In many respects sci-fi and action movies once had an easy ride. In the '50s these genres would fit into the B movie mould, and because of this, little was expected of them as long as they provided cheap thrills. Over the years however, these films and their accompanying audiences have become more sophisticated, with bigger budgets and ever-growing ambitions from film-makers. Interstellar and Inception make significant claims not only to be entertainment, but to be capable of telling audiences something about the reality in which they live. With this in mind, they subject themselves to higher levels of scrutiny when it comes to scientific accuracy. Nowadays high-end Hollywood blockbusters often have a team of scientific advisers on the set, or they will at least be involved in the writing process. But at the same time, if a film slaps an "approved by experts" label on itself, and then fails to actually tell the truth (or stretch it beyond breaking point), fans invariably take glee in pulling it to pieces. Like now...
8. You Couldn't Hear The "Pew-Pews" In Space - Star Wars
Picking on Star Wars for its scientific inaccuracies might seem a little harsh, given that it is a fantasy film after all! Concepts such as 'the Force' and 'light speed', however flimsily explained, have entered the lexicon of popular mainstream culture, and are so cool it's kind of beside the point whether they could be real or not. But Wait... For all this is science fiction, there is one major inaccurate element of the Star Wars universe that could really do with pointing out. It's a known fact that there is no sound in space. On Earth we hear sound because it causes air molecules to vibrate, but in space, since there are no molecules, this is impossible. Hence the famous (and accurate) tagline from Alien, 'In Space No One Can Hear You Scream'. With this in mind, it seems only right that science fans pick up on the sound effects that are played every time lasers or blasters are fired during the many space dog fights throughout the franchise. Cool though the sound effects may be, technically there should be no sound at all during these scenes. But then, would the films have had the same appeal if their most tense battle scenes occurred without sound?