Explosive ’90s disaster thriller on Netflix is fan-favorite extinction event
Author: Robert Skuch updated
1998 was a banner year for disaster movies involving large objects colliding with Earth. Said to be more scientifically accurate than their more financially successful counterparts, end of the world, far-reaching impact tells a story about humanity’s last chance for survival, as extinction-level events become a very real possibility in the near future.
No expense has been spared visually, and supported by a top-notch performance from Morgan Freeman, far-reaching impact Take a grounded approach in storytelling, and something extraordinary and beyond our control becomes a major source of conflict. Since we’re talking about a big-budget disaster movie, you better believe that if our tax dollars have any bearing on this situation, the powers that be aren’t going down without a fight.
This is the final countdown
profound impact The opening is almost like a carbon copy of the 1995 Simpsons episode “Bart’s Comet.” High school student Leo Biedermann (played by Elijah Wood), with the help of Dr. Marcus Wolf (played by Charles Martin Smith), discovers a comet heading directly towards the Earth. Dr. Wolfe died in a car accident before submitting his findings, which kept the threat secret.
A year later, everything becomes public when U.S. President Tom Baker (Morgan Freeman) approaches investigative reporter Jenny Lerner (Tea Leoni). Baker has reason to believe that the roughly seven-mile-wide Wolf-Biderman comet is about to hit Earth, causing an extinction-level event.
The plan to correct the situation is simple and does not involve sending oil drillers to nuke the celestial body from within. Instead, a group of astronauts boarded a spacecraft called Messiah to fire nuclear weapons into the comet’s exterior and alter its orbit. As you’d expect from a late ’90s disaster movie, the plan backfires, leaving President Baker to make difficult decisions, including imposing martial law and implementing a lottery system for Americans to determine who gets a spot in a limited number of underground shelters.
Watch out for special effects and Morgan Freeman
Fully admit I am biased and think end of the world is an infinitely interesting film, worth mentioning far-reaching impact Not without charm, thanks to its earthly communication. Apocalyptic oil drillers save the world on Texas-sized asteroid, and it’s getting ridiculous far-reaching impact Focus more on how government continuity and communication shape expectations when survival mode becomes a priority. As President Baker prepared the world for catastrophic toll, Morgan Freeman addressed the nation in a message that was both somber and hopeful.
The disaster scenes on Earth, as well as the Messiah crew’s moments in space, aren’t the main features here, but they’re cleanly shot and the visuals are impressive for a film nearly 30 years old. Compared to most of the CGI crap we’re shoved into our streaming slots these days, profound impact The cinematography is vibrant, clear and stunning, all on a budget of just $80 million. Rewatching this film for the first time since childhood, I couldn’t believe how well the visual effects and sound design held up during the more explosive sequences.
The second-best big-budget blockbuster about the 1998 extinction-level event, far-reaching impact It performed surprisingly well and made for an excellent double feature opposite Bruce Willis. As of this writing, you can stream the film on Netflix.
