When it comes to asteroid disaster movies, Armageddon might be what you immediately go to, with Bruce Willis threatening Ben Affleck on an oil rig, Aerosmith screeching, and an A-list cast of oil workers learning how to be astronauts in a week. But if you want a more realistic take (no laughing at the back) on the end of the world, look no further than Deep Impact, directed by Mimi Leder — although you’re running out of time to see it. Unlike Armageddon, Deep Impact uses multiple intertwined storylines to explore how different people cope with an impending global catastrophe.
Released in 1998, the film stars Elijah Wood as Leo Beiderman, a teenage astronomy enthusiast who accidentally discovers a comet on a collision course with Earth — and then has to watch the world grapple with what comes next. Tea Leoni’s Jenny Lerner is a reporter who stumbles upon the government’s plans for combatting the asteroid, while Robert Duvall leads the mission to try and save the planet. As a disaster film, Deep Impact has aged pretty well and the themes of humanity banding together in crisis still hold up. It’s also one of the rare disaster movies that actually shows the asteroid hitting the Earth, and how humanity will try to survive it.
Is ‘Deep Impact’ Worth Watching?
Critics generally thought Deep Impact was a more grounded and thoughtful film of the two — compared to the literal bombast of Michael Bay‘s explosions, fast cars, and the creepiest scene of all time involving animal crackers, golden hour and Liv Tyler in her underwear — but felt the pacing was a bit uneven and that the multiple storylines weren’t as compelling together as some of them were individually. It holds a 45% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to Armageddon‘s 43%.
However, at the box office, Armageddon was the clear winner. It grossed $553 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of 1998. Deep Impact, while not as strong, was still a huge success, earning $349 million worldwide against a $75 million budget, and in doing so, made Leder the director of the highest-grossing film in history to be helmed by a woman at the time, so it holds a special place in Hollywood history, and it’s absolutely worth a watch as well.
Deep Impact is streaming now on Netflix, but only until January 1, so head over now and catch it while you can.
Release Date
May 8, 1998
Runtime
120 minutes
Director
Mimi Leder
Writers
Michael Tolkin, Bruce Joel Rubin
