The trovão (thunder) itself is a product of lightning. Inside the massive cloud, ice crystals and water droplets collide, building up massive electrical charges. When the potential difference becomes too great, a discharge occurs: lightning.

In the Amazon, the "flying rivers"—massive streams of water vapor rising from the trees—depend on this cycle of evaporation and precipitation. The thunderstorms act as a pump, recycling water from the forest back into the atmosphere to fall again hundreds of miles away. Without the daily bombardment of the trovão tropical , the rainforest would desiccate and die.

In tropical regions, life is governed not by winter and summer, but by the wet season and the dry season. The trovão tropical is the herald of the wet season, a daily ritual that dictates the rhythm of life.

The humid air in the Vietnamese jungle was thick enough to swallow the screams of the production crew. Tugg Speedman adjusted his prop rifle, his face caked in mud that cost more than a mid-sized sedan. Beside him, Kirk Lazarus—an Australian who had surgically altered his appearance for the role—refused to break character, even though the cameras had stopped rolling an hour ago.

: A five-time Oscar winner who takes method acting to dangerous extremes.