Deep Impact

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3:31

Deep Impact

PG-13,

1998,

1h 55m,

Action/

Adventure/

Sci-Fi/

Drama/

Mystery & Thriller

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45%

97 Reviews

Tomatometer

43%

250,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

45%

Tomatometer

97 Reviews

43%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

A comet is hurtling toward Earth and could mean the end of all human life. The U.S. government keeps the crisis under wraps, but crack reporter Jenny Lerner (Tea Leoni) uncovers the truth -- forcing U.S. President Beck (Morgan Freeman) to announce his plan. Grizzled astronaut Spurgeon "Fish" Tanner (Robert Duvall) and his team will land on the comet and lay explosives, hopefully deterring the object from its doomsday course. If not, humanity will have to prepare for the worst.

Critics Consensus

A tidal wave of melodrama sinks Deep Impact's chance at being the memorable disaster flick it aspires to be.

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Matthew Rozsa

Salon.com

May 6, 2023

3.5/4

The Chapmans are far from alone when it comes to scientists and artists who respect "Deep Impact," although usually praise has been reserved for its scientific merits.

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Richard Williams

Guardian

Feb 2, 2023

The vision of Morgan Freeman as the next President of the United States is virtually the only worthwhile idea to be found in Deep Impact.

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Ryan Gilbey

Independent (UK)

Feb 2, 2023

The movie spends so long plodding toward its catastrophic climax that you want to scream "Apocalypse! NOW!"

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Christie Cronan

Common Sense Media

Aug 27, 2024

Unfortunately, most of this film's impact is an asteroid-sized disaster -- sunk deep

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Wesley Lovell

Cinema Sight

Oct 5, 2023

3.5/4

The film portrays very well the human element and does something I rather enjoy. It plays on the emotions of the audience and creates sympathy for the characters and makes heroes out of the most unlikely of people.

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Dan DiNicola

The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY)

Jun 20, 2023

D

The what-if-the-world-ends planning is the most interesting part, with impressive special effects but unconvincing emotional reactions from the endangered humans.

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Abraham P

Feb 26, 2019

Probably the best movie of all time in my opinion.

Draco S

Jan 17, 2019

I love science fiction of any kind and even big budgeted "leave your brains home" movies are fun but Deep Impact left me wanting more. Probably because the special effects extravaganza comes and goes so soon, or maybe the poor character development is poor but I don't remember much of this film. Also, while the film teases us with some dramatically-rich ideas (How would men and women react if they knew that the end of the world was imminent?), it doesn't follow through. We're given glimpses of possibilities, but nothing is developed, and that makes it all the more frustrating. It all turns into background noise in the lives of about a dozen two-dimensional, stock characters. Needless to say, the movie isn't as profound as the title suggests. In fact, when considering the impact of Leder's film, the word "shallow" leaps to mind far more readily than "deep." A one time watch.

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Albus R

Sep 28, 2018

Uninspired melodrama

Draco S

Sep 10, 2018

Too long. Got bored long before the end.

Hermione S

Jul 24, 2018

Ignore the rating of the critics, I beg of you. Deep Impact holds in its grasp what is missing in so many disaster movies: realism and character. The disaster itself is far more grounded in science than perhaps any disaster movie save for possibly "Dante's Peak," and it dares to try and make us care more about the characters and what will happen to them and the world around them instead of just the carnage. Oh, you're just looking for carnage? Well, the disaster scene itself is one of the best on film, certainly for its era. A must see for disaster lovers, and in this guy's opinion, the best ever made.

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Abraham M

Jun 29, 2018

Don't know why this movie has such a low RT score. I feels so much more real than the other comet hitting earth movie. It had realistic charters that I cared about. And the science at least made an attempt at being accurate.

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Mimi Leder

Director

Robert Duvall

Captain Spurgeon "Fish" Tanner

Téa Leoni

Jenny Lerner

Elijah Wood

Leo Beiderman

Vanessa Redgrave

Robin Lerner

Morgan Freeman

President Tom Beck

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Deep Impact: Trailer 1

3:31

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Synopsis

A comet is hurtling toward Earth and could mean the end of all human life. The U.S. government keeps the crisis under wraps, but crack reporter Jenny Lerner (Tea Leoni) uncovers the truth -- forcing U.S. President Beck (Morgan Freeman) to announce his plan. Grizzled astronaut Spurgeon "Fish" Tanner (Robert Duvall) and his team will land on the comet and lay explosives, hopefully deterring the object from its doomsday course. If not, humanity will have to prepare for the worst.

Director: Mimi Leder
Producer: Richard D. Zanuck, David Brown
Screenwriter: Bruce Joel Rubin, Michael Tolkin
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Pictures, Zanuck/Brown Productions, DreamWorks SKG
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 8, 1998, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $140.4M
Runtime: 1h 55m
Sound Mix: Surround

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