Deep Impact (1998)

Remember Armageddon? That was a great movie about an asteroid on its way to earth. an action movie to be precise. this movie has the same background story but puts its focus on a couple of random people and their fates. but some of their story line feel forced and the outcome was no surprise. at least they are trying to be more realistic in terms of what could happen in such event. overall the movie is just okay... not really bad but also not great. you might watch it once on the tv and then probably never again

Nice cast, especially Téa Leoni, as a fledgling reporter who catches an important story for TV news, and Morgan Freeman, as president of the United States, caught between a rock and a bigger rock.Téa Leoni was never a bravura actress. Her emotional range varies from casual, matter of fact, to slightly perturbed. It doesn't matter. Those incandescent incisors. How I would love to see her eat corn on the cob at an Iowa picnic. Her sleek features are just about perfectly arranged and clothing seems to drape itself loosely but eagerly around her slender form.Freeman is fine as well. Even those who have been repelled by the idea of an African-American president must admit that this is the kind of president you want to be able to lean on in times of crisis -- and CAN. Unlike Leoni Freeman has a broad range as an actor. Polite and reserved in "Driving Miss Daily" and a vicious pimp who kicks you in the family jewels in "Street Smart." Robert Duvall is the pilot of a space craft trying to destroy a monstrous comet on its way to inflict more punishment on the earth than human beings already have. Unfortunately Duval is in his dry period with little to do except the occasional arid chuckle. Too bad because he's been capable of some fine performances. Max Schell is bulkier than we remember but is one of the finest actors of his generation. He's given no chance to prove it here. Still, it's Noah's Ark time around the world.Let's see. I think that gets the good part out of the way. It's actually a pretty dumb movie, an unhealthy blend of rude science fiction and bathos. The plot is cobbled together from most other disaster movies you've seen. There's even a motorcycle racing away from an onrushing tsunami which is copped, I think, from "Earthquake," in which Los Angeles gets it. Vanessa Redgrave, an elegant matron, takes a long time before the disaster, carefully dressing, applying make up, wearing her most expensive but subdued jewelry, and then sits back in her opulent apartment to wait for it. ("On the Beach.") The least bearable part is when a two-year darkness appears about ready to engulf the earth and extinguish life. Fortunately, earth's governments have had time to drill and stock labyrinthine caverns in the limestone landscapes. In the United States the caves will accommodate some 3,000 survivors, including about 800 scientists and artists. The 3,000 will be chosen strictly at random. (Why do I doubt this?) No one over fifty allowed. Here I was experiencing nightmarish visions of Doctor Strangelove and his Gemeinschaft Gesellschaft. "Of course dzha WIMMEN vood heff to be of a highly STIMULATING nature!" The random plan means splitting up families and loved ones. Now I was worried about "When World's Collide" with a selfish and bitter billionaire offering to fund salvation only if he goes first. But no! When the time comes to bus the Select to their caves, it seems that NOBODY WANTS TO GO. Nope. They can't leave their loved ones behind -- their babies, their husbands, grand dad in his dotage. There's a great deal of sobbing. Kids are torn from their mother's arms. The armed and uniformed footmen of Unit Orange 245 must use their M-16s to force the survivors to get aboard.But not to worry. The world doesn't end -- yet. There is a disaster, yes, but a small one, a tidal waves that clears the coastal plan of the eastern United States of all the accumulated detritus. But Duval, his four or five passengers, decide to dive directly into the comet and blow it to smithereens with the nukes they have aboard. Plenty of time or parting words with the families via television. Tears abound. "Whatever you do, wherever you go, I'll always be beside you." God, I hope not.

This film tackles the end of the world in the traditional American perspective: a newly discovered comet threatens to destroy the planet and the US leads the crusade to eliminate the threat. Despite the obvious American imperialist propaganda implied here, the film is good, especially for those who enjoy catastrophe movies. His story bears a strong resemblance to "Armageddon" and some scenes remind us of "Independence Day", but there are big differences between these three films. One of the most notable is that this film gives more attention to the characters than to the tragic events. Unfortunately, this makes it a lot slower and monotonous than we might at first glance. There are people who see it as good, others want more action and they will get a little frustrated. I, in particular, have been able to appreciate this more leisurely way, although some scenes are perfectly expendable. The special effects have been quite well made and are grandiose, although they seem a little unbelievable.The characters have been very well developed, much better than most of the films of this genre, which helps a lot to catch the attention of the public. Elijah Wood and Leelee Sobieski can be particularly touching and, despite their young ages, get a good chemistry together. Even so, there are times when they exaggerated in sentimentality. The rest of the cast (where we can see experienced actors like Robert Duvall, Vanessa Redgrave or Morgan Freeman) has a much more contained and uninteresting record, which is a little surprising. Still, Freeman and Duvall have always been a little better than the rest of their peers, though their characters are relatively minor in the story (we may even think that the talent of the actors has been misused). Tea Leoni was clearly a casting mistake, she never really got her character.

As a huge, huge Jacob's Ladder fan, I thought I should watch as many works from Bruce Joel Rubin as possible. So I checked this out. I thought, knowing his style, the depth of his mind, and looking at the title, "Deep Impact", that this was perhaps a superb film with double meaning and an enormous twist at the end where maybe the 'deep impact' occurred as much physically as it did on a spiritual/emotional level ? Not at all. He prob just needed some cash, and I don't blame him at all. That's normal. But the film is just your typical American end of the world/hero flick where some guys volunteer and do a great job and show commitment, sacrifice and all that good stuff, and there are tears and cheap sad music, and there are little sub-plots and mini-stories within the story between other secondary characters...I mean, it's not even enough to be watched once, let alone a good movie that requires any more effort or thought going its way.