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Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics: Hollywood's Best Mistakes, Goofs and Flat-Out Destructions of the Basic Laws of the Universe
In this fascinating and humorous guide, author Tom Rogers examines the real science behind stunts, plots, and special effects without ruining the fun of your favorite, universe-breaking action movies. Building on the work of the Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics website ( this book questions classic 80s and 90s movies on 20 different topics, An informative romp through classic movies, Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics reveals the basic laws of physics and how Hollywood breaks them all―perfect for armchair Einsteins, movie buffs, or engaging lessons in the science classroom.
336 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 27, 2014
As one might surmise from the title Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics ranks movies based upon their adherence to the physical laws of the universe, which many seem to casually ignore. The book was published in 2007, so it’s a little bit dated (the movies, not the physics) discussing such box office fare as: Speed, The Red Planet, Armageddon, The Core and The Matrix.
Excellent topic! Take just one example from a somewhat more current movie Iron Man (go to the 1:15 mark). In this clip Iron Man is shot down and hits the ground at a speed comparable to that of a missile. Now, I think the premise is that the suit protects Tony Stark from the impact, but here’s the thing … despite the protection that the suit might offer, Stark’s body goes from, say, 200 mph to zero in the course of a millisecond. The suit may indeed survive such an abrupt stop, but the body within would be reduced to something resembling a bloody pudding. At that point the suit would be little more than a fancy, high-tech coffin.
Now, no one likes a spoilsport, particularly when watching a movie whose premise is fiction to begin with, but I think the absurdity of events such as this actually detract from the film since it obliterates the suspension of disbelief required to enjoy the story.
So ... back to the book. Rogers writes with a casual and irreverent wit that keeps the subject light and interesting despite the fact that he includes the physics equations to support his claim that the movie is wrong (mathophobes needn’t get too worked up, the math never goes beyond algebra and those sections of the book can be easily skipped over with no loss of continuity).
Most of the stuff covered is pretty obvious, like the ridiculous bus jumping scene from the movie Speed, but Rogers covers some other topics that are somewhat less intuitive (and more interesting) as well, such as the physics of machine guns, artificial gravity and the perennial movie cliché of flicking a lit cigarette into a pool of gasoline to produce a massive explosion.
Nerdly fun.
Excellent topic! Take just one example from a somewhat more current movie Iron Man (go to the 1:15 mark). In this clip Iron Man is shot down and hits the ground at a speed comparable to that of a missile. Now, I think the premise is that the suit protects Tony Stark from the impact, but here’s the thing … despite the protection that the suit might offer, Stark’s body goes from, say, 200 mph to zero in the course of a millisecond. The suit may indeed survive such an abrupt stop, but the body within would be reduced to something resembling a bloody pudding. At that point the suit would be little more than a fancy, high-tech coffin.
Now, no one likes a spoilsport, particularly when watching a movie whose premise is fiction to begin with, but I think the absurdity of events such as this actually detract from the film since it obliterates the suspension of disbelief required to enjoy the story.
So ... back to the book. Rogers writes with a casual and irreverent wit that keeps the subject light and interesting despite the fact that he includes the physics equations to support his claim that the movie is wrong (mathophobes needn’t get too worked up, the math never goes beyond algebra and those sections of the book can be easily skipped over with no loss of continuity).
Most of the stuff covered is pretty obvious, like the ridiculous bus jumping scene from the movie Speed, but Rogers covers some other topics that are somewhat less intuitive (and more interesting) as well, such as the physics of machine guns, artificial gravity and the perennial movie cliché of flicking a lit cigarette into a pool of gasoline to produce a massive explosion.
Nerdly fun.
April 16, 2008
Apparently this guy Tom Rogers has got a very popular website where he deconstructs Hollywood physics illogic. But I found this book on a browsing expedition and snapped it up. It was a quick read and very informative. I now know much more about what you can and can not do with firing guns and machine guns. For instance if you have a guy firing two Mac 10 machine guns for three minutes. First of all, machine guns are only able to fire continuously for a few seconds at a time, otherwise, like any other gun, it'll get too hot and seize up. Second of all, two Mac 10's firing for three minutes would fire about 3000 rounds which would weight somewhere around 100 pounds. So if the guy doesn't have a sidekick toting a wheelbarrow full of ammo, that scene is highly unlikely. That's just one example from this book. (It also mentions some few movies that do get the details mostly right. In the case of gunfire, Blackhawk Down does it right.) Rogers also rips to shreds the entire conspiracy theory featured in Oliver Stone's movie JFK. Basically the whole movie is based on a laughable pack of lies. Interesting stuff. But the movie the author deems most implausible is The Core, which was a lame-o movie about a ship drilling to the earth's core which has stopped spinning and the crew want to restart it with a nuclear explosion. If you think about that for more than two seconds you can see how this flick could be deemed the crème of the crap.
