BACK COVER SYNOPSIS: What would you do if you knew that in a handful of days an enormous comet would collide with Earth and all humanity could be annihilated? The countdown to doomsday is underway in this "gut-wrenching, eye-opening blast of a movie experience" (Jeff Craig, Sixty Second Preview). Mimi Leder (The Peacemaker) directs, guiding an all-star cast featuring Robert Duvall, Tea Leoni, Elijah Wood, Vanessa Redgrave, Maximilian Schell and Morgan Freeman. With the film's dynamic fusion of large-scale excitement and touching, human-style storylines, Deep Impact makes its impact felt in a big and unforgettable way.

FILM REVIEW: One of two “asteroid-hits-Earth” disaster films to come out in quick succession in the late nineties, “Deep Impact” proves to be the superior of the two (“Armageddon” is just atrocious, thanks Michael Bay!) by offering a somewhat realistic, downbeat approach to the proceedings, while miraculously delivering on a big special effects destructive finale AND delivering a believable ending where the world doesn’t end and hope of life going on is re-instated. Another big plus working in the film’s favour is the all-star cast with Morgan Freeman playing a black President (a nice touch), Tea Leoni playing the second tier reporter that breaks the story about an impending doomsday comet approaching Earth, Elijah Wood playing an astronomy student who first sees the comet through his telescope, and the always great Robert Duvall as the aging astronaut who goes out in to space one last time with his intrepid youthful crew to try and destroy the comet before it ever reaches the Earth. Director Mimi Leder directs without any sensation or Hollywood gimmicks (except for the last shot), instead allowing the film to unfold in a realistic manner through plot points and performances that provide an account of how we as a race might respond to such an extraordinary situation.

One of the intriguing aspects to the film is the first thirty odd minutes where Jenny Lerner (Tea Leoni) is investigating what she thinks is a cover-up of a Presidential affair which actually turns out to be the bigger story of the impending comet hurtling towards Earth. There are a number of interesting sequences where the circumstances surrounding a Senator being stood down and an interview with a member of the White House staff generates a bit of mystery. We are introduced to Morgan Freeman as a rather strong, but empathic US President and his speech to the world detailing the discovery of the comet and the likely scenarios that could unfold if it were to hit Earth are quite engrossing.

The film continues to work well as we are introduced to the astronauts who will be sent in to space to try and destroy the comet before it reaches Earth. Robert Duvall is the ‘old-timer’ – the man who walked on the moon and is seemingly there for PR purposes but turns out to be the most valuable member of the team. The younger members are all glory-hounds, but what makes Duvall’s character so likeable is that none of this angers him, and when it comes time to deal with the harsh realities of being in space, he takes care of the team like a caring father. There’s one particularly touching scene where he reads a book to another crewman who became blinded during an earlier incident.

One of the ways the film builds tension throughout the proceedings is by building up hope that the comet will be destroyed, and then it becomes clear that there’s nothing that can be done to stop it. Each time they try to stop the comet, there’s an expectation of success, but then it vanishes when it becomes clear that nothing can be done. There are several moments in the film that create some good tension this way, but ultimately it starts leading to a somewhat pessimistic direction, which again is another tension-builder which ultimately gets paid off in the finale with a reversal of fortune.

Given that the only way this film would have a happy ending is if the comet were either destroyed or somehow diverted around the Earth, you’d be forgiven for thinking that there wouldn’t be a way to have a special-effects laden ending with numerous shots of destruction. The brilliance here of course is that in an attempt to destroy the asteroid, the space team actually splits it in to two pieces; a small piece and a large piece. The small piece hits the Earth and sets off a rather impressive special effects sequence where we see lots of destruction, but then the space team manages to destroy the large piece by detonating their payload inside that piece, but sacrificing themselves in the process. By doing it this way, we get the carnage and the happy ending. Very well done, and ultimately leads to a climax which builds upon the theme of humanity’s will to survive despite whatever is thrown at us.

“Deep Impact” is entertaining, moving and poignant; a solid film with something to say.

TECHNICAL REVIEW: The picture is by and large very good, although it's not as crisp as what it could be, with several shots looking soft. There are some film scratches and jumps in a few places, particularly in the first few seconds where the Hollywood logos appear. Aside from that, the colours are quite good and well represented. The audio is particularly good, especially in the final sequences where the carnage commences with the comet hitting the Earth. For a big event film it has a very quiet soundtrack, but it is well transferred. Overall, the transfer is quite good but good have been better.

EXTRAS REVIEW: The only extras on this disc are two theatrical trailers, a selection of subtitles (English, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and Finnish) and an additional German language soundtrack. I wouldn't call this an extras package, and the lack of any material on the making of the film is a major disappointment. In this respect, if you like your extras, the newer 2-disc edition that has been released would be the better choice.

BOTTOM LINE: Worth having in the collection, unless you want extras in which case get the newer 2-disc edition.