Buzz
Featuring Dwayne Johnson, this list explores 10 beloved disaster films and examines the perspectives of experts in the field:
Dr. Victoria Petryshen, an environmental scientist and Assistant Professor (Teaching) of Environmental Studies at USC. Morgan Page, an earthquake specialist and Research Geophysicist at the Earthquake Science Center. Michael Angove, a tsunami expert and meteorologist, as well as Tsunami Program Manager at NOAA. Peter Gleick, a climate and water authority, Hydrologist, and Climatologist at the Pacific Institute.
10. The Swarm (1978)
After viewing the trailer for the first time, Dr. Petryshen humorously remarks, 'The Swarm is now a movie I must watch immediately.'
Indeed, animal migrations are a common occurrence, and increasingly, insects are appearing in regions where they were once rare. In Los Angeles, for example, mosquitoes are now a frequent presence in areas where they were scarcely seen just a few years ago. It appears these insects are moving northward in search of more favorable climates.
Swarms of locusts, bees, and other insects are not an unusual sight. However, as Petryshen emphasizes, despite what Hollywood may lead you to believe, these creatures are certainly not 'targeting' humans. Their migrations are driven by their need to survive, not to bring about our downfall.
Nevertheless, overall, Petryshen rates this film with a 'why not?'
9. Twister (1996)
Much of what is depicted in this movie is remarkably accurate. According to Angove, the filmmakers collaborated with the National Weather Service, and it is evident in the film. The technical advice, insights, and suggestions from the agency were clearly put to good use, resulting in a portrayal of scientists’ efforts to better understand these weather systems that is true to life.
Page mentions a flaw in the scene with the cow, noting that when we first see the cow, it turns one way, but later it’s turning in the opposite direction. While she admits it could be plausible if they had driven directly through the tornado, it seems unlikely given that the tornado appears off to one side. In that case, the scene doesn’t make sense, as the twister wouldn’t change direction like that.
Angove observes that the cow doesn't appear overly disturbed in the scene.
8. Volcano (1997)
Page feels the need to clarify that there is no volcano beneath Los Angeles after watching the touching scene in the movie. While volcanoes can be found in many locations, Los Angeles is definitely not one of them.
As far as Page knows, though, the depiction of human interaction with the slow-moving lava is fairly accurate. Sneakers would begin to melt, and concrete barriers and water have indeed been used to divert or stop lava in places like Hawaii and Italy. Unfortunately, if you were to jump into lava, survival is highly unlikely.
7. The Perfect Storm (2000)
There are many reasons why this movie is exceptional. First, there's Clooney—do we really need to say more? The film also does an excellent job of illustrating how difficult a sea rescue during a storm can be, capturing the many challenges that a sea guard would typically face in such dire conditions. Furthermore, the science behind it all holds up—at least, to the scientists watching.
Angove explains that the storm began as an ordinary hurricane but evolved into an exceptionally dangerous one due to its high latitude. Normally, hurricanes lose strength as they approach land, but in this case, it actually reinforced its “core” when it encountered specific barotropic conditions. The meteorologist and tsunami expert is clearly impressed by how scientifically accurate the storm’s formation is in the movie.
6. The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
The film loosely explores the concept of “abrupt climate change.” Essentially, it suggests that due to global warming, ocean currents that circulate water around the planet could stop, leading to a heating of the tropics and a cooling of the North Atlantic. In the scene shown, a massive tsunami threatens Manhattan. However, according to Dr. Petryshen, this scenario is quite improbable.
A tsunami typically occurs as a result of an earthquake that causes the sea floor to suddenly shift, causing violent up-and-down movements. Petryshen explains, "The east coast of the United States is known as a passive margin. There's nothing on the sea floor that could cause such a massive tsunami—unless, of course, we’re talking about a giant asteroid."
What’s more probable is the gradual rise in sea levels, a direct consequence of melting ice caps due to global warming. New York, in particular, is deeply concerned about this issue and has proposed building a billion-dollar sea wall to protect itself from the rising waters.
