My Favorite Movies: Deep Impact

I thought I had concluded the Favorite Movies series with my all-time fave, but lately another personal classic has been on my mind: the 1998 drama Deep Impact.

Deep Impact was one of two Comet Apocalypse movies released around the same time. The other was Armageddon, which I've only seen once in its entirety (and don't plan to repeat). While Armageddon was more of an action movie, Deep Impact took the human-interest perspective. I've probably said before that one of my favorite elements in any story is a cast of diverse, unrelated characters who are slowly weaved together by the events of the plot. Mix well with Comet Apocalypse, network broadcasting, estranged families reuniting, the space program, young love, and President Morgan Freeman, and you can't fight me off with a stick.

I'm aware that this movie will never make any critical best lists. There's plenty of cheese, and the line delivery of Tea Leoni's dad leaves a lot to be desired. But the ensemble cast is hard to beat. Pre-Frodo Elijah Wood! Laura Innes at the peak of her Dr. Weaver days. Leelee Sobieski. Blair Underwood. Robert Duvall. Again, Tea Leoni, who's always terribly underrated. And did I mention Morgan Freeman? I wouldn't vote for him personally for President, but I'd totally vote for his character.

Deep Impact is also my guaranteed weeping movie. When one doomed character presses his hand to a screen showing his infant son and tells him to "be good..." I lose it every single time.

It's been a while since I watched this. Maybe I'll take out the DVD tonight!