Lesser Impact

A friend called me up a week ago and asked if I had already seen the film Deep Impact. When I said no, she eagerly invited me to go with her since she was dying to see the movie. My friend’s invitation came just on time. I was also planning to see it myself since I was somewhat intrigued by the write-ups I have read about the film, not to mention the tag line that says: “Oceans rise. Cities fall. Hope survives.”

The movie stars Tea Leoni as the ambitious Jenny Lerner, Elijah Wood as Leo Biederman and Robert Duvall as Spurgeon Tanner.

Imagine a comet the size of Mt. Everest about to hit the earth! If it does, it will be an extinction level event. Leo accidentally discovered the heavenly body while on a camping with his astronomy club, but the discovery was kept under wraps by the government for about two years until Jenny, the journalist stumbles upon the truth. By this time, it’s months away from doomsday. The President was forced to acknowledge the truth. In a hastily called press conference he presented the astronauts he is sending into space to intercept the comet and blow it up before reaching earth.

I must confess I was a bit disappointed with the way the story unfolded on the big screen. I guess I was expecting something that would really leave a “deep impact” on my emotions as the title suggested. Nonetheless, the special effects were done very well, but the story was not well crafted.

I remember seeing a telemovie several years ago on the aftermath of nuclear war. I am not very sure now, but I think the film was called The Morning After. It was a thought provoking film. The movie graphically portrayed the desolation and devastation that happened in the aftermath of a nuclear war. It was a powerful message against the evil of war and the folly of the superpowers. The memory of that wasteland littered with dead and dying people haunted me for days.

I though the film Deep Impact would in the same way be thought provoking and haunting. Sure, there were lots of dramatic scenes here and there, heightened by James Horner’s musical score, which I happened to like very much. But as a whole, I think the story has not much depth really.