5. Wall-E (2008)
Wall-E isn’t your typical disaster film. Instead, it paints a picture of a post-apocalyptic world where humanity, after causing massive environmental destruction, has abandoned Earth and fled into space. Robots are left behind to clean up the mess, in hopes of making Earth habitable once more.
While Dr. Petryshen remains cautiously hopeful that humanity would never let things spiral to such extremes, she confesses that when she looks at the ongoing Coronavirus crisis and the issue of climate change, a part of her heart sinks.
Currently, we don’t possess the capability or technology to board a spaceship and leave the Earth’s mess behind for robots to clean up. However, some aspects of the movie are surprisingly accurate. For instance, the space debris shown mirrors the junk discussed in a previous list of astronauts critiquing space-themed movies. Even the wind turbines in the desolate landscape where Wall-E operates feel strikingly realistic.
Numerous environmental studies have looked into the long-term consequences of the massive non-recyclable fiberglass blades used to generate ‘eco-friendly’ energy. Petryshen notes, "We still don’t have a solution for what to do with these once they’re no longer in use."
4. 2012 (2012)
Page explains that earthquakes occur when one side of a tectonic plate fault shifts, creating seismic waves that result in the shaking and rolling we witness in the movie. However, the magnitude of the quake is significantly exaggerated. "We’re talking about centimeters, not meters," Page clarifies.
Page can’t help but roll her eyes when she watches John Cusack attempting to outrun seismic waves in his car. Typically, these waves travel at a speed of approximately 5,000 meters per second—there’s no way anyone could escape them in a beat-up old car!
3. Geostorm (2017)
Similar to many other disaster films, Geostorm exaggerates the concept of plausible geo-events to the extreme. The opening scenes showcase real-world disasters, such as tornadoes, flooding, and the drying up of reservoirs, setting the stage for the film's fantastical events.
Gleick raises a significant concern: "The worry, of course, is that we are altering the climate to a degree that will make these extreme events even more destructive to civilization." The film then shifts to portray enormous CGI storms and a global response. "The world unites and creates what we call geoengineering," Gleick adds.
In reality, geoengineering refers to the large-scale, intentional manipulation of environmental processes that impact the Earth’s climate, in an effort to mitigate the effects of global warming. The construction of sea walls and tree planting initiatives happening today could be considered forms of geoengineering. However, we are far from the massive interplanetary geoengineering shown in the movie. Hopefully, such interventions will never be necessary.
2. San Andreas (2015)
In this thrilling action movie, the San Andreas fault shifts, triggering a series of massive earthquakes along its length. Naturally, the only person capable of saving everyone is, none other than The Rock.
But how realistic is this scenario? Would every building in downtown Los Angeles really collapse if the so-called big one (a magnitude 8 earthquake along the San Andreas fault) were to strike?
"Probably not in the way it's portrayed in the film," says Dr. Petryshen. In Los Angeles, buildings are designed with rollers and numerous safety measures to endure a certain amount of shaking, accounting for both the P-wave (up and down) and the S-wave (side to side). Of course, if the shaking persists long enough, even these precautions will eventually fail. But it's difficult to picture every building falling at the same moment.
1. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
With constant references to global warming through droughts, fires, and extreme heatwaves, it doesn't seem far-fetched to think that, one day, as shown in the film, we could find ourselves in a world where fresh water is the rarest resource on Earth.
Dr. Petryshen, however, emphasizes that it is extremely unlikely for climate change to cause the complete collapse of civilization, transforming the entire planet into a barren desert. In reality, climate change is contributing to an increase in severe storms and flooding in many regions of the world.
To grasp the impacts of climate change, think about the most extreme weather you experience where you live; those are the kinds of conditions that are expected to worsen. So, while certain regions may face more drought and fire, other areas are likely to experience more storms and flooding. This makes the universal water scarcity seen in Mad Max an unlikely scenario. Water will still exist in other parts of the world.
