{"id":6268,"date":"2025-07-13T08:40:06","date_gmt":"2025-07-13T08:40:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/6268\/"},"modified":"2025-07-13T08:40:06","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T08:40:06","slug":"8-movies-where-characters-definitely-should-have-died-according-to-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/6268\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Movies Where Characters Definitely Should Have Died (According To Science)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Movies encourage us to suspend our disbelief, but sometimes the boundaries of science are pushed so far that survival would have been absolutely impossible. Whether it’s action heroes<\/a> falling from great heights in intense stunt sequences<\/a> or characters inexplicably making it out of a dangerous situation at the last minute, there are some instances where death should have been certain.<\/p>\n

While all these movies step outside the realm of believable science<\/a>, that doesn\u2019t mean they weren\u2019t hugely entertaining, and not every film needs to hold up to scientific scrutiny. However, if we view these movies with a critical eye, all logic points to these characters meeting an unfortunate end, yet they somehow made it out alive.<\/p>\n

8 <\/p>\n

Deep Sea Survival<\/p>\n

The Meg (2018)<\/p>\n

\"Jason<\/p>\n

The Meg was a sci-fi horror that saw Jason Statham play the diving expert Jonas Taylor, who specializes in deep-sea search and rescue. However, Taylor is tasked with his toughest mission yet when he and a group of scientists encounter a 75-foot-long megalodon, a terrifying prehistoric shark long thought to be extinct, on the floor of the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tThe Meg
\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\"ScreenRant<\/p>\n

7\/10<\/p>\n

Release Date<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAugust 10, 2018<\/p>\n

Runtime<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t113 Minutes<\/p>\n

While The Meg was thoroughly entertaining, it must be admitted that the science behind it had a lot of issues (via Forbes<\/a>.) Although the film uses shaky science to justify the diver\u2019s survival at the floor of the Pacific Ocean, the truth is that the water pressure at those levels would be so intense it would have crushed their bodies long before they got eaten by the shark.<\/p>\n

7 <\/p>\n

The Limo Chase<\/p>\n

2012 (2009)<\/p>\n

\"Escaping<\/p>\n

The epic disaster movie 2012 was inspired by the 2012 phenomenon, which was a widely shared belief that the world was destined to end that year. As the end date of a 5,126-year-long Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, some thought this signaled a prophecy of humanity’s demise. While our world didn\u2019t end, the characters in 2012 definitely should have died.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t2012
\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\"ScreenRant<\/p>\n

5\/10<\/p>\n

Release Date<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 10, 2009<\/p>\n

Runtime<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t158minutes<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

\"Cast<\/p>\n

Yet, the most outrageous sequence in 2012 occurred when John Cusack\u2019s Jackson Curtis attempted to flee a collapsing city that was being demolished by a gigantic earthquake. While Curtis rapidly drove out of the immediate impact, 2012 failed to consider how the seismic waves, debris, and gaping chasms could have made survival impossible.<\/p>\n

6 <\/p>\n

Surviving A Nuclear Blast In A Fridge<\/p>\n

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)<\/p>\n

\"Indy<\/p>\n

The Indiana Jones franchise is full of exciting, death-defying moments, but there was one scene in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull that left audiences groaning due to its sheer ridiculousness. This was when Indy used a fridge to protect himself from a nuclear blast, a move that failed to consider the heat and radiation effects that would have vaporized him regardless of his protection.<\/p>\n

The nuked fridge scene has actually become quite infamous among Indiana Jones viewers as a prime example of the series jumping the shark. While Indy always impressed us with his survival skills, audiences just weren\u2019t buying a person being able to simply shield themselves from an atomic blast and make it out alive.<\/p>\n

5 <\/p>\n

Journey To The Center Of The Earth<\/p>\n

The Core (2003)<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The much-maligned sci-fi disaster The Core told the story of a group of scientists attempting to drill into the center of the Earth. With plans to set off a series of nuclear explosions that will restart the rotation of the Earth\u2019s core, there were so many scientific problems with this movie that it\u2019s difficult to know where to even begin.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tThe Core
\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Release Date<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMarch 28, 2003<\/p>\n

