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Deep Impact 4K UHD Review

“Deep Impact” crash lands.

Let’s take a trip back to 1998 when there were 2 similar disaster movies being released with “Armageddon” and “Deep Impact.” The Mimi Leder directed “Deep Impact” is an end of the world blockbuster in which 2 astronomers (Dr. Wolf and a teen named Leo) discover a comet is headed towards Earth. A year passes and a journalist (Jenny) stumbles across a story involving a disgraced politician which is actually a cover for the comet story that the President is about to unveil. The contingency plan involves a shuttlecraft (the Messiah) planting bombs on the comet with the hopes of destroying it. Spoiler alert- it doesn’t work. The President enacts another plan involving people being selected to live in an underground ARK, but there just might be hope that the Messiah can pull off one last ditch effort to minimize the damage. Amid the larger story, there are character subplots involving Jenny and her father, Leo and a love interest (Sarah), the crew of the Messiah led by Captain Tanner, and more.

It goes without saying that Morgan Freeman as President Tom Beck is the best part of the movie. He carries the movie on his back and gives the role real gravitas. He’s one of the great fictional cinema Presidents to be sure. Outside of him, there’s not much to get excited about with this slog of a blockbuster. Instead of crafting an exciting disaster film, writers Bruce Joel Rubin and Michael Tolkin opt to focus on dry melodrama that bogs the entire film down. Tea Leoni is a wooden lead as Jenny and her family drama couldn’t be any more uninvolving. The crew of the Messiah are also entirely one note characters. Not even the presence of Robert Duvall as the Captain can salvage that boring plot. In fact, the all-star cast as a whole are largely wasted here. And what a cast it is with Elijah Wood, James Cromwell, Vanessa Redgrave, Jon Favreau, Jason Dohring, Leelee Sobieski, Ron Eldard, Blair Underwood, Mike O’Malley, Kurtwood Smith, Laura Innes, Charles Martin Smith, Mary McCormack, Dougray Scott, and Denise Crosby all making appearances in roles of varying size. The romance with Elijah Wood and Leelee Sobieski is about the only tolerable character arc here outside of Freeman (and even that is surface level).

Now, you’re probably thinking, “What about the destruction?” Once it FINALLY happens way late in the game, it satisfies (especially after waiting so long to see it). In fact, there’s something endearing about seeing the visual effects here as there’s a combination of miniature effects, practical effects and CGI. There’s even an impressive traffic jam scene that is done practically. You can bet there is no way that would ever happen nowadays without CGI.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 2.35:1 2160p. How does it look? For a catalogue release, the image image quality is definitely improved here. It’s not the glossiest new transfer, but it is satisfactory.

Audio Track: 5.1 Dolby TrueHD. How does it sound? The audio packs a punch here particularly with any scene involving the shuttlecraft and comet destruction.

Extras (on the Blu-ray):
* Blu-ray copy
* Digital copy
* Photo gallery
* Theatrical and teaser trailers.
* Commentary by Mimi Leder and Visual Effects Supervisor Scott Farrar.
* “Creating The Perfect Traffic Jam”- A look at the end traffic jam sequence (which would completely be done by CGI now)
* “Parting Thoughts”- Mimi Leder talks about the film, the production, scenes that were cut out, co-workers, and more.
* “Preparing For The End”- A featurette that covers how the story came about and scientific possibilities.
* “Making An Impact”- A behind-the-scenes look at special effects scenes. 

May 2, 2023 - Posted by nicklyons1 | 4K UHD Review | 90's Movie, Comet Movie, Deep Impact 4K UHD Review, Disaster Movie, Elijah Wood, Morgan Freeman