Outline for the Second Term Paper

I. Introduction

            Action films have entranced countless generations, and of course reality can only bring so much to the screen in terms of excitement and wonder. As the decades passed and film became more technically innovative, the action genre has become more "colorful". By the turn of the century, fantasy and action welded together and films such as superhero films have suspended the laws of physics to entertain and shock the audience. A common physics problem in recent action films are the impossible jumps. Using the jump magnification equation (jump height divided by push height) and the push time equation (jump time divided by jump magnification), the three films presented do not follow the push time equation after finding the jump magnification equation.

II. Spider-Man's Unity Festival Balloon Jump

            a. In the first Spider-Man (the superior 2002 Sam Raimi version), as Spider-Man races to save Mary Jane Watson from the clutches of the Green Goblin, we see him jumping from one festival balloon to another. Since the web-slinging hero takes approximately a little less than a second for his push time with a jump magnification of perhaps 20 feet, the jump time should really be about a little less than 20 seconds. However, in the film, Spider-man is able to jump there in a matter of two seconds. This does not adhere to the jump magnification and the push time found using the equations.

            b. The filmmakers must have known this but decided to use creative licensing and sped up Spider-man's jump time to add to the energy during his first battle scene with Green Goblin.

III. Jen's Jump from Bumbling Guard

            a. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon contains a similar lack of adherence to the relationships between the jump magnifications and push times. A subtler example is when Jen steals the Green Destiny sword and is confronted by one of the bumbling guards.

            b. She jumps on top of him for about half a second (push time) and jumps to a height of at least 5 feet into the air. The push height was relatively low so perhaps it was about 1 foot. Therefore the jump magnification would be five feet. Adding that to the push time formula, the jump time (about a second) divided by the jump magnification of five feet simply does not equal the push time of half a second.

IV. Mr. Incredible's Incredible Jump

            a. The last example is from Disney Pixar's The Incredibles. As an overweight Bob Parr fends off a mediocre version of the Omnidroid, he makes an incredible leap of about 30 feet into the air to get over the Omnidroid and give it a nice right hook. His push height is about one and a half feet, meaning his jump magnification would be about 20 feet. Since the jump time was a little bit less than two seconds, Mr. Incredible's push time should be about 1/10 of a second long.      b. In the film, it would have been almost impossible to notice the 1/10 of a second which was why the filmmakers made it just a tidbit longer for the audience to feel and notice the push time.

V. Conclusion  

            Of all the examples presented, it would be belittling to the filmmakers to believe that they thought they had adhered to the jump magnification and push time equations. They three crews probably all knew that that their films did not adhere to some law of physics but decided not to in order to heighten the drama, excitement and action. Spider-Man's speed, Jen's athletic skill and Mr. Incredible's mobility are all showcased at the expense of the accurate jumps.