DEEP IMPACT

REVIEWED BY BRETT WILLIS

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Because of: language, violence, sensuality

Rated:

The subject matter of this film is basically the same as that of Armageddon (1998), Asteroid (1997), Meteor (1979) and even When Worlds Collide (1951): a comet, asteroid or other foreign body threatens to strike the earth and wipe out all life.

If you expect a special-effects-laden summer blockbuster, you’ll be disappointed. This is primarily a character study of how people react to impending doom. It explores family relationships (divorce, alienation, reconciliation, teen marriage), courage, duty, self-sacrifice, and the nagging background question of what things matter most. Where Armageddon was primarily splashy, with just the one memorable example of self-sacrifice at the end, Deep Impact has multiple examples of sacrifice and many tear-jerker scenes.

The story opens on Leo Biederman (Elijah Wood) and sometime-girlfriend Sarah Hotchner (Leelee Sobieski) doing a telescope assignment along with the rest of their high school astronomy club.  Leo is unable to identify a star near Mizar and Alcor (at the curve of the Big dipper’s handle), and his teacher isn’t sure what it is either, so Leo sends telescope photos to Dr. Wolf at an observatory. A quick check by Dr. Wolf confirms that this is not a star but a comet, and the computer-projected trajectory indicates IMPACT.  In a belated “grabber” opener, Dr. Wolf is killed by a caffeine-loaded truck driver while trying to get a warning to the government. But apparently the email version of his message still got through when his mail server came back up.

A year later, MSNBC reporter Jenny Lerner (Téa Leoni) is working on what appears to be a White House scandal involving the Secretary of the Treasury and a mistress named Ellie. Media people are portrayed here and later in the film as bottom-feeders, willing to do almost anything for a juicy story. Jenny repeatedly bluffs information out of people by pretending she already knows more than she really does; and good taste takes a back seat to getting a scoop. The Treasury Secretary tells Jenny that she ought to be able to understand him wanting to be with his family because even though she’s just a reporter now, she used to be a person. This strikes home, since Jenny was wounded for life by her own parents’ divorce. But she still pursues the apparent sex scandal, until government agents arrest her and take her to see the President. Slowly Jenny discovers that the “Ellie” or “E.L.E.” that the President and his cabinet have been whispering about in secret phone calls is an “Extinction Level Event."

The U.S. and Russia have planned a joint space mission, to destroy or deflect the comet; their ship is called The Messiah. Later, the President reveals that he has backup plans including a series of caves known as Noah’s Ark. At every point, he feels the weight of a tremendous responsibility on his shoulders. He must balance the public’s right to know with the probability of setting off riots. When the Noah’s Ark plan is activated, he must set in motion a lottery that decides who lives and who dies. The spaceship crew, as would be expected, show great courage in the performance of their mission. Another subplot follows Jenny’s relationships with both of her parents. Still another follows the now-famous Leo Biederman who is chosen to enter the Ark and wants to take Sarah along. Everyone is changed by the approaching crisis. While some people engage in murder and looting, others give themselves on behalf of others. On close examination, some of the examples of “sacrifice” are really more like the foolish action of Rose jumping out of the lifeboat in James Cameron’s Titanic; but there are authentic sacrifices too.

One thing missing from the film is any hint of people making or renewing commitments to serve God; in a real-life situation like this, many would certainly do so. However, during one of his televised news conferences, the President breaks away from his teleprompter script and offers a prayer. It’s an Old Testament benediction offered to a somewhat generic God, but a prayer nonetheless. Millions of people are killed by the comet; though most of this is only implied, we see tidal waves wiping out New York City, toppling skyscrapers and washing people away. A central character commits suicide (off-screen). One astronaut, not using his visor properly, is burned and blinded by the sun. Language includes two (possibly three) uses of the f-word, numerous curses using God and Jesus, and many occurrences of minor profanity and other colorful language. A student remarks that since Leo is famous, he should get a lot more sex than anybody else in school. There’s smoking, drinking (including drinking to drown sorrows), and a number of tense family scenes.

One more thing: the film is full of bad science, mixed in with occasional “good” (authentic) science. Something as simple as the location of the comet in the sky is botched right off the bat. The position on the photos versus what the astronomy club describes, versus the note sent to Dr. Wolf, versus the simulation on Dr. Wolf’s computer—none of it matches. Nor does it make any sense that a naked-eye object would of unnoticed by most of the world for a year. There are many other goofs that must be ignored by those who notice them, lest they distract from the human story. The worst science of all is the assumed billions-of-years age of the solar system and the implied evolutionary worldview. Overall, this is a real thought-provoker. Even in everyday adversity, some people become real knotheads while others rise up from mediocrity and begin to shine like lighthouses. How would we react to this kind of crisis? Do we understand what really matters? Would we make good choices, keep the main thing the main thing? Would our faith in God grow weaker, or stronger? I recommend this film for mid-teens and upward, provided they’re able to handle the content.