Neil deGrasse Tyson Names the ‘Least Scientifically-Accurate’ Sci-Fi Movie Ever Made

Sci-fi movies often prioritize stories and visuals over scientific accuracy, because their goal is to entertain, not educate. Many concepts, like space travel or futuristic technology, are based on imagination rather than real science, or at least science that is currently based on our understanding of physics still far away.

Filmmakers may also take creative liberties to make the plot more thrilling or easier to follow for the audience. Most people aren’t really all that bothered by these inaccuracies, but Neil deGrasse Tyson is not most people.

Celebrity scientist Tyon often points out scientific inaccuracies in Hollywood movies, especially in sci-fi films, not to spoil the fun but to encourage better accuracy. He often highlights unrealistic concepts, like artificial gravity or sound in space, and provides corrections based on real science.

Tyson in the past criticized Michael Bay’s 1998 thriller ‘Armageddon’ as the most scientifically inaccurate movie. However, he later stated that ‘Moonfall’ surpassed it in absurdity, even surpassing Disney’s ‘The Black Hole’ in terms of scientific errors. Tyson couldn’t help but laugh when describing how ‘Moonfall’ topped both films in its disregard for real science.

“It was a pandemic film […] — you know, Halle Berry — and the moon is approaching Earth, and they learned that it’s hollow. And there’s a moon being made out of rocks living inside of it. And the Apollo missions were to visit and feed the moon being.* And I … And I just couldn’t … I thought ‘Armageddon’ had a secure hold on this crown. But apparently not.”

In ‘Moonfall,’ the moon is knocked out of its orbit and starts heading toward Earth, threatening to destroy the planet. A group of astronauts and scientists discover that a mysterious force is causing the moon to move, and they must figure out how to stop it. They go on a dangerous mission to space to save the Earth from the impending disaster.

‘Moonfall’ received mostly negative reviews, and the audience wasn’t really into it as well. Likely due to different reasons than Tyson.

On ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,’ Neil deGrasse Tyson also mentioned that sometimes Hollywood gets it right. He felt ‘Titanic’ would have been more realistic if it had a scientist like Matt Damon’s character from ‘The Martian,’ which Tyson admires for its accurate portrayal of science and space travel.

Tyson has also ranked sci-fi films on his StarTalk channel, praising movies like ‘Interstellar’, ‘Gravity, ‘and ‘Arrival’ for their scientific accuracy, while still enjoying films like ‘Back to the Future’ for their entertainment value, even if they don’t get the science right.

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