POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!


Well, even though I had seen this film in its theatrical release, it sure had a deep impact on me the 2nd time around...


I own Armageddon, and enjoy it in a popcorn film kinda way - it's fun to watch if you've three hours to waste. I recently purchased Deep Impact, and upon second viewing its strengths really shone.


What affected me most was the emotional ties drawn between characters. I really *felt* the panic experienced by the parents of the young girl when they thrust their baby into her arms in order to save a young life with so much to see and do. Their self-sacrifice really touched a chord with me.


Another scene that I found moving was the conversations near the end of the film between the spaceship crew and their families. Boy oh boy do they try and move you there - it worked on me - that's for sure!



Another thing that was well-done was the scientific research. Although most movies in this genre require a suspension of disbelief, I think one of the reasons Deep Impact worked so well was the fact that I could actually envision this happening the way it was presented in the film. We discovered the comet long before it arrived near Earth, unlike in Armageddon, where there was only a short period before impact.


The video quality was excellent - despite the lack of anamorphic enhancement. In addition, the sound was outstanding - not as many huge sound effects as in Armageddon, but then again, Deep Impact didn't need it. A true-to-live spatial sound was created.


Finally, a word on the special effects that everyone complains about being cheesy. I actually thought they were well done. I found scenes such as the final tidal wave to be realistic-looking, not like some of the computers graphics I've seen in the past (like, for example, the plane crashing in Air Force One <img src=http://www.zyworld.com/dvdcanada/smile.gif>).


To wrap up, Deep Impact is the better of the two "comet" films in my opinion. It has a great, compelling storyline, good special effects, great sound, and a beautiful DVD transfer. I was left longing for a commentary by Mimi Leder however, to add more to this film that I so much enjoyed. The only "extras" included were two trailers - and I don't watch many trailers anyway.


This film should be on your list if you're a fan of action movies, but enjoy a good storyline as well.


Comments anyone?

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Philip Jones
DVD Canada Forum Moderator | My DVD List

It was a character-driven film disguised as an event-driven film. I give Leder high marks for showing us why some movies impact viewers more than others: give the audience a reason to care for the characters, and the film will be well received. She succeeded on this level.


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PatCave ;HT Pix ;Pat's DVDs

Agree with all of you.
Another thing that I really love about the movie was that it show:
"How U.S.A. saw and prepare for the end of the world".
I mean, with the co-work with russian, is almost and international documentary.

In other words it´s NOT Armageddon, where you see: "U.S.A. roughnecks saving the world"

Don´t take me wrong, I´ve nothing against you guys http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/smile.gif

But blowing up the MIR, just to put a russian in the shuttle? comon!!! http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/smile.gif
?

Why do newbies keep digging up these OLD topics?!? BURY THEM! For GOOD.

Deep Impact is one of my favorites. Morgan Freeman is, like in all his films, awesome. Téa Leoni did a find job as well. Duvall needs a better agent. His role was beneath his earlier academy quality performances that usually makes his name worth the price of the ticket.

Armageddon http://sam.wood.tripod.com/smilies/couto.gif

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Toshiba -- SD-2109
Da List

Ignorance is Bliss ... Take the blue pill.

Re: Deep Impact - Review
 

Rented this film this past weekend and didn't notice that the DVD was this (non-anamorphic) edition. I would have rented the Blu-ray but it was unavailable from my local rental shop. I think this might actually be the first film I've ever put a disc in my Blu-ray player and discovered that it is non-anamorphic, I never noticed before Blu-ray because back then I was mostly using an old, large, rear-projection 4:3 TV. Possibly the only other non-anamorphic disc I've played was Justice League: Season 2 on DVD. I hit the zoom button on my TV to get the correct ratio and watched, and despite the film being a zoomed-in DVD, the unconverted picture was alright, as was the DD 5.1 sound. I absolutely loved the film, and will be picking it up on Blu-ray soon. Seeing that non-anamorphic picture unexpectedly felt like I had gone back in time. If I am renting a film that my store doesn't have on Blu-ray, I guess I should check the back of the DVD case first!

Also, we need more films directed by Mimi Leder, am I right?