Deep Impact (8 May 1998)
directed by Mimi Leder
starring Robert Duvall, Téa Leoni, Elijah Wood, Vanessa Redgrave, Morgan Freeman, Maximilian Schell, James Cromwell, Ron Eldard, Jon Favreau, Laura Innes, Leelee Sobieski, Blair Underwood, Mike O'Malley
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MPAA rating: Studio: Paramount Pictures Script: Bruce Joel Rubin, Michael Tolkin Music: James Horner Running time: 120 minutes Suggested retail price: $14.95 (US) Tags: astronomy; comets; Disaster; extinctinction; journalism; New York City; Science Fiction; Thriller Tactical strength: [5/10]
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for intense disaster related elements and brief language
As with most disaster movies, I expected Deep Impact to present the typical scenes of mass panic and looting. Surprisingly, Deep Impact barely even acknowledges the inevitable chaos of a planet-wide disaster and takes on much different theme: that some people when faced with extreme adversity will perform noble acts of self-sacrifice. Although I found this theme refreshing, I also felt that director Mimi Leder shoved the message down my throat.
Deep Impact begins with the discovery of a previously uncharted star by a teenage amateur astronomer, Leo Biederman (Elijah Wood). Dr. Wolf, a professional astronomer and leader of Leo's astronomy club, checks on Leo's findings and discovers a comet with a trajectory aimed directly at earth. Dr. Wolf decides that he must immediately tell someone his news -- even though the comet won't hit for almost two years. Unfortunately, Dr. Wolf's car collides head on with a large truck, and we must assume that the news of the impending comet burns in the inevitable explosion.
A year later, the plot picks up with Jenny Lerner (Téa Leoni), a Washington-based MSNBC reporter with some dirt on Alan Rittenhouse (James Cromwell), a former cabinet member who resigned allegedly to take care of his sick wife. But Jenny's sources tell her that Rittenhouse really resigned because of an affair with someone named Elly.
After confronting Rittenhouse, secret service agents pick up Jenny for a private interview with the president. The president has secretly been preparing for the possibility of the comet's impact -- I guess Dr. wolf's file wasn't destroyed in the explosion after all. The president makes a deal with Jenny -- hold your story for two days, and you can have the first question at the press conference.
Note at this point, still almost a year from the predicted impact date, both Rittenhouse and the White House kitchen have stocked up on several pallets of bottled water.
Elly turns out to be ELE, an extinction level event, such as a comet striking the earth. At the press conference, the president announces the comet and that a joint Russian-American spacecraft has been prepared to attempt to change the comet's course using nuclear warheads. And just in case that plan fails, the president had a huge bunker built in Missouri where one million people can wait out the two years for the climate to settle down after impact. The government will conduct a national lottery of all citizens under 50 years old for the lucky few who will get to live in the bunker.
Of course, the first plan fails -- probably due to mediocre acting -- and even makes matters worse by splitting the comet into two pieces that will both hit the earth.
Now with all this background in place, you can begin to see how our main characters demonstrate the theme with self-sacrificing noble acts. The astronauts make a final attempt to destroy the larger comet by driving their craft directly into the comet and detonating their four remaining nuclear warheads.
Remember Leo, the boy who discovered the comet? Well, his family was selected to live in the bunker but his girlfriends family wasn't. Leo learns that if he marries his girlfriend, that she and her family will be allowed to live in the bunker too. But when the bus comes to pick up Leo's family, the girl's family isn't on the list and cannot board. But this doesn't deter Leo, who leaves his family at the mouth of the bunker to find his wife. Other selfless acts continue through the end of the film, such as Jenny giving up her place in the bunker to a coworker with a child and reconciles herself with her estranged father.
Now I have no problem with the idea of noble acts. What I do mind is the direct attempt to manipulate my emotional reaction toward these acts through typical cliches such as parents arranging to save the baby knowing they will die. (The parents are stuck in the world's most civilized traffic jam of people running from the coast -- even though they have known for months that if the comet gets through, the resulting tidal wave will cover most of the eastern states).
Since Deep Impact had a fairly large budget, you would expect the disaster effects to be at least decent, if not incredible. The actual impact of the comet is impressive, but the resulting wave and destruction left a lot to be desired. The model used for the scenes of New York City's demise was such an obvious model, that you wouldn't have been surprised to see Rodan or Godzilla come body surfing in on the wave. And when we see people racing toward higher ground, the approaching water looks like waves filmed in someone's bathtub.
In spite of cheap effects and attempts to create emotion, I liked the movie and its attempt to show that you can choose to be a good person even when faced with the knowledge of your almost certain demise.
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