"Gravity" movie - a technical commentary, DO NOT READ IF YOU WANT TO AVOID KEY PLOT SPOILERS!! Options

[dilo]

I just watched it and, I must admit, I was strongly impressed by quality and realism of long EVA sequences in 3D! I guess it's even more impressive if seen in IMAX (did someone had this opportunity?).
The movie contains several big inconsistencies (listed in my next "spoiler" post) but my personal rating is that it's one of the most realistic and spectacular space movies ever made...
I would like to hear other's impressions/observations...

[dilo]

DISCLAIMER! the following post contains "spoilers" describing movie scenes/story







This is a preliminary list of main inconsistencies I found:
1) As you know, Space Shuttle was retired on 2011 and the first module of chinese space station, Tiangong-1, was launched in the same year. However, in the movie, the Shuttle still appear in use while chinese station is already big and completed!
2) After Hubble repair and first encounter with space debris, astronauts easily reach ISS and, then, Tiangong station. As you know, both are on orbits very different from HST, both in terms of height and inclination! So, required delta-V would be impossible with a "jetpack" or even using Soyuz landing firings!
3) Sandra Bullock uses a fire extinguisher to reduce her velocity during final approach to Tiangong; at this point, why she didn't use it directly to reach the chinese station instead to use a Soyuz, avoiding all chute-harnessed problems?
4) Worst, unexplicable error: while bounded to ISS, Clooney seems attracted by a mysterious force and decide to unbound/sacrifice itself in order to save his colleague..
I am aware that all these inconsistencies, especially last one, are made in order to make the story more rich of events and "pathos". However, they risk to disappoint the aware public and cancel the effort to make the film otherwise credible and rigorous!

[Art Martin]

The one that got to me (bothered also by all the things you pointed out) was how this debris field, clearly seen coming at them from quite the distance away, could make it all the way around the Earth in such a short time unless the Delta V between it and the astronauts was huge, enough that the particles wouldn't be seen. They'd be faster than bullets and, if they were going that fast in addition to the orbital speed already attained, they'd be at near or above escape velocity, certainly high enough to propel them to a much higher orbit.

Also, when she's on the Chinese space station and it begins slowing down from resistance from the atmosphere, her helmet is standing in place close to her head and doesn't move despite the deceleration. All the floating stuff would drift to the back of the craft.

Obviously a large amount of artistic license but I think overall the impression of the risks of space will be felt by the general public, the acting was superb, and I was on the edge of my seat throughout. Great movie.

[Explorer1]

So still better than Sunshine, I gather?

Phil Plait's review here: http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2...ew_gravity.html

[MahFL]

The main point is though Sandra has nice legs, apparently. Also it's a movie, not a space documentary.

[nprev]

Hmm. It seems that "Gravity" in fact does not suck.

I'll get my hat...<runs>

[ElkGroveDan]

I read a news article where Neil deGrasse Tyson was pointing out how Bullock's hair should have behaved differently. Of course he's correct, but come on. It's a freaking movie. That's such a trivial complaint as to barely be worth mentioning.

[djellison]

N deG T also goes on to say he enjoyed it

Part of me is looking forward to this movie as all reports I've heard are that it is utterly breathtaking

Part of me is dreading walking out at the end thinking "they went to all that trouble to make it breathtaking. it would have taken no more effort to make it breathtaking AND accurate"

And all of me just wants to enjoy a movie and wishes people would stop applying documentary like criticism to a piece of pure entertainment.

[craigmcg]

I loved the visuals of the tools used and all the other stuff designed to be manipulated with a space suit on.

[Gerald]

This is a preliminary list of main inconsistencies I found:
...
4) Worst, unexplicable error: while bounded to ISS, Clooney seems attracted by a mysterious force and decide to unbound/sacrifice itself in order to save his colleague..

Inertial forces acting on a rotating system (including camera), due to collision, could provide an explanation.

[Gerald]

The one that got to me (bothered also by all the things you pointed out) was how this debris field, clearly seen coming at them from quite the distance away, could make it all the way around the Earth in such a short time unless the Delta V between it and the astronauts was huge, enough that the particles wouldn't be seen. They'd be faster than bullets and, if they were going that fast in addition to the orbital speed already attained, they'd be at near or above escape velocity, certainly high enough to propel them to a much higher orbit.
...

Take two almost identical Kepler ellipses.

[tolis]

I've just seen the movie and, although I agree that some artistic licence was taken with the physics, it was
by far the best space film I've seen in years.

The one inconsistency that I felt could've mattered in the plot was GC's apparent inability to realise that
what was carrying with him (tools, MMU etc) could have possibly saved his life, if only he
threw or pushed those hard enough in the right direction (ie opposite to the intended direction of travel).

yes, and SB does have nice legs.

[nprev]

<facepalm>...

People, I think we all know that NO movie can possibly be 100% accurate. Sadly, that's just the way it works, always.

Not only is worldwide scientific literacy sadly lacking, but a certain amount of artistic license to increase both action intensity & pace as well as enhance suspense WILL be taken.

So. All that said, "Gravity" seems to be well above par in most respects. Accurate? Hardly; even the premise is deeply flawed. Entertaining, and designed to engage people in the idea of spaceflight itself? Seemingly so based on the public response.

I'm givin' it a pass. And, yes, SB has nice legs (oink, oink!!!) I'm sure that some of our members were equally appreciative of George Clooney. Personally, I've been dying to see Adrianne Barbeau AND Raquel Welch weightless, but I'm a dirty old robot now <creak>...

[craigmcg]

Inertial forces acting on a rotating system (including camera), due to collision, could provide an explanation.

True. I don't remember getting the sense that the ISS was tumbling from the movie.

You could see what was going to happen, but my gut kept telling me that the storyline and the physics weren't matching.

[Pere Vilas]

Daniel Marin has reviewed also the film (in spanish)

http://danielmarin.blogspot.com.es/2013/10...gravity-la.html

or the google translation

http://translate.google.es/translate?hl=es...gravity-la.html