Product: Polar Storm (2009)
Rating: 4.0
Ridiculous Plot Holes But Still Fun
I never go into my icky bug looking for scientific fact, but in the case of Polar Storm, they went over the top with ridiculous science and mechanics. Do I care? Not really. However, in this case, some of the holes in the story I noticed because they hit me over the head.First off, when the waves of the electronic field hit, turning off all power should prevent everything from getting fried. Not really, but I could have accepted that if they had made it a bit more realistic. Any car built from the 80's on has a computer in it. The newer models have even more complex computers. What they all have in common is that just because you shut the ignition off, doesn't mean everything is off. The computer is still idling unless you disconnect the battery. They didn't do this. Guess what? After the surge, they wouldn't be able to turn the car back on because the computer is fried. And, what about the digital clock? That should have zapped everyone in the front seat. And the only way to completely kill power in cell phones and I-pods is to disconnect the battery.Next is the trusty old Russian diesel submarine. They have 24 hours to travel from California to the Mariannas Trench. That would take a diesel sub at least a week or more, if they run on the surface and don't have bad weather. Not only that, but to run so deep they would be dodging volcanic vents is not only dumb, but beyond the depth range of the sub. Even though it is a relatively antique sub, unless they had ALL power down during one of the surges, they are just as susceptible to the electronic surges as anyone. I guess they were not near one of the polar nexus points and got away with it.As a side note, when they sent that bomber to drop the nukes, I would think the pilots would have enough sense to avoid the plotted nexus points so they wouldn't fall out of the sky. Also, when a plane loses power, it doesn't blow up and neither would the nukes it's carrying. That brings up the question of how the sub, which had to travel several thousand miles in 24 hours, managed to dodge the nexus points.Another thing. The Mariannas Trench is 31,000 feet (plus change) deep. The max depth of the modern nuclear sub is about 2,400 feet. An antique diesel would be even less, probably half that. Even the volcanic vents they were dodging are much deeper than that.Finally let's talk about the nukes themselves. The hero has to set the timers in them. He opens a flimsy access plate that has (I just happened to notice), no rubber seal around the edges. Not only that, it would have to be several inches thick to be able to withstand the depth of the Mairannas Trench. That timer would have shorted out the second they depressurized the chamber used to drop it out of the sub.Does all this bother me? Not really. I noticed it, yeah, but the movie, as a whole was thoroughly enjoyable. In fact, I even got a kick out of laughing at the wacky science and mechanics. What kept it from five stars was that they never even tried to make it plausible. Most icky bug movies don't worry much about the real science, but it isn't as blatant as it was in this one. Still recommended.