“Cinema should make you forget you are
sitting in a theater” –Roman Polanski. The degree of believability varies in
the world of cinema. From traditional live-action films, to CGI and Special EFX
animated films, we often see mistakes in which laws of physics are pushed,
broken, and incorrectly illustrated. One of the principles of physics that is
often disobeyed in the film industry is the action/reaction principle. Newton’s
Third Law of Motion was violated in films such as The Matrix, Fast and the
Furious 6, and The Avengers. From jumps, to fighting
sequences, to explosions, the absence of the equal and opposite reaction
principle in action scenes are often done on purpose in order to push story and
create visually appealing images that are interesting to see, while allowing
the viewer to live in that scene and in that moment. In other words, they want
to provide the “wow-factor” and leave their audience in “aw” when they leave
the movie theater. Many times film directors avoid science facts in order to
provide the audience a science fiction world in which the viewer can not only
engage with, but can escape their reality in those 2-3 hours on the big screen.
First, a film that violates Newton’s
Third Law of Motion or the action/reaction principle, which states that in
every action there needs to be an equal/opposite reaction, is the popular
American-Australian science fiction film known as The Matrix. The film has several scenes that break this law of
physics throughout the entire movie. This 90’s blockbuster had its own world of
physics that allowed it to become a very popular film thanks to the awesome
out-this-world fighting sequences. One scene that really stands out in my
opinion for this paper is the part where Neo and Trinity shoot and kill all the
agents inside the lobby while they are trying to rescue Morpheus. They shoot
their way through the many agents without a breeze and without getting harmed
by the bullets themselves. The movie defies the law of action-reaction, when
their heavy-duty riffles do not show the recoil effect, allowing Neo to look
like a cool superhuman as he launches forward in a cartwheel while shooting the
agents, and without changing his trajectory from the force of the heavy
weaponry. With big assault riffles and shotguns, the recoil effect should have
been quite visible and the character should have recoiled backwards instead of forwards
due to the gases released by all the gunpowder. Defying laws of physics such as
the action/reaction principle is a method filmmakers often use in order to show
the character’s super abilities and possibilities within that film’s realms of
physics. It can also make for a more interesting action film to watch.
Next, a second film that defies or
ignores Newton’s Third Law of Motion is Fast
and the Furious 6. Most of the fast and the furious movies from the series
are known to defy physics to the max throughout their films, but I’m going to
talk about a scene in Fast and the
Furious 6 more specifically. The scene where Dominic Toretto, played by Vin
Diesel, jumps out of a speeding car and flies over a bridge, into the air to
save Letty, the love of his life. The car does not have enough impact on the
side of the bridge for Toretto to fly that far up and across the bridge as if
he was superman. He was also shot out in a specific trajectory onto the window
of another car across the bridge. What are the odds right? Not to mention, at that speed and height in
the air, he would die at impact when landing, yet he saves Letty with practically
no scratches on him. Vin Diesel is now a superhero according to this movie. Big
Hollywood movies tend to manipulate Newton’s Third Law of Motion in order to
create a specific tone or feel to the movie, especially if it’s an action film.
Action shots are known to defy the action/reaction principle in order to show
the actors accomplishing the impossible and make the viewer intrigued by the
actor’s actions. Although some films push it too far off and create less
believability, at the end of the day films like Fast and the Furious are intended to create a fantasy world where
the impossible is possible.
Finally, the third film that violates the
action and reaction principle in Newton’s Third Law of Motion is the famous
superhero movie known as The Avengers.
This film, along with hundreds of other superhero movies, tends to defy laws of
physics in order to show superhuman abilities on the characters and the effects
of their superpowers. For example, in the scene where Loki drops Thor from the
sky in a steel/glass-cage and Thor is able to use his superhuman powers and
hammer to jump up and break out of the cage just in time before impact, defying
gravity and real life movements in a falling object. At that extreme speed and
height of drop, Thor should have basically resembled a human-tortilla on impact.
Yet he is able to jump out and escape as if he was just falling off a bike or
something. However, in order for superhero films to be catchy and entertaining,
such as The Avengers, they need break
laws of physics and push real life in order to show a more or less believable
universe. Superhero films are usually successful in the world of cinema in
Hollywood because they bend and break physics through the use of superpowers, inter-dimensional
portals, and other out-of-this world phenomena. Also, let’s be honest, if film
directors completely followed Newton’s Third Law of Motion, action films would
be quite boring to watch in a movie theater.
In conclusion, movies tend to break, bend
or violate laws of physics left and right in order to provide entertainment on
the big screen. Films are meant to create a sense of believability whether it
is in true-story films, love, tragedy, or science fiction. As I mentioned
before, from one end of the spectrum to another, films often disobey or violate
laws of motion in order to create fascinating and breathtaking scenes on
camera. They defy physics to create cinematic shots and sequences that remain
in people’s memories through time. In other words, they create a visual impact
through decision-making while creating a film. Directors tend to avoid real
life physics and science facts when creating a universe of science fiction. We
see this happen in films that defy Newton’s Third Law of Motion, or action/reaction
principle, such as The Matrix, Fast and
the Furios 6, and The Avengers. Their decision in violating the
action/reaction principle allows them to show us awesome fight sequences and
action scenes that are definitely what Hollywood is now about. At the end of
the day, laws of physics are pushed and broken in the cinematic world so that
as a whole we can come together in a movie theater and enjoy the beauty of watching
a film, allowing us to escape reality and all of its chaos. We can live in that
moment and be a different person even if it is just for two hours.
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