Though it might not feature tires as much as some other high-action summer movies, even a kid-focused 80s sci-fi throwback movie like "Rim of the World" has plenty of rubber products to go around.
For our Wacky World blog, I've been watching films from the perspective of rubber and plastic products, and this edition took me to a new Netflix original movie about a group of preteens banding together to fight against supernatural elements. No, it's not "Stranger Things," but a lot of the familiar elements are still there: a rag-tag group of four kids at a summer camp get tangled up in an attack by multi-limbed, extra-mouthed aliens, and have to work together to save their friends and the world. It also has at least one scene almost shot-for-shot pulled directly from "Jurassic Park."
From the opening scenes of the movie, we get a shot of a giant alien spaceship overtaking and eventually destroying the International Space Station, which has plenty of opportunities for rubber-based aeronautics products. I was especially impressed by the quality of the seals, which kept several sections of the craft spaceworthy despite heavy damage long enough for some crucial plot development involving a USB stick with the information necessary to defeat the aliens.
Just a note: The aliens' CGI ships are a touch on the generic side, but given the extremely amorphous, almost liquid-like shape the aliens take, I have to imagine that the insides of the ships are integrated with lots of rubber-like space tech to conform to their "bodies" and protect electronics from both heat, fluid, and probably errant claws. We never really learn what the aliens are after, so I've been choosing to believe that they are somehow out of rubber and came to Earth looking for it. At the very least, they could've helped us with our recent market surpluses in natural rubber. It could've made for some great intergalactic trade if they had only asked first.