Factual error: The Avalon generates its gravity by rotating, which is made evident by the fact that the elevators connecting the three helical pods are without gravity. When the passengers go spacewalking, the instant they walk out the airlock, they have to be secured by magnetic boots. When they turn them off, they become weightless. Both assertions are wrong for the same reason: If the gravity is created by centrifugal force, that force is present on all points of the ship with the strength depending on the distance to the hub of the ship, no matter whether that point is inside or outside the ship's hull. That of course includes the ledge in front of the airlock. Any surface that is oriented towards the hub of the ship is felt as "floor", surfaces radially oriented to the hub would feel like "walls", surfaces oriented away from the hub would be "ceilings." So if you step off a ledge on the outside of the ship the way the actors do, you'd be drifting away from the ship on a tangent to the ledge you stepped off, and end up hanging by your tethers. You wouldn't accelerate away from the ship like you would in a real gravity field, but you would float away with a speed equal to the acceleration simulated by the artificial gravity. The only way to become weightless would be to cancel the sideways motion imparted by the rotation of the ship. At the rotation speeds depicted in the movie, that would take at least a motorbike to do.
Passengers (2016)
Ending / spoiler
Directed by: Morten Tyldum
Starring: Andy Garcia, Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Michael Sheen
Jim and Aurora discover the reason for the ship's malfunctions is that something slipped past the shields and struck the ship, damaging the main computer. Jim repairs the computer but it cannot vent plasma from the main drive due to a stuck external door. Jim goes outside and is forced to hold the door open while Aurora vents the plasma. Jim is knocked back and his tether snaps, forcing Aurora to go out into space and retrieve him. He is clinically dead but she revives him with the AutoDoc. In an epilogue, the rest of the crew awakens 88 years later to find that the inside of the ship is rife with plant and animal life, and Aurora has left them her completed book.
Aurora: If you live an ordinary life, all you'll have are ordinary stories.
Question: Why did Arthur tell Aurora that Jim woke her up even though he promised to keep it a secret?
Answer: Because the ship had been malfunctioning due to collision with the asteroid it had effected Arthur as he is part of the vessel. This shows something is wrong with the ship as previously indicated, Arthur's sudden change of behaviour being integral to what is going on.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Answer: Being that Arthur is an android, he takes everything that is said literally and without analyzing it. Once Jim and Aurora began their romantic relationship, Aurora casually mentioned to Arthur that she and Jim have "no secrets" from one another, which Jim, without realizing the context or the consequences, confirmed. Arthur then interpreted it to mean that Aurora knew Jim had intentionally awakened her from the sleeping pod.
raywest ★