8. Defying The Laws Of Physics - The Day After Tomorrow
From Independence Day to 2012, Roland Emmerich has a bit of a thing for bringing the planet to the brink of total destruction - he also has something of a knack for cliched storytelling, predictable plots and incredibly clunky dialogue, all of which are present and correct in his global warming-inspired disaster movie, The Day After Tomorrow. Plenty of scientists have picked this film apart in terms of its inaccuracies, but some of the highlights (or lowlights, if you prefer) include: tornadoes like the ones which hit Los Angeles would never have the power to take down skyscrapers - the fact that helicopters are seen hovering nearby indicates that the physics of wind is conveniently ignored by the filmmakers; the eye of a superstorm is anything but ultra cold and could never cause freezing conditions in an instant (not to mention that the water would expand and tear apart the buildings in which everyone is taking shelter); and no matter how cool Jake Gyllenhaal may be, no one can outrun a tsunami. Gullible audiences who left the theatres after watching The Day After Tomorrow and lived in fear of the imminent end of the world thanks to global warming can rest easy - an instantaneous event like the one thought up by Emmerich is about as likely to bring about our demise as an ancient Mayan prophecy.
