Is It Really Possible to Break Someone’s Neck Using Only our Bare Hands, or is This a Hollywood Fantasy?

I am an actor, so I am very interested in knowing all kinds of details about my profession. One of the things that bother me most when watching action movies is the ease with which some characters “break the neck” of their enemies with a simple hands movement. That is not realistic, since if our necks were so fragile, most likely our species would not have reached these days... But I had access to a surgeon's testimony specialized in columns that, incidentally, is also a martial artist. And this is what he explained:

Can you break a neck using your own hands? Yes. What you can't do is count on the other person's willingness to let you break it. In addition to the bones, the person who is breaking the neck will also have to fight against muscles. If you try to break someone's neck, you can be sure: the person will make a force contrary to your movement. Would a muscular adult have any problems doing this with an osteoporotic older adult or a child? Probably not... But considering that most characters who have their necks broken in movies tend to have an athletic profile, you can be sure: the task would be far from easy. Is it entirely possible that the attacker can cause a muscle strain but break someone’s neck? Very unlikely...

Another critical detail badly portrayed in movies is that the “fatal blow” victims fall, unconscious, right after “having their neck broken.” Even if the blow was so violent that it…