Head of New York's planetarium takes to Twitter to question logic of Oscar-tipped film but endorse spectacle

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

It has been hailed by the critics as a rare example of intelligent science fiction film-making, and looks on course for an impressive awards season run.

But Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity has been brought crashing down to Earth by a famed American astrophysicist who says its science simply doesn't add up.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson, head of the Hayden Planetarium in New York, took to Twitter to dismiss everything from the 3D space spectacular's title to its depiction of a lack of gravitational pull.

Tyson began by suggesting the film should be renamed "Zero Gravity", or perhaps "Angular Momentum", before going on to probe the sci-fi film's logic further.

"Mysteries of #Gravity: Why Bullock, a medical Doctor, is servicing the Hubble Space Telescope," he wrote, before adding: "Mysteries of #Gravity: How Hubble (350mi up) ISS (230mi up) & a Chinese Space Station are all in sight lines of one another."

Tyson then tweeted: "Mysteries of #Gravity: When Clooney releases Bullock's tether, he drifts away. In zero-G a single tug brings them together."

He continued: "Mysteries of #Gravity: Why Bullock's hair, in otherwise convincing zero-G scenes, did not float freely on her head."

Tyson signed off with the withering: "Mysteries of #Gravity: Why we enjoy a SciFi film set in make-believe space more than we enjoy actual people set in real space."

Nevertheless, he did give it a critical thumbs up. "My Tweets hardly ever convey opinion," he said. "Mostly perspectives on the world. But if you must know, I enjoyed #Gravity very much."

Fortunately for Cuaron and his high profile cast, which features Bullock and George Clooney as an astronaut and medical engineer working together to survive after an accident leaves them cast adrift in space, the American public appears to share his convictions.

Gravity opened in top spot at the US box office at the weekend with $55.6m (£34.6m), in the process breaking the all-time record for an October debut. It was also released in Australia last week, and is due to debut in UK cinemas on 8 November.

• Post your questions for Gravity star Sandra Bullock