11 Sci-Fi Movies That Got Science Completely Wrong
8. Waterworld – How Much Ice Was There?
Waterworld isn't a movie known for its success.
A legendary box office flop, Waterworld tells the story of an aquatic dystopia after the polar ice caps melted and drowned civilisation as we know it.
Though global warming might threaten to do just that, the polar ice caps only actually contain enough ice to raise the entire world's water levels by around 200 feet. This would certainly prove devastating for coastal towns and communities, but the vast majority of the world would be largely unaffected in the way that Waterworld attempts to portray.
While in the mid '90s it might have seemed like a good way to scare up a decent story, the inaccuracy of the movie's premise only serves to undermine an already flimsy piece of entertainment. Unless Waterworld took place in an alternate reality where the polar ice caps were much, much bigger, it's exactly the sort of movie pseudo-science that grates on anyone with any real knowledge in the field.
It's a shame, though, because we were really looking forward to our gills and webbed feet.