Early in “Deep Impact” we learn that a comet “the size of Mt.
Everest” is on a collision course for Earth. There would seem to be two
possible outcomes: (1) The comet hits Earth, destroying it, or (2) the comet
does not hit Earth, in which case humanity is spared but the audience is denied
the sight of lots of special effects. In the first scenario you don't get the
obligatory happy ending, and in the second everyone leaves feeling cheated. Most doomsday movies avoid this choice by prudently choosing
less than apocalyptic events. A volcano, a twister or a tidal wave can supply
lots of terrifying special effects and still leave a lot of people standing.
But “Deep Impact” seems to back itself into a corner, and maybe that's why the
producers hired not one but two of the brightest writers in Hollywood to work
on the project: Bruce Joel Rubin (“Ghost”) and Michael Tolkin (“The Player”).
Together, they've figured out how to have their cake and eat it, too.