DEEP IMPACT

Aspect ratio: 2.39:1

Sound formats: Dolby Digital / DTS / SDDS

Mankind is threatened by a huge asteroid on a collision course with Earth.

Mimi Leder's thoughtful drama arrived in theaters shortly before the release of Michael Bay's "Armageddon" (1998) - a flashier, trashier riff on the same subject - and appeared to suffer in comparison with its outrageous counterpart, due to a script (by Bruce Joel Rubin and Michael Tolkin) which emphasized human drama over extravagant pyrotechnics. But DEEP IMPACT is enriched tenfold by this deliberate shift of emphasis, even though the film adheres to a routine formula established years earlier in such disaster pics as EARTHQUAKE and THE TOWERING INFERNO (both 1974). Here, the contrived melodrama of those older movies is replaced by a sincere contemplation of unimaginable catastrophe and the subsequent effect on mankind, highlighted by Morgan Freeman's authoritative presence as the beleaguered US president, who commissions a group of astronauts (led by Robert Duvall) to land a spacecraft on the comet and attach a series of nuclear devices to the surface.

Proceedings are hindered slightly by Téa Leoni's blank-faced performance as the TV journalist who stumbles onto the impending cataclysm whilst researching an apparently unrelated story about a 'philandering' senator (James Cromwell). Thankfully, the film is redeemed by its tremendous supporting cast, including Vanessa Redgrave as Leoni's proud mother, struggling to cope following her divorce from estranged husband Maximilian Schell, and a pre-hobbit Elijah Wood, playing the juvenile lead. It's to the filmmakers' credit that all these characters (and more besides) play vital roles within the overall structure, adding depth and resonance to an otherwise crowd-pleasing commercial enterprise.

The climactic scenes of destruction - involving a huge tidal wave striking New York - are brief but potent, precisely because of the human dimension stressed by Leder's intuitive direction. True, the outcome is fairly predictable, and there's a slight lurch into artificial sentimentality towards the end of the movie, but these are minor drawbacks in an otherwise worthy production. Fine music score by James Horner.