El Padawan
L'un de mes films préférés, sans hésiter. Loin du côté tape à l'oeil d'Armaggeddon, dont il est le concurrent direct, Deep Impact nous offre une vision beaucoup plus réelle des conséquences d'une telle catastrophe.Ici, point de super héros qui sauve tout le monde, mais des exemples de personnes, plongées malgré elles dans la pire catastrophe de l'Histoire.
 
Si le jeu des acteurs (Téa Léoni, Elijah Wood) n'est pas toujours parfait, on ne peut que se réjouir des prestations de Morgan Freeman et Robert Duval, impériaux en président accablé et ancien baroudeur spatial.Le scénario reste incontestablement le gros point fort de cette histoire, réaliste malgré tout : ici tout n'est pas qui finit bien, et si certes les Américains ont le beau rôle, chacun est confronté à la mort et à la peur, où qu'il soit.
 
L'ensemble de ces peurs est très bien rendu, justement par ce choix de prendre des personnes diverses, et donne au final un film à la fois épique et émouvant, qu'on ne peut pas quitter sans frissonner et se dire : "Et si demain..."

LIVE 062005
Un film quelque peu novateur s'appuyant davantage sur la psychologie des personnages en délaissant la catastrophe menaçant la planète. Il n'est certes pas parfait du fait de ses incohérences scénaristiques et de ses dialogues pas toujours à la hauteur mais il peut charmer et agréablement surprendre.Une fin magnifiquement filmée et sans "happy end". Il est pour moi un des meilleurs films du genre et met K.O le blockbuster 'Armaggedon' surjoué et trop patriote à mon goût. (ouais ben moi j'aime bien aussi ARMAGGEDON ! )

"Deep Impact" is extremely under rated!

Author: manonfire_jer209 from United States
26 March 2005

5.9!? I can't believe that. I know disaster movies are usually crap such as The Day After Tomorrow, Armageddon, Godzilla, Independence Day, etc. This however was not crap. It boasted a fine cast that did great work the standout being Morgan Freeman and Robert Duvall. The rest of the cast though also did quite well. The story was handled in a fairly realistic manner and didn't require me to roll my eyes at the many plot contrivances the way the others I listed did. The only major flaw for me was the casting of tea Leoni. The usually dependable actress was extremely bland in this film. She has done much better work in her career. Despite that flaw this is another fine movie that for some reason is really under rated.

Superior to 'Armageddon'

Author: Mel J from Dundee, Scotland
26 August 2006

It seems 1998 was the year Hollywood turned to the idea of the world being decimated by objects from outer space to fuel their disaster films. Both 'Deep Impact' and 'Armageddon' were released in that year but while I did enjoy the thrill and special effects of the latter film, I find 'Deep Impact' the superior of the two.

The film begins when a teenage amateur astronomer discover a comet on a direct collision course for the Earth. The world is then thrown into turmoil has humanity has to accept their possible extinction. While NASA sends a shuttle up with the intention to try to blow the comet to bits, the US government selects people to be saved in a cave they are building to withstand the event. Focusing on various unrelated characters, the film shows how people react differently to the destruction of all that they know.

The brilliant cast, including Morgan Freeman, Vanessa Redgrave, Robert Devall, Elijah Wood, Ron Eldard and many others, all given great depictions of their characters. It is because of their ability to bring their respective characters to life that 'Deep Impact' stands up so well as it is a very emotional and character driven story, as opposed to 'Armageddon', which relied much more on humour and special effects to sell it. Téa Leoni is the only one who doesn't shine through like her co-stars as her performance is quite bland and doesn't capture her character's turbulent emotions. However, as the rest of the cast give great performances, it's easy to overlook her.

And even though there is much attention given to establishing the characters doesn't mean the film skimps when it comes to the special effects. Both the scenes in space and those on Earth when the comet hits the planet are well-handled visually. It features some of the best special effects of planetary annihilation that I've ever seen (and I'm a big fan of these disaster flicks).What makes 'Deep Impact' rather unique in terms of disaster films is that it gives a very human side to tragedy and devastation by showing how ordinary people cope in times of crisis but it avoids the trap of being trite and overly-sentimental. It's a shame the film is so underrated then as it is a film that would appeal to sci-fi fans and those seeking an interesting story with strong characters.

Still good years later

Author: lillychr14 from United States
30 April 2005

I just saw this film again after several years. I feel that it was the best of all the disaster films made in recent years. Not too much cheese, a little heavy on sap but satisfying overall. It was much more realistic than Armageddon(which I think is one of the most overrated 'blockbusters' ever)There are no comic relief characters, no cheesy one-liners and no gorgeous movie stars(no offense to Tea Leoni). The solution to the problem was more real in Deep Impact and the time frame was much more believable. I like how the film focused more on what was happening on earth rather than in the spaceship.

The end was interesting because the disaster wasn't totally averted so there was no cheerful hugging in the end with lame Aerosmith playing over it. The only thing that bothered me was that all of the nuclear missiles from the US and Russia had no effect on the comet. Wouldn't several hundred nukes do something? anything? and why wasn't the Messiah destroyed in the blast? So overall, good flick, deserves more credit.