A real-life astronaut rates the accuracy of a scene from Brad Pitt’s 2019 science fiction movieAd Astraand points out a major error. Directed by James Gray,Ad Astraholds an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing. The film follows Roy McBride, an astronaut who embarks on a mission to Neptune to discover what happened to his missing father. In addition to Pitt,Ad Astra’scastincludes Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, and Donald Sutherland.
In a video forInsider, former NASA astronaut Nicole Stott watches a scene fromAd Astra, in whichtwo groups of astronauts on separate lunar rovers get in a shootout while traveling across the surface of the moon. Stott pointed out that it’s very unlikely these rovers would be able to move that fast on the moon without continuously bouncing and losing control, and eventually gaveAd Astraan accuracy score of 4 out of 10. Read her full quote below:
The suspension is a little bit different on the rovers than the cars we have here on Earth. You gotta be careful about getting going too fast, ‘cause they can flip easier than what a vehicle here on Earth would do. So it’s a little bit tenuous in the way you’re driving. You have to think in three dimensions about the way you’re driving your rover… You get going too fast, especially if you hit something and are bouncing, you’re just gonna keep bouncing in that direction. So, it’s probably less likely in reality that you would want to be driving that fast.
WhileAd Astrareceived respectable reviews from critics upon its release in 2019,it has a much worse audience score on Rotten Tomatoes: 40%.Ad Astrais Brad Pitt’s most divisive movieon Rotten Tomatoes. It was praised for its cinematography, visual effects, and Pitt’s performance in the film, but a lot of viewers believed the movie to be far too slow. Many have argued thatAd Astrais a boring movie, and not at all the science fiction blockbuster it was marketed as.
10 Reasons Ad Astra Deserves More Love As One Of The 2010s Best Sci-Fi Films
Ad Astra divided critics and struggled at the box office back in 2019, but Brad Pitt’s ponderous astronaut movie deserves more recognition.
In addition to criticisms about the pacing,some viewers have pointed out thatAd Astradoes not seem like the most accurate movie.Ad Astrais definitely a film that puts its characters and the emotion of the story over accuracy. Stott’s criticizingAd Astra’slunar rover chase scene will likely not earn the movie any new fans. While the chase scene is visually stunning, it seems that a lot of viewers, in addition to an expert like Stott, cannot see past its inaccuracies.
The Relationships Are The Most Important Part Of The Movie
While Stott and many others have criticizedAd Astrafor not being the most accurate movie about space,the film excels in handling the relationships between characters. The father-son dynamic between Pitt and Jones, in particular, is the highlight of the movie. Therefore, because of the well-written characters and its other aforementioned qualities, such as the cinematography and visual effects,Ad Astrais definitely worth a watch, and could be one ofBrad Pitt’s most overlooked movies.
Ad Astra
Cast
Brad Pitt stars in Ad Astra as astronaut Roy McBride, who embarks on a mission to Neptune to find his missing father (Tommy Lee Jones) in the outer reaches of space. Liv Tyler and Donald Sutherland appear in this 2019 sci-fi movie directed by James Gray.
