The Worst Film Ever

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

In 1998, everyone was getting ready for the big Year 2000. People had mixed feelings about the whole thing, with many predicting global disasters on an apocalyptic scale. Hollywood decided that the best way to address these fears was to monetise them, and created two movies—Deep Impact and Armageddon—that shared the same basic plot:* giant asteroid is heading to Earth * it's going to hit and wipe out pretty much all life on the planet * we might be able to stop it just in time * this will involve sending astronauts up in space to land on the asteroid and blow it upToday Deep Impact is widely seen as the ginger-haired step-cousin of Armageddon, but I personally believe this is an unfair assessment. Both movies were released in summer, and both performed extremely well at the box office, although Deep Impact (with box office returns of $350 million against a budget of just $80 million) was easily the more profitable of the two.Deep Impact begins strongly, with an innocent scientist burning to death after just three scenes have elapsed. It's a great start. Twelve months flash by, and we're introduced to Téa Leoni, who was smoking hot at the time this movie was made, with no suggestion of the sad decline that would later follow.We also meet Elijah Wood, playing some awkward little scrote that nobody cares about.Morgan Freeman naturally gets a part, because if the world is going to end we need a decent voice-over.Most of all, ladies and gentlemen, we are graced with the presence of a dangerously jailbaity 15 year old Leelee Sobieski, who looks as though she just might be legal, but absolutely is not.The plot unfolds pretty much as you'd expect, but unlike other movies of its type, Deep Impact commendably resists the temptation of a predictable 'everything's-going-to-be-OK-now' conclusion. Earth still gets hit, squillions of people die—including Téa Leoni!—and the Twin Towers are destroyed by some reasonably convincing CGI.It's not without its weaknesses, but when compared with other summer disaster films, Deep Impact can hold its head up pretty high. And it gave us Leelee Sobieski, for which I am eternally grateful.I rate Deep Impact at 23.31 on the Haglee Scale, which works out as a perky 7/10 on IMDb.

Deep Impact is directed by Mimi Leder and has music by James Horner. The film stars Tea Leoni, Morgan Freeman, Elijah Wood, Maximilian Schell, Robert Duvall, Leelee Sobieski, Denise Crosby, Richard Schiff, James Cromwell, Mary McCormack, Ron Eldard, Jon Favreau, Blair Underwood and Vanessa Redgrave.Armageddon which was released the same year, unfairly overshadowed this one. It's a real shame because I'd say Deep Impact is the better film of the two. This film shows the population dealing with the very real possibility of their extinction, the film shows the terror and the sadness and has many characters that you care about.Armageddon is an enjoyable film but never feels believable in the way that Deep Impact does.An asteroid is heading directly towards earth. The size of it means that when it hits it will wipe out most of the worlds population. Governments around the world know this and are all working in secret on trying to come up with some way of saving as many people as they can.American reporter Jenny Lerner(Tea Leoni)discovers what's going on but is persuaded to keep silent by the American President Beck (Morgan Freeman), he tells her he will break the news to everyone himself. Beck keeps his word and unveils his hopes for the worlds survival.NASA are sending up a shuttle crew led by veteran Astronaut Spurgeon Tanner(Robert Duvall)to try and deflect the asteroid. In America deep underground shelters have been built which will be able to house some people and mean there's a chance of the human race surviving.Sadly the shelters can't take everyone, a lottery is set up and names are picked at random, people selected will go to the shelters. People over 60(unless they have specialist knowledge such a medical skills for example)will not be picked.As the months go by the asteroid gets closer and people try and prepare themselves for what will come next.The entire cast is superb. Morgan Freeman makes a dignified leader, calm but deeply sad about what the world is facing.Tea Leoni is moving as Jenny, she has a difficult relationship with her father and he tries to reconnect with her during earths last days but she is stubborn and won't see him.Robert Duvall is excellent as the shuttle commander, he teaches the younger Astronauts on the crew some valuable lessons and I love the friendship between him and Astronaut Oren (Ron Eldard).Elijah Wood and Leelee Sobieski are good as the teenagers who fall in love and marry to have a greater chance of staying together.Vanessa Redgrave delivers a very moving performance as Jenny's mum, her reaction when she hears that those over 60 won't be chosen is perfect, you see the horror and the realisation that she is doomed.James Horner's score is haunting and the special effects are very good. This film really makes you think about how the world would react if such a thing were to happen. Would you fight to the bitter end for a chance to survive? Or would you just accept the inevitable and spend the last days with those you love?

As a huge, huge Jacob's Ladder fan, I thought I should watch as many works from Bruce Joel Rubin as possible. So I checked this out. I thought, knowing his style, the depth of his mind, and looking at the title, "Deep Impact", that this was perhaps a superb film with double meaning and an enormous twist at the end where maybe the 'deep impact' occurred as much physically as it did on a spiritual/emotional level ? Not at all. He prob just needed some cash, and I don't blame him at all. That's normal. But the film is just your typical American end of the world/hero flick where some guys volunteer and do a great job and show commitment, sacrifice and all that good stuff, and there are tears and cheap sad music, and there are little sub-plots and mini-stories within the story between other secondary characters...I mean, it's not even enough to be watched once, let alone a good movie that requires any more effort or thought going its way.

Deep Impact was very moving, especially with Tea Leoni's character reuniting with her father at the end, which was very sad and touching.I still think about the constitutional issues in Deep Impact. Here the US President Beck (played by Morgan Freeman) arranges for the Government to pre-select 200K individuals (scientists, etc) and a lottery to select 800K Americans under 50 years to be in a Missouri limestone cave.Thankfully the USA didn't get completely wiped out by the comet but can you imagine the next presidential election? For one, President Beck's lost the over 50 vote. He's also lost the votes of the millions who missed out in the lottery, big time. No way President Beck would even win the party's nomination. No way he should bother standing in the primaries. No chance.