Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson can do a lot of things most humans can’t. He can punch his way through an endless onslaught of bad guys in the Fast And Furious films. He can seem simultaneously macho, vulnerable, and endearing in Moana. He can even do the People’s Eyebrow. But, after seeing the latest poster for his upcoming action film Skyscraper, some are starting to question the extent of The Rock’s abilities. Namely, his ability to successfully land the insane-as-hell jump depicted in the film’s poster and trailer.
“I’ve mocked up some parabolas for The Rock’s Skyscraper jump,” wrote novelist and basic-physics-knower James Smythe who unfortunately predicted that, regardless of where The Rock begins his leap of faith, he wouldn’t have enough momentum to make it through the open window surrounded by broken glass he’s aiming for. But from there, the analysis gets a bit more scientific.
Using The Rock’s publicly listed height as a starting point, Twitter user Christian Bedwel calculated the minimum speed he would need to leave the crane platform in order to successfully make the jump. Turns out it’s about 28.4 miles per hour, though another user calculated it out to 26.8 miles per hour once you account for the added boost from falling. “For comparison, Usain Bolt’s fastest recorded speed is 27.4 mph,” notes Bedwel.
As we learned from the deep analysis of the weird leg in the Ready Player One poster, things that look impossibly stupid at first glance may actually be scientifically accurate. But when it comes to The Rock’s superhero leap, we may be dealing more with pseudo-science.
Or perhaps the poster is just poorly framed.
Regardless of any graphical errors in the promotional materials, we’re sure Skyscraper, a movie about a one-legged Dwayne Johnson fighting terrorists atop the world’s tallest and most advanced apartment building, will be 100 percent scientifically accurate.
[via Bored Panda]