November 30, 2009
While I'm fully behind the concept of this book, fir the most part it just failed to deliver.
Rogers makes a few interesting observations, and debunks a few of the more ubiquitous (and less obvious) movie-physics-isms using clear diagrams and equations, but these are few and far between. For the most part, the book has a whiny, nit-picking tone that's just difficult to enjoy.
If more of the book could have been at the same level as his analysis of movie space battles, it would have been much, much more enjoyable.
Rogers makes a few interesting observations, and debunks a few of the more ubiquitous (and less obvious) movie-physics-isms using clear diagrams and equations, but these are few and far between. For the most part, the book has a whiny, nit-picking tone that's just difficult to enjoy.
If more of the book could have been at the same level as his analysis of movie space battles, it would have been much, much more enjoyable.
March 27, 2014
What should be a fun book is spoilt by increasingly monotonous repetition and a rather unpleasant sneering tone as the author focuses mainly on a handful of films and returns to them time and again, building up to the crowning of one as the all-time "bad physics" film.
The mocking tone comes off as sneering and condescending rather than good-natured and humorous, which made me feel almost sympathetic for such terrible films as Pearl Harbor and Armageddon.
With a little more light-heartedness and a wider range of films this could have been a fun read.
The mocking tone comes off as sneering and condescending rather than good-natured and humorous, which made me feel almost sympathetic for such terrible films as Pearl Harbor and Armageddon.
With a little more light-heartedness and a wider range of films this could have been a fun read.
September 13, 2022
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برای من که به فیزیک و سینما علاقه دارم کتاب خیلی جذابی بود
https://taaghche.com/book/8037/
August 1, 2025
Fun Physics in Cinema
The author guves fun explanation of the Hollywood misconceptions that plague our movies. It has a fun tone that makes ot dun to learn the real physics adter seeing the incorrectly shown movie physics.
The author guves fun explanation of the Hollywood misconceptions that plague our movies. It has a fun tone that makes ot dun to learn the real physics adter seeing the incorrectly shown movie physics.
June 24, 2020
One of my all time favourites
May 31, 2025
not bad, a little repetitive
December 7, 2009
Entertaining, but I have to admit not too much in here was really that surprising. Some funny analysis though-- e.g. in "Independence Day," the huge miles-long ships if shot down to Earth would actually produce a shockwave with destructive impact much greater than a nuclear bomb.
The movie that gets singled out as the worst physics-respecting flick of all is: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0298814/ - "The Core"
I have to say, it's possible to construct fictions and entertainment (magical, sci fi or mundane) without having to insult our intelligence at every turn. You'd never make a sports movie that got the rules of football wrong; I wish they'd treat the laws of physics with that level of respect. It doesn't mean you can't have crazy kung fu fights or laser battles, but at least try to be internally consistent & avoid stupid mistakes when they're not necessary to the plot.
The movie that gets singled out as the worst physics-respecting flick of all is: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0298814/ - "The Core"
I have to say, it's possible to construct fictions and entertainment (magical, sci fi or mundane) without having to insult our intelligence at every turn. You'd never make a sports movie that got the rules of football wrong; I wish they'd treat the laws of physics with that level of respect. It doesn't mean you can't have crazy kung fu fights or laser battles, but at least try to be internally consistent & avoid stupid mistakes when they're not necessary to the plot.
March 12, 2012
This book wasn't nearly as fun as I was hoping. Instead of deconstructing movies with humor, the tone is more chiding and it seems like he's angry about not being included in some kind of joke. It's also got plenty of physics lessons, though why someone would read through his too-basic explanations of physics if they didn't already know physics is beyond me.
July 9, 2011
I would give this four stars if there was more to it! I love reading this kind of stuff. Often funny and clever. The scorecards at the end of each chapter didn't do much for me, though. This was a great physics warm up for the sci-fi novel I am reading.
March 17, 2010
The level of detail is sometimes way too heavy for this English major... but the information was intriguing.
November 24, 2011
1245th - 2011
August 24, 2012
Good physics, but pretty scattered content - entropy at work? Is probably better as a series of blog entries.
September 1, 2015
Great book of movie physics
August 18, 2016
Very technical but lots of fun insights into movie making. My daughter had to read it for a physics class at school so I figured why not read it too.
July 13, 2012
Jaunty dismantling of atrocious movie physics, but too often felt like a polemic.
April 4, 2015
alright.....
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews