Deep Impact - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Deep Impact



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Movies with near identical themes and stories coming out right on top of each other has been a known phenomenon for years. Known as the “twin film” theory, we’ve seen example ranging from Volcano and Dante’s Peak, The Jackal and The Assignment, The Truman Show and Ed TV, the list goes on and on. Back in 1998 we got a pair of near identical disaster movies in the form of Michael Bay’s Armageddon, and Mimi Leder’s Deep Impact. The differences being that Armageddon was pure Michael Bay, complete with unbridled visual and character excesses, while Deep Impact was going for the heartfelt tearjerker. Neither film is exactly golden cinema, but each has its own pros and cons has endeared both films to their respective audiences.

The plot is simple. A comet the size of Mt. Everest is hurtling towards Earth at breakneck speeds. However, no one except for a couple of scientists and the U.S. government are aware of the situation. Secretly working behind the scenes to craft a space craft worthy of heading to intercept the comet and delivery a nuclear payload to break it up, their plans are sort of spoiled when burgeoning MSNBC reporter Jenny Lerner (Tea Leoni) stumbles upon the story accidentally, forcing President Beck (Morgan Freeman once again playing a president) to reveal their plan to the world prematurely.

The rest of the film is a mixture of slow paced drama as everyone comes to grips with the possibility of all life being eradicated, and the other half being a tense action story with the crew of the spaceship working against the clock to deliver a nuclear payload that will be the safety of humanity. We’ve got interpersonal stories with Jenny and her father, the astronauts all coming to the realization that they’re never coming home, and the loss of childhood innocence as the two high schoolers who found the comet to begin with (Elijah wood and Leelee Sobieski respectively) have to grow up faster than ever expected.

Deep Impact is tonally the polar opposite of Armageddon. Armageddon will forever be known for an overly hyped, overly syrupy, testosterone filled bit of Michael Bay at his peak. The movie is downright cheesy if you look at it even remotely closely, but holy cow, Armageddon is a tour de force of cinematic FUN. To this day I still adore watching Ben Affleck and Bruce Willis scowl at each other and Peter Stormaire ham it up with his crazy Russian shtick. Deep Impact, on the other hand, goes strait for the tear jerking, introspective look at what humans would face with imminent destruction. Unfortunately, it goes way overboard trying to play with the audiences emotions, and instead of creating the next Oscar worthy performance like they were hoping to, instead created something equally as hammy and over the top as Armageddon. Just in a different way. Stories are over syrupy and melodramatic to the extreme, and the payoff feels a bit too short and stunted in the final act.

On the flip side of the coin, there were a couple of genuinely good characters with good arcs in them. The story of Leo and Sarah (Elijah and LeeLee) coming of age is great, and Robert Duvall’s aged “out of touch boomer” character interacting with the wounded Oren (Ron Eldard, barely recognizable at that age) is absolutely touching. In fact, I’d say that Robert and Ron’s entire interaction is the highlight of the entire movie, and probably the most genuinely touching one as well.

At the end of the day Deep Impact is very much like Armageddon. Mediocre cinema with completely different tones, telling the same story from different points of view. I really love Armageddon, but still like Deep Impact as a change of pace. Both are fun popcorn movies of the late 90s and still holds a special place in my heart as some of the last good disaster movies of that generation.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for intense disaster related elements and brief language




4K Video: Video:

Now lets get down to the reason you’re really here. How good is the picture and how much does it eclipse the old Blu-ray? Well, you’ll be very happy to hear that this is a rather large upgrade over the old 2009 Blu-ray. The Blu-ray was mediocre even back in 2009, with lots of smoothing, poor clarity, and an overly brightened image that is almost garish at times. The 4K UHD disc literally blows it out of the water with a brand new 4K remastered version (the Blu-ray included in the combo set is not remastered though, it is simply the 2009 disc stuck in here) that is very organic and filmic looking. Colors are rich and varied throughout, showcasing a slight push towards the red end of the spectrum when dealing with outside shots. Black levels are MASSIVELY better than the old disc too, with the HDR application creating silky blacks where there used to be murky creamy blacks. Shadow details is superb (check out the night time scene where Leo and his family are picked up on the bus. It’s a nightmare on the Blu-ray but so incredibly revealing in the 4K set). Fine details are superb throughout, though I did notice that there was a little bit of haziness whenever massive amounts of CGI were used (the beach with the waves coming in, etc). But overall this is a very pleasant surprise and a rather large improvement over the 14 year old 1080p disc.








Audio:

The 5.1 Dolby TrueHD is the recycled track from the old Blu-ray, but don’t worry, it was a great track back then, and even though I would have loved an Atmos upgrade, this is still a fantastic listening experience. For being a disaster film of epic proportions I would have expected a more dynamic mix, but Deep Impact thrived off of being the antithesis of Armageddon. Instead of being bold and brash, the sound mixing is more subtle and subdued as the film is much more talky. Long swathes of film are simply character exposition and discovery, but once the Messiah jumps into space, or the roaring of the waves start to crash down around you, the sound stage really comes alive. The bass is tight and punchy (although a tad subdued) and the surrounds ripple with energy during the actual disaster itself. Very impressive that the mix has held up this well, and while I would have liked an Atmos tweak (yes, I’m repeating myself), I’m glad that the 5.1 mix is still hanging in there.







Extras:

• Audio Commentary by director Mimi Leder and visual effects supervisor Scott Farrar
• Preparing For The End
• Making An Impact
• Creating The Perfect Traffic Jam
• Parting Thoughts
• Photo Gallery
• Trailers

Final Score: ​

Deep Impact isn’t exactly amazing cinema, nor is it trash either. It’s a decent bit of disaster film movie making from the 1990s, and a strange companion piece to Michael Bay’s more enjoyable Armageddon. The new 4K UHD transfer is light years better than the aging Blu-ray, and easily well worth the cost juts to upgrade your old disc. Extras are pretty much the same, and the audio a port without an Atmos upgrade, but overall I definitely feel this is worth getting if you enjoy the film. Fun watch.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Robert Duvall, Tea Leoni, Elijah Wood, Morgan Freeman, Leelee Sobieski, Jon Fravreau, Jamems Cromwell,
Directed by: Mimi Leder
Written by: Bruce Joel Rubin, Michael Tolkin
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1, French, Spanish DD 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 121 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: May 2nd, 2023

Recommendation: Fun Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I remember seeing this one and I enjoyed it. Will have to revisit it.