Don’t panic- this list is about fiction. One of the reasons we haven’t colonized space already is that it’s an inhospitable environment. Outer space is a vacuum without the oxygen we require, and a common tragedy in science fiction is a human coming in contact with that vacuum. It doesn’t end well for the most part, but how accurate are these portrayals? They range from horrible to scientifically accurate but still scary. Take Total Recall, which is judged the most inaccurate of all.
Towards the end of Total Recall, Quaid throws a bomb and blows out the wall of one of the buildings on Mars. Cohaagen, who triggered the bomb, is sucked out of the building, where he proceeds to explosively decompress in the thin Martian atmosphere.
Why this is completely, utterly wrong: Aspiring screenwriters, repeat after me: you don’t explode in space. You don’t explode in space. Total Recall is a totally grotesque and hilarious scene. It’s a iconic, to be sure, but it’s not what would happen if you found yourself on the surface of Mars without a space suit. Not even close.
So which movies get it right? Check out the list of such film scenes ranked from worst to best at io9. -via Digg