DVD Review: Deep Impact (D-)

Deep Impact (1998)
Directed by Mimi Leder
Starring Tea Leoni, Morgan Freeman, Elijah Wood and Robert Duvall
MPAA: PG-13
Grade: D-

Review by Bobby Nashville

Classic science fiction movies never seem to fall out of style: Blade Runner, 2001, even The Matrix seems like a movie that will age gracefully. On the other hand, the "asteroid colliding with Earth" flick Deep Impact has fallen apart so quickly in just five years that I have to think that ten years from now, people will watch this piece of crap just to laugh at it.

First off, and this really ticks me off when I see this, they might as well have called this film "Deep Impact Sponsored By MSNBC". The lead character (Tea Leoni) in Deep Impact works as a reporter for MSNBC so they continually plug MSNBC throughout the film. The "special reports" that show her on air for MSNBC are shameless "isn't MSNBC cooler than CNN?" promo bits. Strangely enough, their on air chyrons (news graphics) now look so idiotically dated that it gives the impression that MSNBC is run by farm animals.

Did I mention that Tea Leoni can't act? I didn't? Well she can't and nowhere is this more apparent than in this moronic disaster of a disaster movie. For someone that's supposed to be playing a tough talking journalist she sure seemed nervous, confused and stiff doing her job. Her awkward scenes as a news anchor actually come off as pretty funny, but the bad news is that this isn't supposed to be a comedy.

Morgan Freeman does his best to work through the cliché riddled material (he plays the President of the United States) but even he can't lift this train wreck off the tracks. I liked Elijah Wood (Lord Of The Rings) until I saw this performance, now I might have to rethink my stance on this kid. Robert Duvall, shame on you.

What saved this movie from an F? Well, the special effects (which come way too late in the movie by the way) are pretty cool. But when the script, acting and direction are this bad, I was left rooting for the asteroid. And to think, with the budget spent on this Hollywood debacle, 50 good independent films could have been made.

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