Yes, the story is a bit short on scientific accuracy, but, come on, it's a movie, not a science documentary. Suspend disbelief for a bit and go along for the ride. It was a bit of a twist to actually show a fragment of the comet hit the Earh's surface, and the resulting devastation. The other mega-disaster film out that year, Armageddon, avoided this unpleasant outcome. So here is a bit of realism. The idea of a nuclear explosion fragmenting the comet nucleus into two pieces rather than pulverizing it is also a nod to scientific accuracy, as some theories about comet composition predict this effect. But, two films out in the same year with a similar premise had me on comet-asteroid overload.
The cast is fairly strong. Morgan Freeman and Robert Duvall add their measure of gravitas to an otherwise unknown cast. Tea Leoni is not very good in this film, delivering her lines with a somewhat wooden and dry cadence. Also, the estranged child syndrome is in full force with Tea trying to reconcile her feelings for her remarried father (Schnell) and her still-living mother (Redgrave). I'll admit to having a bit of a crush on Mary McCormick, so I liked her in the role of a crew member of the doomed space mission. Still, I had the feeling hers was a bit of a token appearance, the addition of a female crew member in a nod to "diversity" and political correctness.
The notion of the new-age Ark preserving a select few in the deep caves of mid-America reminded me of the scheme Dr. Stangelove hatched at the end of the movie of the same name. Here the world-ending event is natural rather than man-made, but the idea is the same. It is an arresting and sobering thought. On the one hand, we want humanity to survive, but what is to become of those left behind? How to they deal with their fate? An interesting dilemma that might make a decent movie in itself.
Anyway, Deep Impact is a good film. Not great, mind you, but good enough for a viewing by those curious about such a storyline.
The cast is fairly strong. Morgan Freeman and Robert Duvall add their measure of gravitas to an otherwise unknown cast. Tea Leoni is not very good in this film, delivering her lines with a somewhat wooden and dry cadence. Also, the estranged child syndrome is in full force with Tea trying to reconcile her feelings for her remarried father (Schnell) and her still-living mother (Redgrave). I'll admit to having a bit of a crush on Mary McCormick, so I liked her in the role of a crew member of the doomed space mission. Still, I had the feeling hers was a bit of a token appearance, the addition of a female crew member in a nod to "diversity" and political correctness.
The notion of the new-age Ark preserving a select few in the deep caves of mid-America reminded me of the scheme Dr. Stangelove hatched at the end of the movie of the same name. Here the world-ending event is natural rather than man-made, but the idea is the same. It is an arresting and sobering thought. On the one hand, we want humanity to survive, but what is to become of those left behind? How to they deal with their fate? An interesting dilemma that might make a decent movie in itself.
Anyway, Deep Impact is a good film. Not great, mind you, but good enough for a viewing by those curious about such a storyline.