# Which movie has the most REALISTIC nuclear explosion? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 6, 2003, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movie-has-the-most-realistic-nuclear-explosion/180201 "2003-06-06T23:55:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movie-has-the-most-realistic-nuclear-explosion/180201/1 "2003-06-06T23:55:57Z")
…y’know, just like the title says. I mean, we’ve all seen the movies that just show a cheesy CGI mushroom cloud rising perfectly formed off the ground…and, more often than not, it actually is a groundburst, not an airburst. And then, of course, there are the movies that just show stock footage of one of the Bikini atoll bomb tests…even when the explosion in the movie’s story is supposed to be occuring over land. :mad: :rolleyes: So, can anyone here with any expertise on the subject point out some movies with a _realistic_ simulated nuclear explosion? I’m afraid that, while I’m able to spot the _badly_ done ones, I’m not very confident in my ability to spot the really _good_ ones. Well, thanks for your time, Ranchoth ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movie-has-the-most-realistic-nuclear-explosion/180201/2 "2003-06-07T00:01:09Z")
I gotta admit, I’m partial to the series of nukes in _Dr Strangelove_. Of course, it’s just more stock footage of various explosions, but they’re quite realistic. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movie-has-the-most-realistic-nuclear-explosion/180201/3 "2003-06-07T00:06:01Z")
_The Day After_ showed horrifying scenes of a nuclear blast doing copious ground-level destruction. I can’t specifically remember if they showed a bird’s-eye view or not, though. ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movie-has-the-most-realistic-nuclear-explosion/180201/4 "2003-06-07T00:15:44Z")
The Sum of All Fears does a pretty good job. My $ 0.02 Explosion: Sum … Immediate After Effects on the ground : Day After ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movie-has-the-most-realistic-nuclear-explosion/180201/5 "2003-06-07T00:28:57Z")
I recall almost shitting Raisenettes the first time I saw that dream scene in _Terminator 2_… ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movie-has-the-most-realistic-nuclear-explosion/180201/6 "2003-06-07T00:32:32Z")
My nod goes to T2 as well , with a follow up to Aliens , which was a perfectly good nuclear explosion , only one that should not have happened. Declan ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movie-has-the-most-realistic-nuclear-explosion/180201/7 "2003-06-07T01:00:44Z")
They were gonna take off and nuke the site from orbit anyway, **Declan**. Rupturing the cooling system was merely a cost-effective way of destroying the hive. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movie-has-the-most-realistic-nuclear-explosion/180201/8 "2003-06-07T01:36:20Z")
yeah , but the problem in my mind was that the reactor should have done a china syndrome , not detonate. Had they actually dropped the nuke , i would have had no probles with it , but what they actually did was use artisitic license. Declan ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movie-has-the-most-realistic-nuclear-explosion/180201/9 "2003-06-07T01:42:37Z")
I would definitely say _The Day After_. But then again, I’ve never seen a real explosion - just tests and movies. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movie-has-the-most-realistic-nuclear-explosion/180201/10 "2003-06-07T02:32:11Z")
An episode of _Ren and Stimpy_ had a surprisingly well animated nuclear explosion, even including the characteristic “double flash”. ---
**Author:** ![Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movie-has-the-most-realistic-nuclear-explosion/180201/11 "2003-06-07T02:50:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dooku \* > \*\*I recall almost shitting Raisenettes the first time I saw that dream scene in _Terminator 2_… \*\* Well, I perhaps would have not put it just like that 🙂 – but that’s the scene I thought of first!! ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movie-has-the-most-realistic-nuclear-explosion/180201/12 "2003-06-07T02:55:00Z")
It’s been six years but I think I was pretty impressed with the one in “The Peacemaker.” Remember? Wasn’t it Dreamworks first movie? And George Clooney’s big step into film after ER? Hmm, well at least I might have jogged somebody else’s memory. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movie-has-the-most-realistic-nuclear-explosion/180201/13 "2003-06-07T03:50:17Z")
No one did it better than _Trinity and Beyond_. ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movie-has-the-most-realistic-nuclear-explosion/180201/14 "2003-06-07T05:50:32Z")
_POSSIBLE SPOILER_ Re: Empire of the Sun _Empire of the Sun_ had a very pretty, so to speak, view of a nuclear explosion from a great distance - either Hiroshima or Nagasaki, I’m not sure which, as viewed from a Japanese Internment Camp in China. I do not know how accurate it was, but it was believeable, for certain. ---
**Author:** ![mtdman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@mtdman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtdman)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movie-has-the-most-realistic-nuclear-explosion/180201/15 "2003-06-07T06:26:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Terminus Est \* > \*\*No one did it better than _Trinity and Beyond_. \*\* And you got William Shatner narration, too! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![green\_bladder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@green\_bladder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/green_bladder)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movie-has-the-most-realistic-nuclear-explosion/180201/16 "2003-06-07T12:22:53Z")
The first one that came to my mind was \*\* Dr. Strangelove\*\*, but after being reminded of **T2** , I have to say that gets my vote. As **Dooku** said, definitely a raisinette-shittable scene. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DirkGntly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DirkGntly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DirkGntly)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movie-has-the-most-realistic-nuclear-explosion/180201/17 "2003-06-07T12:52:56Z")
Well, for up-close and personal, **T2** was pretty impressive, as was **Sum of All Fears**. I’m wondering about from a distance, though…I haven’t seen too many of those, but I’m wondering how realistic the 'shroom cloudburst was from the mini-nuke in **True Lies**. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movie-has-the-most-realistic-nuclear-explosion/180201/18 "2003-06-07T13:16:27Z")
_Threads_? ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movie-has-the-most-realistic-nuclear-explosion/180201/19 "2003-06-07T13:17:32Z")
Reminds me of an interesting little tidbit I read in Entertainment Weekly (before Titanic): Number of James Cameron films: 5 Number in which a nuclear explosion is a key plot device: 5! ---
**Author:** ![Skeezix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skeezix)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movie-has-the-most-realistic-nuclear-explosion/180201/20 "2003-06-07T15:24:03Z")
Indeed, nukes and feet are his “director’s trademarks.” As you mentioned, the only film he’s done with_out_ a nuke in it was **Titanic** , which could have arguably been improved by the inclusion of same. 😃 [sub]Really, feet. Either someone stomps on something, or a bunch o’ people run by the camera, or both, with the shot never showing anything above the knees.[/sub] [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-movie-has-the-most-realistic-nuclear-explosion/180201.md?page=2)