Deep Impact (1998)
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47% of critics liked it
(51 reviews) -
51% of users liked it
(319,385 ratings)
Mimi Leder (The Peacemaker) directed this science-fiction disaster drama about the possible extinction of human life after a comet is discovered headed toward Earth with the collision only one year away. Ambitious MSNBC reporter Jenny Lerner (Tea Leoni) stumbles onto the story, prompting a White… More Mimi Leder (The Peacemaker) directed this science-fiction disaster drama about the possible extinction of human life after a comet is discovered headed toward Earth with the collision only one year away. 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 travel 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. Special visual effects by Scott Farrar and Industrial Light & Magic. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Directed By
- Mimi Leder
- Written By
- Bruce Joel Rubin, Michael Tolkin
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense, Science Fiction & Fantasy
- In Theaters
- May 8, 1998 Wide
- Studio
- Paramount Home Video
Critic Reviews
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Stefan Birgir Stefansson, sbs.is
a little too melodramatic
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Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com
Disaster movies are trim and exciting or they're nothing, and Deep Impact isn't trim or exciting.
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Brandon Judell, Entertainment Asylum
The joy of any catastrophe flick is watching the world that annoys you so much get its due.
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Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central
Malignant and insensate, it's already too far gone for treatment.
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Brian Webster, Apollo Guide
Although it's not as loaded as it might appear at first glance, this is a decent 'Special Collector's Edition' DVD.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Robert Duvall
as Spurgeon Tanner
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Téa Leoni
as Jenny Lerner
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Elijah Wood
as Leo Biederman
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Vanessa Redgrave
as Robin Lerner
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Morgan Freeman
as President Beck
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Leelee Sobieski
as Sarah Hotchner
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James Cromwell
as Allen Rittenhouse
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Ron Eldard
as Oren Monash
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Maximilian Schell
as Jason Lerner
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Jon Favreau
as Gus Partenza
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Richard Schiff
as Don Biederman
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Mary McCormack
as Andrea Baker
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Kurtwood Smith
as Otis Hefter
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Laura Innes
as Beth Stanley
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Dougray Scott
as Eric Vennekor
- Alimi Ballard
- Blair Underwood
- Denise Crosby



