Whiplash

My favorite example of a recent Hollywood blockbuster that scientists should like is Iron Man. Yes, it's implausible that a prisoner in a cave in Afghanistan could build a lethal flying suit out of scrap metal, etc. But plausibility should never be the criterion for judging a science-fiction/fantasy scenario; sometimes you just have to bend the rules of the real world to get the required dramatic effects. Consistency, on the other hand, is crucial; the non-real world you invent should follow some set of rules, even if they veer away from the actual world. (Nobody complains that the Enterprise travels faster than light, but there are plenty of complaints about the bizarre use of time travel in the Star Trek franchise.) Even better is when a film does a decent job at reflecting the practice of science. And that's why I loved Iron Man -- the whole second act revolves ...