Force of Impact

Michael Moiarity at his worst Very typical, nothing new.

This could have been a good movie, but the acting is terrible!

I see a lot of comments about the different versions of this movie, but nobody seems to mention the thing that most concerned me about this tolerable disaster film (nearly all these stories about giant asteroids menacing the earth have the same plot, more or less, but I tuned in anyway to see Rae Dawn Chong as the heroic scientist). Watching Michael Moriarty in his role as the general was distracting because he seemed to be having problems playing his part that had nothing to do with the script or the direction. He was walking with a stick, and in the dialogue scenes he seemed to stare straight ahead and deliver his lines with little or no animation. Was he ill? Had he had a stroke?

I must have seen the tame version of this film under the title Force of Impact. No gay sex, not that it would have enhanced the film for me. Not my cup of tea. I didn't have any problem with the acting, it was good from seasoned professionals. The dialog seemed average. The storyline was average. The camera work was good. But the editing left way too many dramatic pauses and too much dead air. It was not unusual for the dialog to end and then the film just hangs there while the actor stares at something or shuffles some papers. Not much in the special effects area. There was nothing really bad nor good about the film. It was just kind of there as a pay day for the people involved.

Dr. Madison Taylor (Rae Dawn Chong) at Near Earth Asteroid Tracking Society has discovered a hidden asteroid on course to destroy the world in a day's time. General Dutton (Michael Moriarty) at the US government's Project Safe Skies dismisses her. Her only hope is former air force Major Richard Donovan (Antonio Sabato Jr.) and an asteroid-destroying laser which might be no more than a government boondoggle.

This is Deep Impact without the explosive CGI or the reasonable characters. I like the idea of a government boondoggle and secret weapon. Everything else is less compelling and less well-written. The miniature budget does limit the production. I got bored with Chong and Sabato in a long back and forth. This is cheap TV with one interesting idea among a sea of weak writing and production.