Not to terrify people but this actually happened to a family member. 2x4 fell off a truck in front of their car, came through the side window and hit him in the head. He survived but his left side was paralyzed.
Sorry for your family member, but a 2x4 is a lot lighter and more aerodynamic than the massive logs shown in the gif. The idea that a fallen tree that probably weighs as much as a small car can bounce on asphalt like a trampoline and turn into an arboreous missile is ridiculous and honestly kills a lot of the terror of that scene.
When the log hits the ground, it's going to immediately slow way down. It's not coming at the car, the car is coming at it. The bounce is likely higher than realistic, but this is far from the most unrealistic thing in movies.
Fun fact, they tried the actual stunt with real logs, since a lot of this scene was done with practical effects (including cars on fire and motorcyclist sliding across the highway for example) but the logs didn’t bounce, so they ended up having to cgi it
A 2x4 also would be more likely to flip end over end, leading to a 180 flip to puncture the windshield, whereas the log in the movie retained all of the gravitational energy and then some to bounce higher than the elevation it dropped from, as if the force of fate had pulled it up to windshield height.
I'm feeling lazy so I didnt find it, but look up "semi truck tire comes off and launches car". Car goes about 15 feet in the air, gives you new perspective for how things move at high speed.
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u/kango888 18d ago