Our planet, like everything that exists, has a limited life span; but science fiction has produced several titles that seem eager to anticipate its end a few million years and to liquidate it totally or partially with the collision of a gigantic celestial body, for example. There is evidence that it has occurred in other times, with impacts that, if they have not annihilated all life on Earth, have radically altered its course.
The cinema has been slow to reflect this idea with dignity, although it is fair to recognize that Deep Impact , perhaps the definitive title on the subject, collects contributions from previous films that did not do so well at the box office. In the first important title, When worlds collide (1951) a space rocket was manufactured with which a small part of humanity left for another planet where they could survive before the fatal collision occurred ; and Meteor (1979) featured the United States and the Soviet Union working together to destroy the celestial body with missiles. The poor quality of the special effects of this film had a lot to do with its commercial failure.
When ‘Deep Impact’ was filmed, the world had changed and the movie stunts had advanced enough to provide a credible spectacle. In 1998 Armageddon was also released, dealing with the same subject; it is very entertaining, although it is impossible to believe that not even Bruce Willis can save humanity from the asteroid in just eighteen days! Both titles, yes, resorted to the same trick as Meteor : if a film is made about the imminent destruction of humanity by the impact of a gigantic celestial body , and in the end that impact does not occur, the public will feel that they have been scammed. . But the fragments that will collide with Earth anyway can always be used to ensure sufficient scenes of destruction.
Asteroids that threaten life on Earth
In Deep Impact , all countries come together to fight annihilation, although the main efforts are being carried out by Russia and the United States. The asteroid that threatens the Earth has been split in two, and only one ship with nuclear weapons, the Messiah, can be prepared to destroy the largest one; the smallest will hit the planet, causing serious damage, although without erasing humanity from the map. In the United States, an underground shelter is being prepared for one million people, who will be chosen by lottery. At the last minute, the Messiah achieves her goal, although this involves the sacrifice of her entire crew. The other comet hits the Atlantic Ocean, causing a gigantic tsunami to sweep through New York and other coastal cities.
The plot follows the basic structure of disaster movies: on the one hand, we have the professionals, from the astronauts who agree to participate in a suicide mission to scientists, the military and the president of the United States; and on the other, ordinary people and their behavior during the months of waiting. The predictable reactions of collective panic are added to those of those who manage to save themselves by climbing the mountains, and those of those who accept their fate after having made peace with themselves and with those close to them. This long period of preparation to avoid the worst, or to resign to it, is what gives Deep Impact a greater air of verisimilitude; the destructive comet is a test for humanity, both for the classes that direct it and for the citizens that constitute it.
