Saturday, May 3, 2008

Unexpected Accuracy in a Blockbuster Movie

I saw the movie "Iron Man" this afternoon, and thought it was a pretty good superhero movie, even if the plot wasn't particularly original. While there was some dodgy science (to be expected in this sort of movie), I was pleased to see the writers get one big thing right and add one small detail.

Big thing: the power source was the critical component of the Iron Man suit, which only the genius Tony Stark could invent. In real life energy storage is a major limiting factor in a number of technologies e.g. electric cars or the conversion of power grids to solar generators.

Small detail: James Rhodes, Tony's air force liaison, is clearly wearing an MIT class ring in some scenes. It's a cute touch that only MIT alumni would even notice.

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