DOOMSDAY

Disaster Most Likely to End the World

I have seen a lot of disaster movies, some more likely to happen than others. For example, Armageddon, was, in my opinion, ridiculous. But then again, so is anything directed by Michael Bay. Others have seemed more probable, such as Deep Impact, although the acting left something to be desired. Oh well, what disaster movies do you think are more probable than others?

Re:Disaster Most Likely to End the World

csprague:

I have seen a lot of disaster movies, some more likely to happen than others. For example, Armageddon, was, in my opinion, ridiculous. But then again, so is anything directed by Michael Bay. Others have seemed more probable, such as Deep Impact, although the acting left something to be desired. Oh well, what disaster movies do you think are more probable than others?

Dude! This is only semi-related to this discussion, but while waiting in the auto shop for my car to get fixed yesterday, I was forced to watch the History Channel, and they're running a week long series about the apocalypse, and the whole program I was watching focused on whether the prophecies in Revelation (the Bible) are possibly coming true and examining faith versus science in a very cursory, non-controversial type way as to the end of the world.  I already have the heebee jeebies because of that, and now we have to consider what might destroy the world?  :-)

Well, the History Channel program and its interviewed scientists said that it is a statistical probability that a large asteroid will hit the Earth in this geological age and forever change its climate (possibly trigger another geological age) and/or destroy huge chunks of life, so Deep Impact (at least) and Armageddon (at laughable worst minus the improbable rescue attempt) is all quite possible.  I vote for giant crash-landing asteroid.

Re:Disaster Most Likely to End the World

Re:Disaster Most Likely to End the World

An article I saw in the last week or so suggested that the last icy period (13,000 BC) was caused by an astroid. Many North American large mammals went extinct.

But anyway, I watched the B movie Earthstorm the other day. An astroid hits the moon in the backside and the moon begins to split in half, with one of the halves scheduled to drop onto the Earth. Not bad!

Re:Disaster Most Likely to End the World

I've got three plausible scenarios:

1. 28 Days Later: Disease epidemics seem like they could easily wipe out the population (see: The Black Plague) and the way Danny Boyle handles the situation seems pretty much like the way it might happen in real life, 28 Weeks Later even more so (although I say it's a far inferior movie). Plus, if you want the world to end in horrible disaster, you want it to go out like a badass. Rage-infected zombies: totally badass.

2. Sunshine: I dunno...it sounds possible.

3. Wall-e: I know it's not really a "disaster" movie, but doesn't our rampant consumerism and wastefulness seem like it might cause the world to become a barren junkyard wasteland? I think it does.

Re:Disaster Most Likely to End the World

I really think global climate change (The Day After Tomorrow (2006)) or an asteriod, as you said, will do us in, but I s'pose I'll mention supervolcanic eruptions.  You know, like Yellowstone Caldera (recently active), which is decidedly way more interesting than global warming.  We'd expect volcanic winter and/or a swarm of hypercanes, depending on location and size, resulting in the extinction or mass bottlenecking of the human race.  Past eruptions here and the VEI here.

Oooo, yay.

Re:Disaster Most Likely to End the World

I'll cheat a bit here and throw out the forthcoming movie adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's "The Road". I've only read the book, obviously, but it had me reaching for an extra dose of Wellbutrin every 50 pages or so. I expect the film to be every bit as bleak and realistic under John Hillcoat's direction. It may even beat out "Mall Cop" as the most depressing film of 2009.

Re:Disaster Most Likely to End the World

benthams_head:

I'll cheat a bit here and throw out the forthcoming movie adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's "The Road". I've only read the book, obviously, but it had me reaching for an extra dose of Wellbutrin every 50 pages or so. I expect the film to be every bit as bleak and realistic under John Hillcoat's direction. It may even beat out "Mall Cop" as the most depressing film of 2009.

Sounds...awesome? Well, something to look forward to in the midst of a rather meager 2009 line up. Ditto on Mall Cop.

Re:Disaster Most Likely to End the World

I would suggest that it won't be any one thing, but a combination of events happening in rapid succession. For instance, a super-volcano erupts, burying much of the land in ash. Several tsunami's wreak havoc on the coastal areas of the world. The fresh water bodies are polluted by the volcanic ash, and our own pollutants making the water undrinkable. The greater part of humanity dies out via starvation or dehydration, or in the ensuing chaos of scavenging that occurs.

That would be an amusing film to watch.

I suppose as far as realism goes for apocalypse time... I'll say The Day After Tomorrow.

It had a lot of interesting hypotheticals, even if it was just pseudo-science.

I think there was one where the earth's magnetic shielding drops due to the core of the earth not doing its thing. The solar winds did a number on the surface of the earth. And then a team travels into the earth to try to get the core moving again. (Amusing)

Re:Disaster Most Likely to End the World

rjsprague:

I would suggest that it won't be any one thing, but a combination of events happening in rapid succession. For instance, a super-volcano erupts, burying much of the land in ash. Several tsunami's wreak havoc on the coastal areas of the world. The fresh water bodies are polluted by the volcanic ash, and our own pollutants making the water undrinkable. The greater part of humanity dies out via starvation or dehydration, or in the ensuing chaos of scavenging that occurs.

That would be an amusing film to watch.

amusing or gut-wrenchingly sad to the point of weeping.