Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Deep Impact’

Written by Scott Edwards

One of the most intriguing things about outer space is the unknown. Although we have sent countless missions into the great beyond, we still know very little about what secrets it holds in store for us. Without being able to break out of our current solar system, there is so much more out there for us to find out and maybe even an origin story as to how the universe actually began. As we start to move further and further out, we keep finding more things to question and without the answers, we know that we are only a little blue speck in the galaxy.

Reporter Jenny Lerner has been put on a story to find out why the head of the Treasury Department has resigned. Eager to prove to her boss that she can do more, she follows her leads and when confronting Alan Rittenhouse about his reasons as to why he is leaving, Jenny believes that the only story here is that the man has one hell of an ego. While on her drive home however, she is pulled over by the FBI who then takes her to the White House to have a chat with the President and it doesn't take long for her to realize that she has stumbled on something much different than she expected, she has unearthed the biggest story ever in human history and she will be in the center of the President’s press room to ask the first question about E.L.E., the Extinction Level Event that is headed earth’s way in the near future, in the form of a comet that will collide with our planet.

Having several months to come up with a plan on how to save the planet, the United States and Russia have built a massive shuttle to take a top notch group of astronauts to the comet that is barreling towards earth. Being led by Commander Monash, an old timer has been added to the group to help out. Pilot Spurgeon Tanner has been a part of many space flights in the past and was the last man to walk on the moon and with his know how, the group will be able to land on the comet to bury bombs under the surface to destroy it and save the world. While no one wants to respect the veteran on the trip, he is able to show his dedication to the mission and the lives of his crew mates. Leaving the comet one astronaut down, the group sees that their mission has not been fulfilled and have to make a decision of what to do next.

When President Beck is forced to address the nation and inform the people that their first plan has not worked, he releases a plan to save a million Americans in a large underground bunker that has been built in Missouri. With a few hand selected people already being given refuge in the bunker, everyone else will be part of a lottery, but there are stipulations of who will be eligible. With one last attempt to blow the comet off course, nuclear missiles are launched at the comet with no avail. As the world is now facing its final hours, there may be no chance of survival for anyone that has not been picked to live in the bunker. But with the shuttle slowly making its way back home, one last ditch effort can be made to save the planet and it is time to see if everyone aboard is a hero or not.

Not as bad of a movie that I remember it being when it first came out. With a slightly different focus than Armageddon, Deep Impact kind of fell by the wayside. The character interaction in the story was much stronger and showed more challenges of what is happening on Earth during the last few days, to the point where it even brought me to tears. I am not going to say this story is more realistic than its competition, but you get more of a sense of doom on the ground level when it seems like all hope has been exhausted. There are so many storylines in this movie, I only covered a few, but the Leo and Sarah love story was epic, especially at the end when they both understood what was most important to them, even when a wall of water comes to claim their lives. If you have not watched this since it came out, you might want to check it out again, it has finally started to grow on me a bit.

---