Runtime<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t135 minutes<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Without even going into the absurdity of resetting the Earth\u2019s rotation, it\u2019s clear to anyone with any understanding of basic science that the Earth\u2019s core is a place humans should stay far away from. With temperatures of up to 12,000 degrees Fahrenheit (via Scientific American<\/a>), anyone who even gets anywhere close to the core will immediately burn to death.<\/p>\n

4 <\/p>\n

Chelios Freefalls From A Helicopter<\/p>\n

Crank (2006)<\/p>\n

\"Chev<\/p>\n

The Jason Statham action movie Crank was like a live-action Grand Theft Auto movie, as the L.A. assassin Chev Chelios was poisoned with a synthetic drug that meant he had to keep his adrenaline pumping or he would die. This led to many wild and chaotic scenes, but none were as outrageous as the helicopter fight sequence.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tCrank
\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\"ScreenRant<\/p>\n

7\/10<\/p>\n

Release Date<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAugust 31, 2006<\/p>\n

Runtime<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t88 minutes<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

With Chelios and his enemy Ricky Verona free-falling through the sky, the fact that Statham’s character not only survived but also made a phone call in the meantime was entirely out of the realm of possibility. Although we should cut Crank some slack, as the film never pretended to be anything but pure, unadulterated action movie fun.<\/p>\n

3 <\/p>\n

Falling Off A Rooftop<\/p>\n

John Wick: Chapter 3 \u2013 Parabellum (2019)<\/p>\n

\"Keanu<\/p>\n

The titular assassin of the John Wick franchise has survived countless near-death experiences and intense shootouts, but none were more outrageous than the rooftop fall in Chapter 3 \u2013 Parabellum. Having been shot multiple times, Wick not only survived gunshot wounds as he fell off the roof of the Continental but also slammed into metal fire escapes on the way down.<\/p>\n

Even though John Wick has earned a reputation as the terrifying Baba Yaga, this would not have been enough to ensure his survival from a multi-story drop with no protection. The sheer height of the fall and the velocity of his drop should have meant certain death, yet Wick returns to fight another day in Chapter 4.<\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

The HALO Jump<\/p>\n

Mission: Impossible \u2013 Fallout (2018)<\/p>\n

\"Tom<\/p>\n

The breathtaking HALO (High Altitude, Low Opening) jump from Mission: Impossible \u2013 Fallout was one of the most impressive stunts in the entire film. With Tom Cruise\u2019s Ethan Hunt leaping from a military aircraft at over 25,000 feet, it\u2019s impossible not to be blown away by the spectacular movie magic occurring onscreen.<\/p>\n

While the jump was visually outstanding, had the actual science behind it been followed, it would have been the final Mission: Impossible movie, as Ethan would have surely died. To jump from such a height without supplemental oxygen means he would have gone unconscious in a matter of seconds (via Skydiver New England<\/a>) and quickly suffocated due to an inability to breathe.<\/p>\n

1 <\/p>\n

Leia In The Vacuum Of Space<\/p>\n

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)<\/p>\n

\"Leia<\/p>\n

As a soap opera franchise set in a galaxy far, far away, it\u2019s possible that characters in Star Wars have a different physiology than measly Earthlings. Yet, if we were to follow human biology, then the scene in The Last Jedi where Princess Leia briefly survives in the vacuum of space would have been totally impossible.<\/p>\n

Although Leia uses the power of the Force to save herself from certain death, the reality is that it would have already been too late, and within about 15 seconds (via Space<\/a>), she would have lost consciousness and suffered serious internal swelling due to decompression. It may have looked visually stunning on screen, but in reality, Leia would have quickly perished.<\/p>\n

Sources: Forbes<\/a>, Scientific American<\/a>Skydiver New England<\/a>, Space<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Movies encourage us to suspend our disbelief, but sometimes the boundaries of science are pushed so far that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6269,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[88,206],"class_list":["post-6268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}