Robert Duvall, Téa Leoni, Elijah Wood

A comet is on a course to collide with Earth, and people must cope with the fact that they will die. The President (Morgan Freeman) has devised a plan to keep as many humans alive as possible. Scienti...( read more  read more... )sts have built giant caves big enough to hold a million people, and the government is going to have a lottery to pick 800,000 people to live in the caves along with 200,000 scientists, artists and doctors.

Flixster Users

51% liked it

319,385 ratings

Critics

46% liked it

50 critics

PG-13, 121 min.

Directed by: Mimi Leder

Release Date: May 8, 1998

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: December 15, 1998

Get It:

Stats: 9,937 reviews

Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Your Rating



clear rating
Share on: Facebook Twitter

Flixster Reviews (9,937)


  • September 16, 2009
    Advertised as an 'Intelligent' apocalyptic movie to challenge the more cartoonish versions like Armageddon etc. What they really meant is, they had a very little budget. It thinks its clever but it?s not. It?s not very good at all. I do like it when the wave hits the beach though!
  • July 18, 2009
    The counter film to Armageddon, this one being a very deep, emotional ride with a whole different outlook on life and our world. In a way its better than Armageddon because it deals with real people and real issues and problems that would or could happen if this did happen.

    It d...( read more)oes make you think as you watch, what would you do? would u live or die? its quite strong and hits you without knowing.it makes you think long after the credits roll, and thats a good film. The cast make it happen very well too, especially Morgan as the president. Small individual stories that have different outcomes on impact, Tea Leoni probably having the most common story people would relate to, your loved ones.
    Its quite a sad film really, excellent and thoughtful.
  • February 9, 2009
    Deep Impact has a few fresh edges on most disaster movie fare, but ultimately, its conformity to studio standards keeps it from being truly great. See that "hope survives" splashed across the poster? That is the theme, and you will be beaten over and over with it, so make your pe...( read more)ace now.

    The movie dabbles with some interesting themes, such as abandonment and solitude and even a Shirley Jackon-esque impartial lottery to determine the fate of humanity, but nothing is scratched too heavily. The film is too fragmented, burdened with subplots (most of them unnecessary) and overly concerned with characters who don't really figure into the movie much. It's as if the studio told Mimi Leder that her film was too slow and to throw in more explosions and a happy ending, which just makes it all a bloated mess. And the ending is hellacious indeed, a truly moronic conclusion to a subplot that should have been axed at the first draft of the script. Also, one would suspect that this whole affair would be more palatable if Tea Leoni could act. She just looks bored.

    Deep Impact isn't risible or terrible, but it's a total waste of potential, most likely watered down for us dumb Americans. The predictable, overly convenient plot really holds back the interestingly-composed action and the glimmers of intelligence. Worth your two hours if you catch it surfing the Sci-Fi Channel or something but not a flick to actively seek out.
  • December 25, 2008
    "Heaven and Earth are about to collide."

    Ambitious MSNBC reporter Jenny Lerner (Tea Leoni) stumbles onto the story, prompting a White House press conference. United States President Beck (Morgan Freeman) announces the government's solution: a team of astronauts will tra...( read more)vel to the comet and destroy it. The team leader aboard the spaceship Messiah is Spurgeon Tanner (Robert Duvall), who was once the last man to walk on the moon. However, the mission fails, splitting off a chunk of the comet, now due to land in the Atlantic with the impact sending a 350-foot tidal wave flooding 650 miles inland, destroying New York and other cities. The larger part of the comet, hitting in Canada, will trigger an E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event), not unlike a "nuclear winter" as dust clouds block out the sun and bring life to an end. President Beck reveals Plan B: a cavernous underground retreat constructed to hold one million Americans, with most to be selected through a national lottery. Since teenage amateur astronomer Leo Biederman (Elijah Wood) discovered the comet, his family gets a pass to enter the cave, but his girlfriend Sarah (Leelee Sobieski) and her parents will be left behind. Meanwhile, still in space, Spurgeon Tanner devises a plan for a kamikaze-styled operation that could possibly save the Earth.

    Review
    First off, keep in mind that this movie does not pick up for about an hour-and-a-half, and you won't get any serious action sequences until the last 15 minutes of the film. That being said, I wanted to like this movie, and I didn't compare it to Armageddon, but in the end, it was nothing more than a 2-hour waste of my time with a dull, pointless ending. The characters were undeveloped, the story was boring and barely made any sense, and it was quite simply a poorly-made film. I wouldn't even consider this a valiant effort. Way too many sub-plots, too many attempts to be emotional, and just not that good.
  • December 21, 2008
    #2 Deep Impact
    Freeman has always had an air of easygoing wisdom in the roles he plays, but it gets put to the test here. After all, managing an apparently doomed Earth is tricky. After covering up the existence of a killer comet, President Freeman announces that, yes, it's there...( read more), but everything will be OK because he's sending astronauts to blow it up. When this plan fails, he somehow has the guile to stay in office. Well done, sir.
    President Speak: "Life will go on, we will prevail."
  • November 19, 2009
    Less "realistic" than Armageddon, but more human, dramatic and focused in the psychology of the characters rather than in the special effects feasts. It is less convincing and much more tragic, but seems like Mimi Leder couldn't refuse the female influence and a cast full of star...( read more)s. Women will almost always remain the same...

    45/100
  • November 12, 2009
    I want to see this movie again T_T
  • November 9, 2009
    ...( read more)itle">Deep Impact
  • November 7, 2009
    The perfect disaster flick with some mind-blowing scenes near the end and a great storyline. While it's a little dull here and there seeing as the 'good stuff' only happens at the end, there is some essential character building that needed to be done. The space quest was rather i...( read more)nteresting to watch too. Morgan Freeman is great as the President, and Tea Leoni is rather likeable as the female lead. Overall it's up there with some of the great Disaster films, and it's one not to be missed.
  • November 7, 2009
    I really liked this, but then again, I have a penchant for almost any disaster movie.

Critic Reviews


Comments


  • pavacri23
    February 23, 2008
    kool movie
  • Aritosgold
    November 7, 2007
    Good;;
  • LucyLips08
    April 8, 2007
    I saw it once, and i think it was quite good. Although, i can't remember all of it...
  • aussiecookie
    November 10, 2006
    This is a great movie, even though it has a not so great ending. I havn't seen it for ages.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Official Trailer

More Like This


Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Step Up
    Step Up (35%)
  • War of the Worlds
    War of the Worlds (56%)
  • The Day After Tomorrow
    The Day After Tomorrow (61%)
  • Baby Boy
    Baby Boy (45%)

Facts


No facts approved yet. Be the first

Deep Impact : Watch Free on TV


Deep Impact Trivia


  • Which of these is not based around true events?  Answer »
  • Deep Impact{1998} was the first Hollywood movie where an African American is seen as a sitting President of the United States?   Answer »
  • Who played US President Tom Beck in Deep Impact and was also in Along Came A Spider and Million Dollar Baby?  Answer »
  • which actor connects the movies gone in 60 seconds and deep impact?  Answer »

Most Popular Skin