Such raw, untamed power that can be so destructive is still extremely impressive and easily romanticized until it becomes a very literal reality of one’s world. In other words, lightning strikes are fun to watch and easy to enjoy until their power is felt up close and personal. In movies they are highly exaggerated to showcase the power that summons or controls them or are used as a comedic gimmick to further the story or a subplot that makes people laugh. All in all though, lightning strikes are a very powerful and misunderstood force of nature that are easily used in film.
Here are a few lightning strikes that are impressive as well as useful in their movies.
5. Caddyshack
This is pure comedy really because in reality lightning doesn’t coil around a solid surface like some electrical serpent, at least not that you can see. It will strike, it will damage, and it will dissipate all in a matter a second. In this film though it was funny largely because the man being struck is a priest and is being brought to heel due to his belief that he’s infallible. Such an attitude by a man of the cloth might be a comedic gimmick, but it would appear that the boss upstairs didn’t care for it much. At least it didn’t kill him.
4. The Core
So what happens when the protective layers of atmosphere start wearing away? Oh yeah, bad things, very, very bad things. As if the potential of being roasted alive by the sun wasn’t bad enough the static discharge that’s eventually showcased in this film is capable of annihilating Rome and turning its various landmarks into smoldering piles of rubble shortly after being made to glow with the ravenous energy that’s been allowed to gather within them. Most scientists will rightly claim that this is not possible but the effect is simply amazing and frightening to ponder.
3. Avengers
Only in pure fiction would something this devastating be this impressive. Thor is the Asgardian god of thunder and as such is one of the heaviest hitters in the MCU. His display of power in this clip is uniquely impressive but one also has to stop and think that the kind of power he’s channeling would be able to decimate the building around him from the force of the lightning strikes alone. Metal might be a perfect conductor for the electrical force that lightning is made of, but every structure has its limits.
2. Clash of The Titans
In terms of being impressive this is somewhat toned down on the scale, but the sheer brilliance of the move is great largely because it is not just Perseus fighting his divinely-powered uncle. Zeus, who had been tricked and then trapped by Hades, is now free and is more than willing to aid his son in deposing the god of the underworld after his attempted coup. Hades might be laughing for the moment but when Zeus grants his destructive blessing to Perseus’s strike there’s no denying that he’s a little hacked off that his brother would be so bold.
1. Wrath of The Titans
So yes, the Titans franchise got two mentions in this post, but they are different moments in different movies at least. In this film Zeus is not the big man on campus any longer as his father, Cronus, is eventually released and proves to be every bit the problematic father he’s been lauded as in myth and legend. It takes a humongous effort for the ailing Zeus to withstand even one of Cronus’s attacks and the second obliterates him entirely. It takes Perseus, using the Spear of Triam to literally rip Cronus open from the inside. It might not be a lightning strike, but it’s still insanely impressive.
Lightning strikes in movies are simply awesome to watch and often devastating in their use.
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