The nuclear blast scene is one of the most infamous scenes from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, with Indy surviving a nuclear explosion by hiding in a lead-lined fridge. A nuclear weapons expert affirms that much of the scene is nonsense, but gives it credit for its depiction of a thermal pulse and for the "positive phase" of a nuclear shockwave. The nuke scene speaks to a larger problem in Indiana Jones 4, with the film leaning too heavily into over-the-top and CGI-heavy action set pieces.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull's nuclear bomb scene is assessed by a nuclear weapons expert, and it surprisingly gets a few things right. Released in 2008, the fourth Indiana Jones film sees Steven Spielberg return as director and Harrison Ford return as the titular archeologist. Despite its financial success, the sequel is largely considered a step down from the original trilogy,...