Arnold Schwarzenegger got his career’s signature role with the titular character in the 1984 film, The Terminator. The film was directed by James Cameron who conceived the idea for the film from a fever dream he experienced. The film spawned a hugely successful sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which grossed $519 million compared to the $78 million earned by the first movie.
The two films solidified Schwarzenegger’s position as a leading action star of his time in the industry. Cameron’s sci-fi venture provided great entertainment for audiences, however, scientific experts argue that the film was filled with logical inconsistencies, disguised as advanced scientific themes.
Neil deGrasse Tyson Discredited The Entire Plot Of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Movie
The age-old debate regarding scientific accuracy in fiction was fueled again when Neil deGrasse Tyson brought up the scientific inaccuracies in some famous movies. During an interview with SiriusXM, the famous astrophysicist bashed films like Armageddon, Moonfall, and The Terminator for their poorly conceived scientific themes.
Tyson was critical of Armageddon’s plot earlier in his Twitter post in 2019. According to the author’s tweet, Armageddon “violated more laws of physics (per minute) than any other film in the universe”. The film explores the story of a group of drillers sent by NASA to prevent an asteroid from colliding with and destroying Earth. While giving his explanation about the implausibility of Armageddon’s plot, Tyson drew parallels to the plot of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s The Terminator.
Tyson pointed out that even if the logic of the film were applied to time travel, the solution employed by the antagonists in the film was “hyperbolic”. Tyson criticized James Cameron‘s plot and explained to SiriusXM:
“It’s like The Terminator thing where I want to kill your parents so that you’re never born. ‘Really?’ All you have to do is prevent your parents from meeting each other or have them have sex 20 minutes later than the other one. That will create a different zygote and you won’t be born, so the movies go, in some cases, they get hyperbolic on their solutions to problems.”
The story of The Terminator explores a cybernetic assassin sent to kill Sarah Connor, to prevent her from giving birth to the future savior of mankind from extinction by a hostile AI. As Tyson jokingly explained his alternative, the movie’s plot now does seem a bit silly.
Is Scientific Accuracy Relevant In Fictional Movies?
While Neil deGrasse Tyson and other scientists do not expect a 100% scientifically accurate movie, they do expect movies to not make scientific blunders. Tyson’s case against Armageddon or The Terminator may not hold up entirely, as these were escapist movies that pulled audiences to the theaters. However, such movies might not resonate with mass audiences today, who have been exposed to more complex scientific concepts, like the multiverse, through modern cinema.
Tyson, in his interview, also highlighted the issues with the movie Moonfall, which beat Armageddon as the most scientifically inaccurate movie on his list. Moonfall was released in 2022 amidst the pandemic and its plot revolved around the Moon attacking the Earth. The film turned out to be a box office disaster. For scientists, there appears to be a very thin line between science and imagination which the filmmakers could tread when developing their concepts.
However, the entertainment value of fictional movies should also be taken into account. A sci-fi movie with an intriguing plot and well-developed characters can still work for the audience, despite the scientific inaccuracies. After all, cinema is a medium to explore the imagination rather than just serving as a mirror to reality.
The Terminator, Armageddon, and Moonfall are all available for streaming on Max.
Source: SiriusXM
