparatus.
To be fair...
If you have to try this hard to justify bad writing, it's a bad movie.
And that was one baaaddddd movie.
Posted on 1/20/20 at 3:09 pm to TygerTyger
quote:
To be fair...
Not sure if meant this way, but I read this in Letterkenny voices.
Posted on 1/20/20 at 3:15 pm to TygerTyger
quote:
If you have to try this hard to justify bad writing, it's a bad movie.
And that was one baaaddddd movie.
Oh, it is still a very shitty movie.
The bomb thing is very much a stretch. The Jedi in space, though, is not without precedence.
That said, the EU for Star Wars is FILLED with writers trying to justify stuff that George threw into his movies. It's practically a Star Wars tradition.
Posted on 1/20/20 at 3:24 pm to Mahootney
quote:
Kinda like the new star wars having bombs fall in space.
That whole dreadnought sequence from The Last Jedi was the first thing that came to mind when I opened this thread. It took me completely out of the movie from the get go.
Not just the fact that gravity somehow exists in space in that scene, but the girl laying there trying to get the remote while the bomb bay doors are open and there's nothing protecting her from the vacuum of space.
My grandfather needed more protection from the outside elements in a damn B-17.
Page 1 of 2
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News