Astrophysicist and beloved TV personality Neil deGrasse Tyson is not immune to Hollywood buzz, as he’s taken to social media to weigh in on this weekend’s anticipated Matt Damon space movie “The Martian.”
Tyson, a decorated scientist and host of the 2014 Fox hit “Cosmos,” illustrated just how fictional the film was on Twitter — namely by saying world governments don’t defer to science and certainly wouldn’t collaborate to try to save a stranded astronaut as they do in the film.
“Evidence that the @MartianMovie is fantasy: All who make important decisions are scientifically literate,” Tyson wrote.
In addition, he pointed out another implausible plot point in the film: “the USA & China cooperate with one another in Space.”
The Harvard grad even gets down to the scientific nitty gritty, underscoring that, in the film, both the Texas-based Johnson Space Center and California’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory track astronauts floating in space. According to Tyson, it’s only the Johnson that follows them.
“But watching two @NASA centers collaborate — geek gold,” he wrote.
Not content to debunk the Ridley Scott film for factual inaccuracies, he also touches on the abstract challenges that Damon’s astronaut Mark Watney faces when the botanist is stranded on Mars and must survive by growing his own food until a rescue mission or more supplies can reach him.
“You experience Love, Hate, Envy, Anxiety, Pride, & Heroism, all through the lens of science,” he said. “They got crucial science right, while enhancing the story by fictionalizing the science that remained.”
Read the tweet review here:
Evidence that the @MartianMovie is fantasy: All who make important decisions are scientifically literate.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) October 2, 2015
Evidence that the @MartianMovie is fantasy: The USA & China cooperate with one another in Space.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) October 2, 2015
In the @MartianMovie #JPL tracks astronauts. Nope, #JSC does it alone. But watching two @NASA centers collaborate — geek gold
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) October 2, 2015
The @MartianMovie — where fluency in Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math rule all decisions of survival.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) October 2, 2015
The @MartianMovie — where Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math are highly developed characters unto themselves.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) October 2, 2015
The @MartianMovie — where you learn all the ways that being Scientifically Literate can save your life.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) October 2, 2015
The @MartianMovie — where you learn all the ways that being Scientifically Literate can save your life.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) October 2, 2015
The @MartianMovie — where you experience Love, Hate, Envy, Anxiety, Pride, & Heroism, all through the lens of science.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) October 2, 2015
In the @MartianMovie, they got crucial science right, while enhancing the story by fictionalizing the science that remained.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) October 2, 2015