movie coverI'd rather be watching TV![IMDB link] [Netflix link] NOTE: Even though this review is about Deep Impact, it is full of spoilers about the movie Armageddon.

PEOPLE: From the director of Pay It Forward (that should be a warning sign…). So that’s your choice with Armageddon Vs. Deep Impact: Michael Bey vs the director of Pay It Forward!

Starring Tea Leoni (who is single again — but I still think she’s a hot chick cursed with a dog mouth, just like I have since watching The Naked Truth). Elijah Wood (aka Frodo from Lord Of The Rings) as a teenager who discovers the end of the world. Leelee Sobieski as his girlfriend, who looks like a young Helen Hunt (I wont repeat the nickname I coined for her). Morgan Freeman as a black president (what are the odds of that??? kidding!). Robert Duvall. James Cromwell. Jon Faveau. Lots and lots of people. Too many people, really.

QUIRKS: In case you couldn’t figure it out from the title, [highlight for spoilers]→ in this movie, an asteroid actually hits the earth. There are a lot of differences (and similarities) between this and Armageddon. Unlike in Armageddon, they have a a period of [highlight for spoilers]→ 2 years to prepare for the asteroid coming, unlike the 18 days in Armageddon.

VISUALS: Not as many special effects in this movie. No space fires (Michael Bey knows fire doesn’t burn in space, but his response is: “it’s a movie”. He’s not taking it seroiusly and neither should you; it’s entertainment). No crazy asteroids with jagged rocks. And the comet looks all swirly close-up, instead of rocky.

BAD STUFF: Too much romance and relationships! The title implies a crazy sci-fi apocalyptic movie, not sentimental crap! Why do I care about Teo Leoni’s relationship with her father who pretended to have adopted her? WHY??? Why do I care if James Cromwell reads Moby Dick to someone who was blinded because he was too stupid to follow his training? Separate stories that never intersect. Just put there to be sentimental and to tug your emotional strings.

…Yet I felt much deeper emotions watching Armageddon, despite the fact that it’s hokeyer, bullshittier, a Michael Bay film with unrealistic situations, where everything goes bad all the time. I still liked that better. Armageddon also had cooler space scenes.

But Deep Impact didn’t have the ridiculous premise of sending oil riggers to the asteroid, because it’s somehow easier to teach drillers to be astronauts than vice-versa.

CONCLUSION: This one was more of a generic pass: 3 stars on Netflix, 6 on IMDB. Maybe 6.5 on IMDB. This seems to go with the general sentiment of the rating systems I see. Armageddon got 0.1/10 more than Deep Impact on IMDB, and 0.3/1 stars more on Netflix. So most people agree. Still: You should see Deep Impact.

RECOMMENDATION: If the concept interests you, definitely Watch Armageddon AND this movie. But perhaps you should watch this one first, to end on a higher note. The two movies got 5.9 (this) and 6.0 (Armageddon), so your mileage may vary. It’s really a coin flip. Both movie are worth watching, and explore different aspects of the apocalypse. One has a happier ending than the other. Both explore the politics of the situation in different ways (society/martial law politics vs the mission politics in Armageddon). Deep Impact manages to give you part of the Armageddon experience (successfully blowing up an asteroid) while also giving you the experience of maassive destruction on earth (thanks to the other part of the asteroid hitting). Deep Impact definitely is more realistic. But it’s just not as fun. See both and leave a comment here :)

FRIENDS’ RATINGS: Christian liked it. Apparently more people saw Armageddon.
FRIENDS’ PREFERENCES: Parthena and Sean Prophet and my Dad liked Deep Impact better. Angel thought they were the same (but this one had no Aerosmith, which would put it ahead). Stacy thought both were worth watching so I guess he thought they were relatively the same as well. Joe R liked Armageddon better.

Mood: SO FULLLLLLL
Music: Descendents – Tack