Deep Impact (1998)

A great big rock hits the earth, and lots of people die. That's pretty much all there is to it, and most of that was in the trailer. Can a major Hollywood movie really squeak by with such a slender excuse for a premise? The old disaster-movie king, cheese-meister Irwin Allen (The Poseidon Adventure, Earthquake), would have made a kitsch classic out of this, with Charlton Heston, rather than a resigned and mumbly Robert Duvall, as the veteran astronaut who risks several lives trying to blow up the comet that's headed right this way! As stiffly directed by Mimi Leder, this thick slice of ham errs on the side of solemnity. It may the be most earnest end-of-the-world picture since Stanley Kramer's atomic-doom drama On the Beach. There are a couple of classic melodramatic flourishes: an estranged father and daughter who share a tearful reconciliation as a Godzilla-sized tidal wave looms on the horizon; and an astronaut, communicating on video with his loved ones back on Earth, who follows whispered instructions from a buddy lurking just off camera--so that his little boy won't realize that he's been struck blind. With Morgan Freeman as the president of the United States. --David Chute Amazon.com

I'm hugging you right now, I'm holding you.

This film is sad. Not sad as in pathetic. Sad. I didn't cry as much as the first (and subsequent) times I saw Armageddon, which gets me no matter how many times I watch it. Ben Affleck cries - that's me. Can't handle seeing a man cry.

The difference between Armageddon and Deep Impact is that Deep Impact is a comet, and also that there's a year and a half between finding out about the comet, before something is sent up to destroy the comet. Armageddon is based over a period of 18 days? Something like that. I did feel that Deep Impact was a lot slower paced than Armageddon, and the first half of the movie is deliberately slow it seems, but then it seems all rushed towards the end.

The cast do mostly well, but not Elijah Wood. Another of my least favourite actors. He just cannot act in my opinion.

There's quite a few sad scenes in this including the estranged and his daughter, coming together and admitting some truths to each other, along the lines of "I stole $32 from your wallet" and "I dropped you on your head as a child". Which prompted my dad to tell me that it put me on his shoulders (when I was still small enough to do that) and smacked my head off the bus stop sign. That explains all my problems. The simple scenes with Morgan Freeman (playing the president) and his moving words.

These kind of movies always get to me. I mean, what would you do if extinction was just around the corner? I think when Armageddon first came out at the cinema, I cracked up for a couple of days afterwards, thinking that something like that was going to happen for real. These films always have the same effect (Day After Tomorrow was another memorable one), although I try to push it out of my head as quickly as possible, cos I think I would go stir crazy.

I didn't really feel for any of the characters in the first half of the movie. I was basically ticking off the different ways they could die. But it's the second half the film really comes into its own. There's all the sob stories, the underage marriage, the estranged dad, etc. The marriage between Elijah and Leelee Sobieski's characters nearly broke my heart, as I felt that something was going to happen to them. But their story did feel slightly rushed, and apparently some of their scenes were left on the cutting room floor, due to poor response from test audience. How? I think the film would have benefited from more of their story.

Armageddon will probably always overshadow Deep Impact in terms of storyline, effects and big name stars. And although I love Armageddon (I've seen it so many times), Deep Impact, apart from the very slow start, was still good. I'll heartily disagree with all the bad reviews. Switch your brain off and watch. August 12, 2008

Awesome movie and effects!

Basically the plot is about 2 meteors that are about to strike earth. Everyone panics. I especially enjoyed watching this movie. I have seen both Deep Impact and Armaggedon. I can honestly say that Deep Impact is much better than Armaggedon. Armaggedon just has people landing on a meteor then blowing it up. There's much more to Deep Impact than just that. Both movies have great effects, but Deep Impact still passes it up. The special effects are just amazing! (especially where the meteor hits the water and makes a big tidal wave) It's simply an outstanding movie. If you saw Armeggedon and liked it, then you will be even more impressed with Deep Impact! June 18, 2008

The Amazon Editorial Review Is WRONG! 5 STARS.

I read what David Chute had to say and he is almost completely wrong. The movie was great with remarkably developed characters, superb dialogue, and terrific acting. Robert Duvall gives a 5 star performance and the movie is certain to be one of your top 20 favorites.

Its not just some big rock hitting earth and killing a lot of people. That sort of comment should be beneath anyone who represents amazon. The truth is, the meteor is discovered about a year's travel from earth. At first, a coverup while the government decides what to do about it. The press find out (as they always do) and the world as a whole is forced to deal with the situation. The movie goes from executing three plans for survival each heart wrenchingly realistic. This isn't a silly bunch of oil diggers being sent up by NASA-- as was the case in the ridiculously far-fetched Armageddon-- this is a movie steeped in fact! Entertaining from start to finish, I highly recommend it! June 5, 2008

Deep Impact DVD

We are very pleased. Great packaging and it arrived within stated time. This is such an awesome movie! I have watched it several times and certainly will watch it more. May 24, 2008

A good sleeper movie

This film was totally overshadowed by Armageddon (they came out during the same summer), but is far the better movie. It lacks the unrelenting action of Armageddon (which is too much for me personally - makes me queasy), but more than makes up for it in character development and believable plot. This is a thinking person's disaster flick; it feels honest in the way the plot moves forward, rather than contrived. Definitely worth a look - if you like a bit of intelligence and believability in your sci-fi flicks, this is a great choice. May 9, 2008

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